I Love to Practice; I Hate to Practice

Why is it so hard to get myself to practice? I love telling stories.  I love creating them.  When I’m involved in the magic of a story that’s unfolding just right, I feel like I could go out and hike … Continue reading

Is It True if it Aint on Google?

How far do you go to make sure stories from other lands are authentic? I tell stories every week at Lakeview Preschool here in Oakland.  Each week they “visit” a different country.  I try to have a story from that … Continue reading

How Spiderman Helped Me to be a Storyteller

When I was in junior high school, I started secretly collecting superhero comic books. I was too embarrassed to do it openly since my parents were down on superheroes and I was a good kid. So I’d make my weekly … Continue reading

I Also Teach Math With Stories

I’ve just posted a video where I explain a math concept.  (It’s the formula for summing up an arithmetic series, if you’re interested to know.)  I mention it here because there’s a story to go with it.  The mathematician Gauss … Continue reading

Mysterious Canyons are Scary; Babies are Not

When I was a kid, I used to get scared a lot.  Once, my father tried to make me feel less scared by telling me a little story – but it backfired. He told me, “Mikie, once I woke up … Continue reading

Coming Up with Just the Right Voice for your Puppet

People ask me how I come up with the different voices for my puppets.  Here are some thoughts: Let  the face of the puppet remind  you of someone and talk like they do:   Just today,  I was playing with  this … Continue reading