Success Stories!

This is our fifth year of bringing storytelling into area elementary schools through the Debby Brown YoungTales Storytelling program. How have we done? Here are some testimonials!

 

“The [YoungTales] program is nothing short of amazing, and I’m not just referring to the incredibly talented performers who come to the school to tell their stories.… I appreciate the special opportunity it provides for students who would otherwise have hidden their talents.”

— Tiffany Abbott Fuller, Literacy Coach, West End Elementary, Rome City Schools

 

“My students have a difficult time with written expression. They have wonderful stories inside, but struggled to get them out. By learning how to be verbal storytellers, they became stronger storytellers as well as writers.”

— Katie Chappell, Fifth Grade Teacher, Anna K. Davie Elementary, Rome City Schools

 

“I have personally seen students grow from good storytellers to amazing storytellers in only a few weeks of instruction.”

— Jason Coffman, Fifth Grade Teacher, Armuchee Elementary, Floyd County Schools

 

“There are many storytelling festivals around this county. There are very few who take the time to nurture young listeners and tellers. I applaud the Big Fibbers Storytelling Festival for making a commitment to both the future of the art of storytelling and the future of those hundreds of children who have been exposed to this art…”

— Carol Cain, Featured Teller, 2017 Big Fibbers Festival

 

“I just wanted to tell you how wonderful the story telling club was that you conducted at MES last spring! My only regret was that I wish it could have spanned more weeks!

— Angie Yancey, Teacher of the Gifted, Model Elementary, Floyd County Schools

 

“I was able to participate in the Big Fibbers Storytelling Festival and observe the student experience of the YoungTales Storytelling Program. To see the [young tellers] in action and to see them excited and eloquent was amazing.”

— Kanute P. Rarey, Management Consultant/Storyteller, Hayesville, NC

Bil Lepp at Big Fibbers Storytelling Festival

“The YoungTales performance that I attended was spectacular. As a student, I was a very poor writer…my spelling and grammar were awful. Fortunately, I had teachers and folks in the community who gave me the chance to perform in storytelling settings, where my skills were better suited to thrive. The more ways we give kids to succeed, the better they will do in the world. YoungTales is a great venue for this.”

— Bil Lepp, Five-time winner of the West Virginia Liar’s Contest, nationally known storyteller, award-winning author, and Big Fibbers Featured Teller in 2015 and 2019