10 ENGAGING TEENS WITH STORY
them beneficial in the ways that have already been identified throughout this
chapter. However, as Pappas notes, these games “put people on the spot to
be spontaneous, creative, or witty,” and this can have an alienating effect on
introverts. Nevertheless, in young adult sections that are teeming with the
latest video games and computer technology, and with the focus on digital
storytelling in many schools and libraries, having a storytelling game in which
to seek refuge from the norm is worth the price and the effort it would take
to stimulate interest and engagement in giving it a try.
CONCLUSION
Young adults are natural storytellers every bit as much as young children
are natural storytellers. Though the sense of urgency and responsibility for
the preparation of the teen for life reverberates loudly in the mind and prac-
tice of young adult librarians, the simple yet powerful act of storytelling
should not be overlooked. The programs mentioned in this chapter not only
demonstrate the ease with which many of them are designed and executed,
but also the tangible and intangible effects these programs potentially have
on the levels of confidence, self-perception, and social consciousness of the
millennial and younger generation. Although digital storytelling can be just
as effective an avenue to give voice to the teens who are encouraged to explore
it, the human connection and appreciation of community is much more evi-
dent in the workshops, festivals, classrooms, and forums in racially, ethni-
cally, sexually, and socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods that ensure the
oral tradition in all its manifestations continues to have its place in weaving
our lives together through the stories we share.
NOTES
1. Anne Haas Dyson and Celia Genishi, The Need for Story: Cultural Diversity
in the Classroom (Urbana, IL: Teacher’s College Press, 1994) and others.
2. Gail de Vos, Storytelling for Young Adults: A Guide to Tales for Teens (West-
port, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003), 4–10.
3. “IFLA Guidelines for Library Services for Young Adults,” accessed February 1,
2016. http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/libraries-for-children-and-ya/publications/ya
-guidelines2-en.pdf
4. Ibid., p. 6.
5. “Storytelling and the Common Core Standards: Grades 6–12,” Youth, Educa-
tors and Storytellers Alliance, accessed April 30, 2016. http://yesalliance . org / resources
/storytelling-and-the-common-core-standards
6. Ibid., p. 5.
7. Ibid., p. 12.
8. “Youth and Library Use Study,” American Library Association, accessed Janu-
ary 31, 2016. http://www . ala . org / yalsa / sites / ala . org . yalsa / files / content / professionaltools
/HarrisYouthPoll . pdf
