Research Catalog

Title

The stories children tell : making sense of the narratives of childhood / Susan Engel.

Author

Engel, Susan L., 1959-

Publication

[New York, N.Y.] : W.H. Freeman, ©1995.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 244 pages; 25 cm

Summary

In The Stories Children Tell, developmental psychologist Susan Engel examines the methods and meanings of children's narratives. She offers a fascinating look at one of the most exciting areas in modern psychology and education. What is really going on when a child tells or writes a story? Engel's insights into this provocative question are drawn from the latest research findings and dozens of actual children's tales - compelling, funny, sometimes disturbing stories often of unexpected richness and beauty. In The Stories Children Tell, Susan Engel examines the different functions of storytelling, the way the storytelling process changes as children develop, the contributions of parents and peers to storytelling, the different types of stories children tell, the development of a child's narrative voice, and the best ways of nurturing a child's storytelling skills. Throughout these discussions, Engel presents compelling evidence for what is perhaps her most intriguing idea: that in constructing stories, children are constructing themselves.

Subject

• Symbolism (Psychology) in children
• Storytelling ability in children
• Vertelkunst
• Kinderen
• Betekenis
• Imagination in children

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-237) and index.

Contents

1. The World of Children's Stories -- 2. Why Children Tell Stories -- 3. Perspectives on Narrative -- 4. The Kinds of Stories Children Tell -- 5. The Origins of Storytelling -- 6. Developing a Narrative Voice -- 7. We Are the Stories We Tell -- 8. Fostering Narrative Development.

ISBN

• 0716723824
• 9780716723820

LCCN

94038217

OCLC

• ocm31377112
• 31377112
• SCSB-2066142

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library