I love my home town.  The children came by the hundreds today to the library to see my funny little show.  Thank you Mrs. McGrath for taking a few pictures so that I could post a little to show you.  The top picture is showing the start of the show where I performed the Bill Harley Classic “Sitting Down to Eat” and showcased a bunch of my rarely seen puppets!  I know it’s really dark this other picture is a bit better…

It was alot of fun – and I can’t wait to back in the summer!  See everyone then!

 

I will be doing a huge Big Ryan show on Feb 19th – but if you go to the Plymouth Library now – you will see, The Hulk!!!!!! 

A portion (a very small portion) of Big Ryan’s Hulk memorabilia is on display for the entire month of February.  Check that out now, then come back to see Big Ryan! 

 

This book blew me away the first time I saw it.  And I can’t take the credit for discovering it, the wonderful librarians at the Walpole Library introduced me to this book.  With every turn of the page you see the horse gallop, or a chicken walk or even a monkey swing from vine to vine!  The animals actually move and fluidly glide across the page!  This is a beautifully inventive and wild book that entertains many, many times over!

 

While waiting for my show to start I heard 2 little girls in the front of the crowd talking.  They weren’t discussing anything in general but I overheard this and thought it was funny enough to pass on…

Girl 1: “Hey, ask me why the chicken crossed the road.”

Girl 2: “Why did the chicken cross the road?”

Girl 1: “I have no idea.”

See?  Wasn’t that funny?   I laughed for a while just thinking about that!

Alright, maybe you had to be there…

The 2008 Caldecott and Newbery Medals were awarded a bit ago.  With my love and passion for children’s literature I thought that I’d pass on the news to you!

Caldecott Medals:

Winner!: The Invention of Hugo Cabret (link in image above)
See the other winners here

Newbery Medals:

Winner!: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
See the other winners here

 

My first Library show of the new year started off with a really fun and energetic crowd in Wapole!  About 50 people joined me to hear Wolf and Moose and to hear a different, personalized take on the 3 bears.  One of my favorite adapted classics.  I also was able to take some time afterward to slip into the Norwood New England Comics afterward so I could pick up some Incredible Hulk comics.  If you were not aware, I am a huge Hulk fan.  In fact, this February I will be displaying part of my vast Incredible Hulk collection at the Plymouth Library.  When you come to see the Big Ryan show you can also check out some of my favorite pieces!

If any library is interested in having me display part of my collection please email me at ryanstalltales@hotmail.com and I would be more than happy to set up a time to “show off” my vast collection.

By the way, I know I look a little Grizzly Adams in these pictures, I have since shaved the beard.  With all the warmer weather we were getting I shaved it off Sunday morning.  Right before my wife informed me that we were getting a huge snowstorm on Monday.  Which we did.  Doh!

  

I was able to tell some stories for the children of Little People’s College on Christmas Eve.  They thanked me by sending me some great pictures they drew of me and the stories I told.  I will be creating a whole new page to showcase some of the Big Ryan art I’ve received over the years.  Keep an eye out!

Check out the sidebar for a new page titled “Be Your Own Storyteller!”  The page is filled with answers to alot of the questions I get and my own personal beliefs of what storytelling means to me.  Also, my ideas on what you can do to be your very own storyteller!

Before I tell you about this great winter time tale I just want to mention, when I started this quest of blogging about all the great children’s books I’ve seen and read, and promoting them on my site, as well as the authors and publishing companies I always enjoy seeing the authors sites.  Some authors don’t have sites – but a lot do – and every book that I promote also tells you the author’s name at the top there – and if you click on the name of the author you can visit their site (if they have one).  I have visited Jane Yolen’s site and it is one of the best and most informative sites I’ve been on.  Please check it out.

This month I decided to talk about Jane Yolen’s perfect witer time tale, Owl Moon.  The book captures a cold, winter walk through the woods searching for a glimpse of an owl so vividly, you might want to wear a jacket when you read it.  By the way – the child in the book is a little girl – not that Jane Yolen wanted you to know that.  It says so on her site.  So, again, check it out!  

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday!  This is a picture of me with my nephew Nicholas (who is wearing 2 different socks) on Christmas morning.  I had been lacking in the blogs area this December – sorry about that – it has been awfully busy and I’ve been trying to line up an exciting and fun-filled 2008 for all of my fans out there!  Keep an eye on the Upcoming Shows page – it is filling up fast! 

If you are to check out my Heroes blog (on the side there) you will see a blog about one of my favorite storytellers – Bill Harley.  And below is a comment from Nathan, a 7 year old who likes my stories - and likes Bill Harley’s as well.  And then he adds that Bill Harley’s website is better (it’s okay, I like his better too!) because you can listen to stuff on his.  While I don’t have sound clips available yet – I do have quick videos for people to check out on the Videos Page – with more on the way!  Take some time and enjoy them!

2008 will be bringing some exciting developments I’m working on a Big Ryan’s Tall Tales DVD and a new CD due out some time at the end of the year!  Also, Big Ryan will be hosting a children’s workshop called “Building Stories” this summer.  Please email me at ryanstalltales@hotmail.com if you are interested in finding out about this amazing workshop.  See you real soon!

– Big Ryan