DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM ON PHONE OR TABLET Introduction Making Stories “Real” “Don’t you remember? . . .” I do remember . . . only Pooh doesn’t very well, so that’s why he likes having it told to him again. Because then it’s a real story and not just a remembering. —A. A. Milne (1996, 18) What is a real story? How might stories come alive and become real for young children? Telling a story requires us to understand and to communicate our perceptions of the story. If we acquire a deep understanding of the plot, charac- ters, setting, problems, solutions, and meanings of new vocabulary words, we can better communicate the story to others. We make the story “real” to our audiences when we add voices, facial expressions, props, and meaning to the retelling. In this book, we’ll embark on a journey in teaching young children the art of story retelling. One child pretends to read a story—a version of story retelling—about Winnie-the-Pooh while another pauses to listen. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL     xi