Master storyteller shares her talents at elementary school

The yelping sounds of a pack dogs approaching a target, the pop of a slamming door, the crackling voice of a frightened child captivated both students and their teachers at Sisters Elementary School last Friday. The audience sat enraptured as master storyteller Diane Ferlatte carried her listeners by dialogue and song through one tale after another.

Accompanied by Erik Pearson on banjo, Ferlatte, who resides in Oakland, California, tells stories as she remembers them being told to her as a child in Louisiana on her grandparents' porch.

In telling stories to children, Ferlatte hopes she teaches the importance of a story's beginning, middle and end.

"You want kids to be curious readers," she said. "I let them predict things that are going to happen. I build listening skills."

Ferlatte's stories teach lessons and support positive behavior.

"Most stories I tell have something about the importance of listening, especially to your mama and your parents and people who are older than you that know more. I tell stories about how we relate to each other, stories about how we treat each other," she said.

Ferlatte's Central Oregon visit was made possible by the local chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) after one of the organization's members Marge Biggers, a Redmond resident, presented the idea to club members.

"I have seen her (Ferlatte) before and have wanted to get her to Central Oregon for years," said Biggers, noting that she shared some of Ferlatte's CDs with several of her AAUW friends. "After listening they said: 'Boy we need to do this.'"

In addition to Sisters Elementary School, Ferlatte performed at elementary and middle schools in Redmond, at the elementary school in Terrebonne and at the Redmond Library. She also did a performance especially for adults at Redmond High School.

Ferlatte told The Nugget that she never planned to make storytelling her profession. She more or less fell into the art form after adopting a three-year-old.

"He came to me with some stories. One story was that he was a TV addict, because the foster mother put all the kids she had in front of the TV all day," said Ferlatte. "I realized I was reading to a TV brain. He couldn't listen."

Changing her approach with her son, Ferlatte began to read stories like she was telling them.

"I grew up very oral. I began to change my voice with pauses, sound effects, and he was listening like it was live TV," she said.

Next she told some stories at a Christmas program at her church. Remarking that this was more than 20 years ago, she said: "Somebody heard me, and my life has never been the same."

In addition to performing all over the United States, Ferlatte regularly performs internationally. She has shared her stories in Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Holland, Sweden, French Senegal, Bermuda and Singapore. She has released eight recordings, three of which are especially adapted for children and adults to enjoy alike. Another tells Aesop's tales, with five stories especially fashioned to Ferlatte's own charisma and style of humor.

She has won many awards, and her last release "Wickety Whack-Brer Rabbit is Back" was nominated for a Grammy in 2007.

"I was beat out by somebody reading Harry Potter," she said, "but I was still nominated."

For more information visit http://www.dianeferlatte.com.