Our four year old went through a phase recently where he would much rather have me make up a story than read a book to him. Even though he liked every spur of the minute story I created for him, it put me in a mild panic every time he would suddenly declare “Make up a story!!”
Though it’s not the easiest activity for me, I want to tell our son stories. I still remember lying in the dark in my bedroom as a child, listen to my mother telling me stories about Batman and Robin (I have no idea why these are the ones I requested.) I want him to have those kinds of warm memories too.
I’m also interested in learning ways to make stories come alive to groups of children by telling tales rather than always reading them. You’ll find tips in the post for storytelling to one child or many.

Disclosure: For your convenience this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase items through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
Here are the best tips and resources I’ve discovered for becoming a better storyteller:
1. Pick a main character you know your child will love.
This is especially true if you’re telling the story to a preschool aged child. Create a main character your child knows. Then embellish the character with unusual abilities or funny characteristics. Some possible characters include:
- a family member or friend
- your child
- a pet
- a favorite stuffed animal
- something your child loves (in our house it’s dinosaurs)
- line up some of your child’s favorite figurines or dolls and let her pick one to star in the story.
2. Create your plot.
In Bobbi Conner’s fantastic book Unplugged Play, she suggests creating an ordinary plot for your character and then making something extraordinary happen. She gives an example of stories that take place at the grocery store (familiar) starring Max the Polar Bear, who lives inside the freezer (extraordinary).
You could also have your character take part in a hobby or activity that you have lots of familiarity with. This will make creating your story much easier.
How do you know when your story is finished? Ending with some type of discovery or accomplishment made by your character will help you draw the story to a close. You can always create sequels on different days with your character’s next adventure.
3. Add in some details and dramatic effects.
Part of what makes listening to stories fun is the potential for surprise. When something dramatic is about to happen, be sure to pause to let the momentum build. Think about whether an element like singing, instruments, or movement can help children enter more deeply into the story, whether as listeners or participants. Sprinkle in a few extra details to keep kids attention. For example instead of saying your character was eating lunch, say that he ate a fried banana and pickle sandwich.
4. If making a story up out of thin air is intimidating to you, use a wordless book as a guide.
Coming up with a plot sometimes gives me a bit of trouble when the request for a story is immediate and it’s made at bedtime. That’s when we turn to wordless books. My son also likes to give me books with words and tells me to make up a different story.
Wordless books are also an excellent way for children to build their own storytelling skills, and help them understand plot and strengthen their vocabulary.
Some of our favorite worldess books are:



5. Learn a story that has repetitive elements by heart.
My favorite way to tell a story to a group of children is to choose one that has a repeating pattern, or that includes a line the children can learn and say with me. For example, in The Three Billy Goats Gruff, each billy goat:
- goes trip trapping over the bridge
- says he’s going over the hill to eat and make himself fat
- tells the troll to wait for another, larger billy goat gruff

The repetitive elements make it much easier to remember what happens next in the story. You can also have children help you tell the story by repeating a familiar line like “Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down,” or giving them puppets or other props to use as you tell the story. My favorite story collection for oral storytelling is The Story Tree by Hugh Lupton, because each of the seven folk tales has repetitive elements.

6. Let a group of children become part of the story by making them storytelling cuffs to wear.
Stories that gradually add in characters who do similar things are perfect for this activity. I created storytelling cuffs that you can download for the traditional tale The Gigantic Turnip. I printed them out on card stock, and then taped a character around each child’s wrist. In the story, various people and groups or animals form a chain by wrapping their arms around each others’ waists, trying to pull the enormous vegetable out of the ground.
I let each child choose a cuff to wear. When the child’s character enters the story, he can come to the front of the room, make a noise like the animal, and add himself to the chain of people pulling, heaving, tugging, and yanking the imaginary turnip.
To make cuffs for any story you like, you could make color photocopies on cardstock and cut out the characters. Laminate them, and then add them to a strip of cardstock for your cuffs. To encourage shy children during this activity, ask them to make a noise like the character. When they do, say something like “that’s great! Can you do more, more of that?”
7. Use storytelling cards to come up with multiple stories using the same characters.
My son loves Barefoot Books’ Magic Castle Build a Story cards which can be used in several different ways.
- You can let a child select 7 or 8 cards and have you tell a story using the illustrations. When you’ve finished, have the child help you re-tell the story (with or without embellishments!)
- A group of children can do a “goofy group story.” Shuffle the cards, and then have the youngest child draw a card to tell the story. Other children take turns drawing cards and adding to the plot.
- A child can create a story by herself by selecting cards to make a story. As the child tells the story, put the cards in order so that she can visually see the sequence she is creating.

Do you like telling stories to children or is it difficult for you? Tell us in the comments!

4 responses to “Seven Tips and Tools to Become a Better Storyteller”
Rebekah, I think the information in this post could grow into a great workshop for teachers of young children.
Well that’s definitely something for me to think about! Thanks!
This is great! I consider myself a very creative person, but every time I try to make up a story, I fall short.
So glad it’s helpful!