ANCIENT STORIES FOR MODERN TIMES

Purposeful stories meant to enlighten older children and adults in both religious and secular settings.

Developed for retelling by a Unitarian Universalist educator, these international tales are short, subtle, and intended for oral presentation. Most are serious and deal with specific themes including acceptance, resistance to oppression, compassion, dignity, and reconciliation. Mogensen also introduces the seven Unitarian Universalist Principles (ideals such as “Justice, Equity, and Compassion in Human Relations” and “A Free and Responsible Search for Truth and Meaning,” among others) and creates indices for themes and these ideals. She arranges the stories in eight behavioral sections, including “Living with the Natural World,” “Living with One Another,” and “Practicing Generosity.” Although a few stories are from religious texts, such as the Talmud or the Buddhist Jataka tales, most of the selections are folk tales, presented here for both their entertaining qualities and their morality lessons. This is an instruction manual for a certain type of storyteller. The introductions provide information about variants or adaptations. The five-minute tales are made easy to learn with story maps or bulleted outlines that follow each tale. There are questions for reflection, and the themes and principles are provided. The source list, given at the end, provides a starting place to learn about folklore. While the manual assumes a largely adult audience, the stories will work with early elementary children.

For the storyteller with a particular mission.