Kathy Jessup

Readings

Edmonton storyteller Kathy Jessup is totally at ease entering a room full of lively young children. Holding the attention of several hundred students for the better part of an hour might seem daunting to some, but Kathy thrives on the experience. She’s now in to her second decade of entertaining children and over the years she’s performed her original tales in countless schools, libraries, concerts and festivals across Canada. As an experienced entertainer, Kathy tells her stories in a relaxed humorous atmosphere, building an instant rapport with her audiences. Her concerts are “interactive” with ample opportunity for her listeners to participate.

Kathy’s storytelling repertoire includes both original stories and world folktales. When featuring her own work, she loves to share insights into the creative process. Kathy reveals some of the magic, explaining how she starts with an idea then weaves in fact and fiction giving birth to a new story. The power of oral storytelling is not lost on young audiences!

“First I like to capture a child’s interest by telling them a story,” says Kathy. “Once they’re hooked, I take them on a backward journey, so they can understand how the story came to be. It gets them excited about creating their own stories.”
Storytelling concerts can be adapted to accommodate student grade level, time requirements, special requests and particular Curriculum interests (e.g. character education and appreciation of world cultures.)

Special Equipment:

A microphone is required if the audience is large.

Book Sales:

I bring copies of my storytelling CD.

Workshops

Kathy has many years experience presenting her popular creative writing workshops to students from Kindergarten through Grade seven. She has also presented her workshops at Teachers’ Conventions and Professional Development days, receiving stellar reviews.

WORKSHOP: “TELL ME A STORY” ECS to Grade 2
Using a storyboard format, Kathy encourages young children to tell/draw/write their stories in a fun and creative way. During the workshop Kathy guides students while providing many tips and strategies for improving their creative writing skills. This workshop is also popular in ESL and special needs classrooms.

WORKSHOP: “WRITE ON” GRADE 3 to 7
Kathy motivates young writers with this high energy fun workshop. Using creative analogies, she encourages students to write better stories, while emphasizing the basics of a good story plan. During the workshop Kathy shares many practical tips and strategies to help improve creative writing skills.

STORYTELLING WORKSHOP “YOUR TURN” GRADE 4 to 12
In this workshop students discover telling tales can be a good thing---in fact, children are born storytellers! Sometimes they just need a little creative encouragement so they can really “shine.” With Kathy’s help, they’ll discover how to let loose and have fun telling stories. They’ll also learn the ingredients for shaping a good story, come up with their own tale, and gather valuable performance tips.

Note: In this workshop, students must be prepared (and keen!) to perform in front of others.

Special Equipment:

Require typical classroom setting.

Book Sales:

I bring copies of my storytelling CD.

Other Presentations

Biography

Edmonton children’s Writer and Storyteller Kathy Jessup is now into her second decade of entertaining audiences. Over the years she’s performed her original tales in countless schools, libraries, concerts and festivals across Canada--- from Inuvik to Regina, and from Vancouver to Halifax. Kathy’s stories and articles have appeared in various publications including the children’s magazine CHICKADEE, and the Alberta Centennial anthology Under the WideBlue Sky: Alberta Stories to Read and Tell published by Red Deer Press. Kathy’s CD LISTEN UP: Tellable Tales for Hungry Ears features a selection of her original stories for families. You can also hear Kathy on CDs by T.A.L.E.S. (The Alberta League Encouraging Storytelling) including the recently released “Undaunted Enchantments.” When Kathy’s not telling stories, she keeps busy with a number of different workshops including her very popular writing workshops for children. She’s presented “Tell Me A Story” (for Grades K-2) and “Write On!” (for Grades 3-7) to school children throughout Alberta over the past twenty years. Kathy also features these workshops at Teachers’ Conventions and Professional Development Days for educational and literacy organizations. Kathy has been involved in a number of storytelling tours over the years, with a highlight being her visit to Ontario for the 2008 Canadian Children’s Book Centre tour.