Author to discuss storytelling’s benefit

The key to what makes her work worthwhile

By: Lacey Korevec
   A relaxing glass of wine, some good stories, and a discussion of author Susan Danoff’s book "The Golden Thread: Storytelling in Teaching and Learning" will all be part of a free book signing that Cranbury residents are invited to attend.
   Ms. Danoff, of Princeton, will discuss her book, which focuses on the positive impact of storytelling in education.
   She will also be selling copies of the book, as well as sharing a few stories on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Princeton Ballet School in Cranbury on North Main Street.
   Ms. Danoff has worked as a professional storyteller and given presentations in schools for 27 years.
   In 1996, she founded Storytelling Arts Inc., an organization that provides storytelling programs to low-income and special needs school children throughout the state. Her book was released in May.
   The event was put together by Cranbury residents Daniel Goldberg and his wife, Marjorie Gutman, who are close friends with Ms. Danoff.
   Dr. Goldberg said he hopes a large crowd turns out for the event because he believes Ms. Danoff’s message is important.
   "There aren’t too many publishers interested in storytelling these days, so she had to self-publish," he said. "We just thought it was a way to let people know about what she’s doing."
   Ms. Danoff said she’ll tell a few folk tales to kick off the event.
   "I don’t know exactly which stories I’ll be telling," she said. "But, I tell stories from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Native American cultures."
   She will speak about storytelling as a medium to communicate with children, which is what her book focuses on, she said.
   "Sometimes, we’re so interested in transmitting info to children that we forget the ways that are most effective to do that," she said. "One of those ways is storytelling."
   Though everybody is invited, Ms. Danoff said, the signing is an adult event because the book was written for parents and educators.
   "The book is written for educators and other people who are interested in education, which includes parents," she said. "We’re all educators. Parents educate their children and teachers educate children and the book is about one aspect of how to do that."
   Ms. Danoff said she tells stories from memory, and not from reading a text, which may seem foreign to the adults who attend. But she said storytelling was traditionally as much for adults as it was for children.
   "The stories I’m going to tell are very sophisticated stories that are appealing for adults," she said. "Often, what I find with adults who haven’t heard storytelling before, is they don’t realize that this is an art form that is as much for adults as it is for children."
   Dr. Goldberg, who works as a psychologist in Princeton, said hearing Ms. Danoff speak about the way she has reached children through storytelling is a fascinating experience from which he has learned a lot.
   "I actually use one of Susan’s stories quite often when I work with couples," he said. "The story’s name is ‘Tiger’s Whisker.’ And it’s about always trying to change one’s partner and never believing you have the power to do so."