SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

February 7, 2022 by Amanda MacGregor

Crick, Crack: Fantasy, Folklore and Black Storytelling Traditions, a guest post by Lisa Stringfellow

February 7, 2022 by Amanda MacGregor   2 comments

Human beings love stories and use them to process and interpret the world around us. They teach, entertain, and help connect us through shared identity. In cultures around the world, storytelling has been passed down through oral rather than written traditions. In A Comb of Wishes, storytelling is central to the lives of the characters and part of the culture of the fictional island of St. Rita, much like it still is in the Caribbean and other parts of the world.

Image by Catharina77 from Pixabay

Oral Storytelling in the Black Tradition

In her article “Show Don’t Tell: a Universal Truth or a Colonial Relic?” writer Namrata Poddar questions how Western storytelling traditions differ from those of many immigrants of color and wonders, “[A]re we, in 21st-century America, overvaluing a sight-based approach to storytelling? And could this be another case of cultural particularity masquerading itself as universal taste?”

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

As a first generation child of an immigrant from Barbados, this question resonates with me. Western culture privileges print over spoken words, but my experience from both my West Indian and Southern heritage is rooted in storytelling and spoken traditions that don’t always conform to traditional Western formats. Interestingly, a recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that our brains do not distinguish between stories read in print or heard orally, both stimulate the same cognitive and emotional areas regardless of their medium.

I wanted to reclaim and celebrate the oral tradition in my middle grade novel A Comb of Wishes. The importance of dialect, cadence, and rhythm, and in particular the interaction between the audience and storyteller, is central to oral storytelling.

In the African and the Black diaspora, storytelling is a participatory event and one that requires interaction from both the teller and the hearer of the tale. This can be seen in many aspects of Black culture, such as the call and response structure of sermons within the Black church, as well as storytelling for entertainment, and it harks back to the tradition of griots in many parts of West Africa. In the Caribbean, many islands have traditional ways of beginning and ending a story, story frames, that serve as cues for listeners. “Crick, Crack” (sometimes written as “Krik Krak”) is one such frame that I use throughout my book.

As part of my research for A Comb of Wishes, I interviewed storyteller Diane Ferlatte who shared her experience and knowledge. In her words, “Storytelling comes from the African tradition and is not a spectator sport. We participate and sing the songs together. Some [audience members] are reluctant but others help to tell it together.” Storytellers use language that is full of imagery and symbolism, but which also places them in the role of performer, and they often act out the roles of various characters in the stories.

Ferlatte highlighted the work of renowned author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, who captured many stories told in Black communities in the South and in the Caribbean. Sometimes stories were coded, through jokes and riddles, and shared information that was for those inside the community. This was a way to say things that couldn’t be said outright, especially when told in white or mixed groups. Story was a way to keep history and culture alive.

This tradition of oral storytelling is continued in the United States by storytellers like Donna Washington and Beverly Burnette, who share traditional and original oral stories and keep the tradition flourishing within the Black community.

Photo by David Cain on Unsplash

Oral Storytelling in A Comb of Wishes

In A Comb of Wishes, I wanted to create the feeling of a story-within-a-story. The novel is told in dual points of view, from the mermaid Ophidia and the protagonist Kela.

Each of the chapters in Ophidia’s voice start with the word, “Crick, Crack. This is a story.” Those opening words set up an expectation in the reader and automatically invoke a fairy or folktale quality to what comes next, usually something magical and mysterious.

Each of Ophidia’s chapters also end with the words, “The story is put on you.” According to Jamaican storyteller Amina Blackwood Meeks, a similar phrase, “I put it on you,” is often a traditional closing in Yoruban folktales. I liked the circular ending of these chapters and the added idea that the story was open for interpretation by the listener once it had been told. As storytellers, written or oral, once our stories leave us, they are out of our power and in the hands of our audience.

The other chapters in the novel are told from Kela’s point of view and the counterpoint between the real and fantastical adds to the tension of the story. When Kela and Ophidia finally meet in person, it is a literal collision of worlds. The chapter “The Other Side of the Mirror” makes Kela feel like she is in one of her mother’s stories and brings the reader along for the ride.

The final chapter of the book is in Kela’s point of view, but it ends with the familiar ending readers have seen throughout the book in Ophidia’s sections, “Crick, Crack. The story is put on you.”

