Have you ever played the game “Telephone,” where one person whispers a message and it travels around the circle until it comes back sounding completely different? Stories work the same way. As they’re passed from person to person—and from place to place—they stretch, twist, and grow into new versions. The stories in this book show just how powerful that “story grapevine” can be. Many of these tales have been traveling for hundreds of years. Some appear in different countries all over the world, each with its own special twist. All of them are fun to read aloud, and even more fun to tell in your own voice.

Anyone who teaches, lead, or speaks in public has had the experience of needing to fill short...

The author grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina listening to stories that many kids in America had never heard before. He didn’t realize it at the time, but he was learning old tales that had traveled across the ocean with Scots‑Irish families long ago. In the 1950s, people in the Appalachian Mountains were still telling these stories, most of them about a clever, brave, and sometimes very lucky character named Jack. Versions of Jack appear in almost every culture, which makes him feel familiar no matter where you’re from.

Anyone who has ever watched a great storyteller hold a whole room spellbound—without costumes, sets, or music—has probably wondered how they do it. This collection explains the secret: it all starts with a really good story. And the 40 storytellers in this book know exactly what that means. They’re some of the most beloved tellers in the country, each sharing a tale that’s been tested on even the squirmiest, most hard‑to‑please audiences.