There is a fundamental absurdity in our work, which is that we have no more expertise or talent than you do. We've just put in the time (as have many others).

We've also had the great fortune of presenting the essential components of storytelling in a concise and compelling way. In other words, we are the bearers of an important message, not its creators.

That message is this - humans evolved the storytelling skill to share information and build relationships. Everyone does it. You do it. It's part of what we are as human beings, as essential as walking on two feet.

The joyful part of this message is that by sharing stories with our families and friends we can build the relationships and intimacy we crave. Contrary to all the marketing and hype of the modern era, we're not really searching for a powerful narrative. We're searching for connection.

Seeding A Storytelling Community

This vision is broad in scope, and we expect it to proceed in stages over many years. Because we're imperfect.

• A More Engaged Form of Social Media

• An Interactive Hub

• We Recede to the Background

A More Engaged Form of Social Media

We created a Patreon page to foster a lively community of parents and storytellers. By joining us on Patreon, you will have multiple avenues to share feedback and get support - not just from us, but a growing community of like-minded folks. We are excited to be working with people who are truly interested in storytelling and its applications in our regular lives. This is not a community for professionals (though of course professionals are welcome) - it's a level playing field.

We will be developing new stories and podcasts based on that conversation. In time, we plan to create a platform where you, our listeners and collaborators, can share your work and the work of other parents, educators, and creatives around the world. A hub of sorts, connecting parents and children with storytellers, stories, and a font of good advice from diverse sources (not just ours).

By subscribing to Patreon, you help make this possible. It creates a feedback loop that also feeds us. We're real people, with real needs, and if you've ever been on the production side of website, video, audio, email, social media, and blog articles, you will understand how much energy goes into that without receiving much in return (save emojis).

The internet has made it so that many of us (including ourselves) expect most things to come for free. But this impoverishes those of us unwilling to resort to paid advertising.

By creating a community of willing supporters, we give our listeners a more direct route to our ears and hearts, and we also create a means of support for ourselves.

In time, we believe the feedback loop from our book, stories, and workshops will be more than enough to support us, allowing us to slowly fade to the background and let others step forward. That's our hope at least.

To make it worth it for new members, we are also using Patreon to share audio stories for children and our podcast on storytelling for adults. You will also get access to live puppet shows, stories, and other interactive events, as well as an invite to an exclusive Facebook Group just for Patreon members.

Honestly, all of this is awkward, because in order to promote diverse storytelling within our families and communities (our ultimate goal), we need to present ourselves as storytellers and keepers of wisdom so that we can feed our bellies. It's a bit of rouse. A story if you will.

But all of this work, even our own stories, is intended to be an example, an inspiration, and a source of information - so that you are empowered to tell your own. You already have everything it takes.

Our ultimate and final goal is healthy children and families of every variety. Our goal is a healthy planet.

A Summary of Our 2021 Launch

• Audio Stories for Children

• Podcast on Storytelling Topics for Adults

• Interactive Community

Thank you for supporting How to Tell Stories to Children. We are excited to announce a major expansion in 2021.

In less than 2 years, we went from a little self-published book to receiving endorsements from Dr. Jane Goodall and many New York Times bestselling authors and parenting guides, and becoming one of the best-selling parenting books on Amazon - now translated into 9 languages.

About Us

SILKE (silk-uh) ROSE West, is a Waldorf teacher who has taught kindergarten for over thirty years. In 1995 she cofounded the Taos Waldorf School, and in 2015 she pioneered the first forest kindergarten in Northern New Mexico. She is renowned for her puppet shows and storytelling and consults with schools nationally.

JOSEPH SAROSY is the founder of The Juniper School, an outdoor school comprised of grades 1-3. He is a freelance writer for Fatherly, and in 2019 he self-published A Father’s Life, a finalist in the 2019 NIEA Awards. He works with men and fathers locally, and created the #Greatdad campaign to highlight great fathers across the nation. His blog The Storytelling Loop has been read by over 70,000 people worldwide.

How to Tell Stories to Children - The Book

We first published How to Tell Stories to Children in August of 2019 with a hand-drawn cover from a dear friend. Since that humble beginning, we have gained the endorsement of Jane Goodall, many New York Times bestselling authors (like parenting guide Steve Biddulph), and become one of the best-selling parenting books on Amazon.

A new edition is due out from Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt in over 50 countries in June 2021. The original, self-published edition is no longer available, but we will be sharing updates about the new release (and special offers) here and on Patreon.

The Big Picture

If you've made it this far down, then you obviously have an interest in storytelling. Our work, even including our new series of audio stories, is all designed to help you and others awaken to a simple fact - you are already a good storyteller.

While we have experienced a lot of success with this book and our stories, our richest success lies with our own children and students. That is the ultimate message - telling stories isn't about coming up with some powerful narrative, it's about connecting with your loved ones in deep and lasting ways.

Our desire is to help you awaken to the beautiful intimacy that comes when you and your children explore your imaginations together. There are few things sweeter in life, and we wish you as much success with your family as we have had in ours.

Joe & Silke