What is the meaning of this story for readers of A Comb of Wishes? As the storyteller, I can’t wait to find out!

Meet the author

Image credit: Carter Hasegawa

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Lisa Stringfellow writes middle grade fiction and has a not-so-secret fondness for fantasy with a dark twist. Her debut fantasy A Comb of Wishes will be published on February 8, 2022 by HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books. It was selected as an ABA Indies Introduce title for Winter/Spring 2022 and Lisa received the inaugural Kweli Color of Children’s Literature Manuscript Award in 2019 for the novel manuscript. Her work often reflects her West Indian and Black southern heritage. Lisa is a middle school teacher and lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her children and two bossy cats.

Website: https://lisastringfellow.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EngageReaders

About A Comb of Wishes

Set against the backdrop of Caribbean folklore, Lisa Stringfellow’s spellbinding middle grade debut tells of a grieving girl and a vengeful mermaid and will enchant readers who loved Kacen Callender’s Hurricane Child or Christian McKay Heidicker’s Scary Stories for Young Foxes.

Ever since her mother’s death, Kela feels every bit as broken as the shards of glass, known as “mermaid’s tears,” that sparkle on the Caribbean beaches of St. Rita. So when Kela and her friend Lissy stumble across an ancient-looking comb in a coral cave, with all she’s already lost, Kela can’t help but bring home her very own found treasure. 

Far away, deep in the cold ocean, the mermaid Ophidia can feel that her comb has been taken. And despite her hatred of all humans, her magic requires that she make a bargain: the comb in exchange for a wish.

But what Kela wants most is for her mother to be alive. And a wish that big will exact an even bigger price…

Don’t miss the novel that Newbery-winning author Kelly Barnhill calls “one of the most promising works of fiction in a long time”!

ISBN-13: 9780063043435
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 02/08/2022
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
folkloreGuest postsoral traditionStorytelling

About Amanda MacGregor

Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on Twitter @CiteSomething.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

May 2023

Have Some New 2023 Mysteries and Thrillers by Riley Jensen

by Amanda MacGregor

April 2023

Behind the Recipes in the WINNIE ZENG Series, a guest post by author Katie Zhao

by Amanda MacGregor

April 2023

A Vanishing of Authors, a guest post by S. A. Patrick

by Amanda MacGregor

April 2023

Your Body Belongs to You, guest post by Ruchira Gupta

by Amanda MacGregor

April 2023

Cindy Crushes Programming: Unicorn Photo Frame

by Amanda MacGregor

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Watch The Yarn LIVE with Kate DiCamillo at ALA!

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: Papá’s Magical Water-Jug Clock by Jesús Trejo, ill. Eliza Kinkz

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Squire & Knight | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

More Mock-Newbery Titles Needed: Share June Suggestions Now

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Why Sad Books are Vital in Kidlit, a guest post by Cassandra Newbould

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Trying Something New: SPEED ROUND w/ Marla Frazee, Doug Salati, Dan Santat, and Amina Luqman-Dawson

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

17 Middle Grade Titles for Latinx Heritage Month (and All Year-Round)

16 Realistic Middle Grade Novels That Reflect the Lives & Triumphs of Tweens | Summer Reading 2020

22 Latinx Middle Grade Titles Filled with Magic, Found Family, and More

From Red Herrings to Whodunits: 14 Awesome Middle Grade Mysteries | Summer Reading 2020

Books in Verse: These middle grade works speak to the heart through lyrical language | Great Books

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Review: A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow - The Story Sanctuary says:
    February 11, 2022 at 7:01 am

    […] The writing in this book hooked me right away. The chapters from Ophidia’s point-of-view are mysterious and otherworldly. Kela’s chapters felt packed with emotion and anchored in the island setting of the town where she lives. I loved the way the author celebrates oral storytelling through A COMB OF WISHES. The chapters from Ophidia’s POV begin and end with a traditional story cue: “Crick. Crack.” The author explains more about this in her guest post at Teen Librarian Toolbox. […]

  2. This week’s round-up of mg sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (2/13/14) – Book Library says:
    February 13, 2022 at 9:54 am

    […] “Accepting the limitations of adulthood in children’s books.” by Gabriela Houston (The Wind Child), at  Alittlebutalot “Crick, Crack: Fantasy, Folklore and Black Storytelling Traditions” by Lisa Stringfellow (A Comb of Wishes) at Teen Librarian Toolbox […]

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023