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| Boerne Star, Tuesday, April 19, 2016 |
The authors describe the idea behind the book
as providing “a starting point for children to allow their imaginations to flow
with many stories that are all their own. Using unique scratchboard engravings,
we have tried to offer just a hint or two of what might be happening in each
scene. Our hope is that the child might have a new or altered story to tell
every time they look though this book.”
In fact, each spread in the book
consists of a rhyme printed on left pages and a scratchboard engraving on the
right facing page. The book was illustrated on scratchboard by Michelle Horstman and her pictures are exquisite. Scratchboard, or scraperboard, is a technique
that begins with a hardboard surface coated with a porcelain-type clay. A layer
of black ink is brushed over the clay and various engraving tools are used to
etch fine lines. There is an enormous amount of detail in Horstman's pictures.
Each rhyme in the book is
open-ended and asks a question. The child is encouraged to tell a story about
the verse and the picture that faces it. For instance, the verse that accompanies
a picture of a mouse sitting on an owl’s head is “Was it smart of Little Mouse
to hide on Mr. Owl’s Head? Or was this a big mistake that he might learn to
dread?”
One of the grea t things about Tell
Me Your Stories is that it can be read over and over. A child’s imagination
will be sparked each time he or she looks at the book.
Tell Me Your Stories is available
through Amazon and other major booksellers as a physical book and as an e-book.
You can check out Horstman’s and Long’s website at http://tellmeyourstories.homestead.com/ and their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Tell-Me-Your-Stories-439955789538436/?fref=ts.
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