Product Description

The DreamStarter Book is an exciting and innovative way to unlock children's creativity and imaginations. Jennifer Karin Sidford has written the beginning of fifty tales, each crafted to whet children's interest and encourage creative thinking. Simply read a story starter to a child and watch the magic as he or she shapes a whole world of possibilities. Kids can either finish the story orally, or they can write their stories down. Open the door to a child's imagination with this collection of great beginnings. Whether used at home, on vacation, or in the classroom, DreamStarters is a great way to inspire young minds. For parents, grandparents, teachers, camp counselors, and babysitters, or anyone who lives, works, or plays with children, The DreamStarter Book is an indispensable and fun way to connect with kids. Besides being fun, getting kids involved in storytelling promotes listening skills and encourages them to improvise and construct their own narratives. Permitting and encouraging children to be verbally active...fosters concentration, effort, problem-solving, and task success, says Alix Spiegel of National Public Radio. It also promotes make-believe play, which Susan Linn, author of The Case for Make Believe, says is crucial to human development. The link, she says, between play, creativity, and health is undeniable. Storytelling can also pique a child's interest in reading, writing, and speaking. It builds vocabulary and comprehension while improving communication skills. According to Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, professional storytellers and authors of the book Children Tell Stories: Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom, storytelling improves self-esteem and expressive language skills. It also helps children learn poise and techniques for gaining and holding an audience's attention. Allowing children to be children and to share their imaginative worlds with other children as well as adults is what The DreamStarter Book is all about. Let the magical journey begin.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #231202 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 80 pages

Review
As a Family Meal Planning Expert, I am continuously reminding my clients of the importance of not only eating a meal together, but also spending time in quality conversations. For any parent who treasures their child, I highly recommend DreamStarters as an indispensable tool to help you connect, communicate, and have fun as a family. --Christine Steendahl, Owner of Dine Without Whine

As a Family Meal Planning Expert, I am continuously reminding my clients of the importance of not only eating a meal together, but also spending time in quality conversations. For any parent who treasures their child, I highly recommend DreamStarters as an indispensable tool to help you connect, communicate, and have fun as a family. --Christine Steendahl, Owner of Dine Without Whine

As a Family Meal Planning Expert, I am continuously reminding my clients of the importance of not only eating a meal together, but also spending time in quality conversations. For any parent who treasures their child, I highly recommend DreamStarters as an indispensable tool to help you connect, communicate, and have fun as a family. --Christine Steendahl, Owner of Dine Without Whine

As a Family Meal Planning Expert, I am continuously reminding my clients of the importance of not only eating a meal together, but also spending time in quality conversations. For any parent who treasures their child, I highly recommend DreamStarters as an indispensable tool to help you connect, communicate, and have fun as a family. --Christine Steendahl, Owner of Dine Without Whine What an exciting way to encourage a child to let her imagination run free all the while turning the tables on who is the storyteller as we become the spellbound listeners in a loving, adventurous exchange. DreamStarters belongs in every grandparent s basket of surprises. --Wendy Reid Crisp, Editor-in-Chief, GRAND, The Magazine for Grandparents With compassionate insight and immediacy, Jennifer Karin Sidford gives children the opportunity to explore and share their innermost feelings, in addition to offering parents a glimpse at this most intimate process. DreamStarters is a book parents will cherish. --Jan Nealer, PhD in family therapy, and contributor to 101 More Interventions in Family Therapy

What an exciting way to encourage a child to let her imagination run free all the while turning the tables on who is the storyteller as we become the spellbound listeners in a loving, adventurous exchange. DreamStarters belongs in every grandparent s basket of surprises. --Wendy Reid Crisp, Editor-in-Chief, GRAND, The Magazine for Grandparents

What an exciting way to encourage a child to let her imagination run free all the while turning the tables on who is the storyteller as we become the spellbound listeners in a loving, adventurous exchange. DreamStarters belongs in every grandparent s basket of surprises. --Wendy Reid Crisp, Editor-in-Chief, GRAND, The Magazine for Grandparents

