One Night in Oraibi

Once long ago, a Hopi storyteller told me to listen for the voice of Spider Grandmother, weaver of the web of life, who still whispers wisdom to guide us—if we listen. So I listened. That was why on a freezing afternoon in northern Arizona, with my teenage son, Cannon, driving a rented Jeep up a […]

GREEN LOVE: GARDENING YOUNG IMAGINATIONS

Seeding Courage and Hope  “When we sow a seed, we plant a narrative of future possibilities,” writes Sue Stuart-Smith, British psychiatrist, in her bestselling book, The Well-Gardened Mind. And with stories from long-lasting traditions, we as storytellers, teachers, parents, and grandparents, can plant seeds of hope and  courage in young imaginations. Children today need folk […]

Mending The Deep Web

Over time, men in power have excluded women from policy-making, and excluded scientists from Rachel Carson on. As a result, look where we are! Much of Earth’s magnificent web of life is threatened by greedy corporations, cowardly leaders, and “the catastrophic errors of war and destruction of the environment,” as Carl Sauer wrote in Man […]

Today these words lit my way through this dizzying time.

“We need your stories like air….” —Christina Steinbrecher-Pfandt, a mother at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, San Francisco.   This image is from my new Toy Storybooks project for kids. More info to come soon! For many stories your kids will love, see my book Grandmother Spider’s Web of Wonders. And here are some thoughts […]

Can Tiny Creatures Triumph?

Tiny Creatures Can Triumph: from my new Toy Storybook project for kids. Butterfly Blue reads a story to Button and three Garden Children about Ant and Bee who circled the Earth on a quest. Now the Garden Children must search for a weaver who can mend Earth’s tattered web of life. Can they succeed? Stay […]

Green Wisdom for Children

Delicous wisdom about how to sooth and inspire children and give them hope in this heart-breaking time. Every school needs a garden so that chidren can explore and learn from nature’s briliiant web. With other storytellers on the Worldwide Virtual Storytlling Guild on Aug 1, 5:30 PM PST, I’ll be telling a story about how […]

6000 Years Or More Of Stories

Fascinating analysis of the ancient lineage of our stories today. I love the image that stories spread over time both vertically and horizontally– like tree roots! And deep where the roots touch, caring and healings between cultures can happen. Thanks, Hope. This gives me hope for our fractured world. See you on Worldwide Virtual Storytelling […]

A Ring of Riddles: Advance praise!

A Ring of Riddles: my YA eco-occult thriller Greta Grabhorn may appear to be a timid eighth grader, but she is not. Even Barbe-Tort, the evilest man in France, proves no match for her startling powers. When Greta inherits a priceless ring from Gaya, her French-American grandmother, she inherits a mission far beyond her reach, […]

A mention by Leah Garchik!

Why I tell wild stories to children…for SF Chronicle LEAH GARGIK SF Chronicle For years, Beatrice Bowles, practitioner of the ancient craft of storytelling, has been sharing tales from all over the world. She’s just signed on for the new Story Party series of audiobooks produced by Audible; one of her readings is the first tale in the […]