Fran Stallings

Fran Stallings is an American storyteller for people of all ages. She has performed at numerous national and international storytelling festivals, in schools and libraries, and on the radio. She performs primarily folktales from around the world. She has authored several audio recordings and books of stories and songs.

Stallings's storytelling style is noted for its ability to entrance listeners, a phenomenon she wrote about for The National Storytelling Journal in 1988. She teaches teachers to use stories in the classroom to hold students' attention while conveying lessons.

Biography Fran grew up in New York City but spent much of her childhood in Lancaster, Ohio, to which she attributes her Midwestern rather than New York accent. She began storytelling while caring for her four younger siblings; her mother was concerned that their imaginations would be stunted by growing up with television.

Fran's scientific background (and young children) got her involved as a group leader in Bartlesville's La Leche League,

In March, 2009, Fran won the Tejas Storytelling Association's John Henry Faulk award for "the person who has contributed the most toward the art of storytelling in the Southwest."

Notable performance venues Vancouver Storytelling Circle Charlotte Folk Festival (North Carolina) WinterTales (Oklahoma City) Tulsey Town Festival (Tulsa) Texas Storytelling Festival OKon and RocKon Science Fiction Conventions SunFest Storytelling Festival (Bartlesville, Oklahoma) Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering (MLAG) (Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania) Ozark Folk Center (Mountain View, Arkansas) Texas Conference on Storytelling

Source:

Publications Folktales from the Japanese Countryside, a collection of 46 of Hiroko Fujita's traditional stories edited by Fran Stallings. Look At That Mouse! Diversions and Stories with a Mouse Puppet by Fran Stallings with Ken Oguss. Prairie-Fire Productions, 2002. Stories to Play With: Kids' Tales Told with Puppets, Paper, Toys, and Imagination by Hiroko Fujita, adapted & edited by Fran Stallings. Little Rock AR: August House, 1999. . Hiroko Fujita's FAVORITE STORIES Volume 1 by Hiroko Fujita, adapted & edited by Fran Stallings. (with English translation) Hiroko Fujita's FAVORITE STORIES Volume 2 by Hiroko Fujita, adapted & edited by Fran Stallings. (with English translation) Stories for Beginners #1 & 2. Tokyo: Isseisha Press, 1999. and 4-87077-157-8. World Tales. Tokyo: Isseisha Press, 2001. .

Recordings Cat o' Nine Tales: Stories and Songs about Cats. with Gail Huggett and Moby Anderson TRAVELING TALES Volume 1: and TRAVELING TALES Volume 2: Interaction: Storytelling with Music featuring the story "Shingebiss and the North Wind" "Crane's Gratitude" and other tales of animal wit and wisdom