What an exciting way to encourage a child to let her imagination run free all the while turning the tables on who is the storyteller as we become the spellbound listeners in a loving, adventurous exchange. DreamStarters belongs in every grandparent s basket of surprises. --Wendy Reid Crisp, Editor-in-Chief, GRAND, The Magazine for Grandparents

About the Author
As a working mom, Jennifer Karin Sidford understands how easy it is to overlook kids needs for quality time when the laundry needs to be done, the dishes have to be washed, and homework must be reviewed. DreamStarters, Sidford says, was born at bedtime when her children would ask her to tell a story, and, drained from a long day, she would begin a story then ask her kids to tell her what happened next. What began as a solution to her own lack of creativity at the end of the day is now a continuing source of new ideas and a favorite family tradition. Sidford lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts where she writes for a living. Her previous books include Letters to a Girl and The Bear Who Loves Halloween. She is also a columnist and has had a twenty-year career in advertising and public relations. Her passion for writing be it a press release, an advertisement, a column, or a short story stems from her love of reading. Growing up in Vermont, Sidford's mother instilled in her daughter a love for reading very early on. They read every night and brought vocabulary words to the dinner table for discussion. My earliest influence, without question, was E.B. White, she says. Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and Trumpet of the Swan were all books my mom brought home for me. I treasured each one. Sidford envisions DreamStarters being a series with its own Web site where children can get new starters and share their own. She is constantly writing starters for the series. Because she works all day, she ends up writing at the hockey rink, on long car rides, and on vacation. But, her three sons keep her inspired, and storytelling has even made its way to the dinner table. We found it s a great way to keep our kids engaged at the table a few precious minutes more, Sidford says. Even my teenager stayed to present his own plot twists! Sidford lives in Newburyport with her husband and three sons in a 200-year-old home that was once inhabited by sea captains.

Customer Reviews

Great creative resource for kids
Children delight in using their imaginations, but seem to spend more and more time watching television and playing video games. One of the ways you can coax them away from pre-programmed entertainment is by using The DreamStarter Book.

This book is a collection of 50 story beginnings, designed to spark curiosity. Each story starter has a protagonist or two and a unique situation, like an open doorway to someplace mysterious, or a curious object. Once the setting is established, children are given the opportunity to take this story wherever they'd like, using their own imagination.

These story starters can be used as a replacement for the traditional bedtime story, letting the child participate in its creation. Or it could be used in a classroom setting, on long car trips, and around a campfire or the dinner table.

Using the imagination stretches the child's ability to solve problems in other areas, since it gives them the flexibility to explore unseen options. Since this book can be used in a group setting, it also gives children a way to interact with each other in a healthy and productive manner.

The DreamStarter Book would be a wonderful addition to any child's library. A fun way for them to be creative, it encourages them to tap into their natural quest for adventure. And although the author didn't intend it as such, it's also a great way for writers to stretch their imaginations - especially those who write for children. The story starters may not lead directly to publishable works, but they might spark some great new ideas.

Reviewer: Alice Berger, Bergers Book Reviews

Great for travel
I travel a lot with my son and he loves when we make up stories. However, even this creative mom gets stuck as to how to start them in a manner that would capture his attention on a long plane ride. That's where Dreamstarter comes in. One thing I did was to customize the stories by using my son's name or working in bits to make the stories relevant to our blended family. This is also something older siblings can do with their younger ones. Defnitely pack this in your next travel bag. (Being a paperback is a plus for travel.)

A great way to make car rides fun
Every summer, we take our kids to our summer house in Canada -- about an 11 hour drive from our home in Massachusetts. And each and every summer, we scratch our heads as we try to come up with things we can all do in the car together to pass the time without having to rely on yet another DVD. This summer, we brought along Jennifer Karin's DreamStarter Book, and what a wild, entertaining ride it was!