Posts by storytelleradmin

A letter from Moroccan Storyteller, Mehdi EL Ghaly

Posted by on Jul 19, 2016 in Diversity and Representation, Morocco, Uncategorized | 0 comments

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As-Salaam-Alaikum!

(Peace be unto you)

 

I want to share with you a story about a kid who grew up to be one of his idols.

Not long ago, there was a child, a baby boy, who grew up in a traditional Moroccan house in the old medina of Marrakech. He was so energetic that where ever he went he caused a mess. One night his grandmother told him “I want to tell you a story.” She began with the words “Hajitek Majitek,” which mean “Once upon a time” in Moroccan Arabic. The boy started listening, but eventually he fell asleep in the middle of the story. When he woke up the next day, he asked his grandmother for the rest of the story, but she replied that she would continue the story that evening. From that moment on, every evening, with her stories, his grandmother changed and built something within the boy that he would soon discover.

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The Storyteller Book Launch at Books of Wonder

Posted by on Jul 15, 2016 in Events | 0 comments

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For the launch of The Storyteller, I had the honor of hosting my launch party at the wonderful Manhattan independent children’s bookstore Books of Wonder, and to create a window display for their storefront.

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7 Impossible Things Interview with Evan Turk

Posted by on Jul 15, 2016 in Symbolism, The Art of 'The Storyteller' | 0 comments

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Julie Danielson at “7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast” interviewed The Storyteller creator Evan Turk about the creation of The Storyteller, upcoming projects, making a picture book, and much more! Take a look to see sketches, thumbnails, and even some ceramics!

7 Impossible Things Interview with Evan Turk

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“Visually thrilling” – The Wall Street Journal

Posted by on Jun 27, 2016 in Reviews | 0 comments

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The storytelling traditions of Morocco burst into brilliant swaths of gold and lapis lazuli in the visually thrilling pages of Evan Turk’s “The Storyteller” (Atheneum, 48 page, $18.99). Set in modern times, this picture book for 4- to 8-year-olds begins by evoking a past when stories spun by fabulists brought people together with a force as refreshing and life-giving as the kingdom’s many fountains. “But as the kingdom grew and life became easier…,” we read, “the voices of storytellers were drowned by noise and silenced by age, and one by one the fountains dried up.”

It is in this sere, story-famished Morocco that a thirsty young boy receives, from a stranger, a brass cup. If he can find water, the cup will allow him to share. Soon the boy encounters a withered old man, who spins a tale of drought and treachery and whose words, to the boy’s amazement, leave his cup brimming with water. Over the next days, the man unfurls more stories, each connected to the first, each a wellspring of fresh water. So when a fierce jinni in the form of a sandstorm arrives to menace the city, the boy and the storyteller know what to do: Like Scheherazade, they forestall destruction by telling stories to the jinni. Mr. Turk’s illustrations lend a strange beauty to this tale-within-a-tale-within-a-tale.

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‘The Storyteller’ in Photos – Publisher’s Weekly

Posted by on Jun 18, 2016 in Reviews, The Art of 'The Storyteller' | 0 comments

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Publisher’s Weekly’s “Children’s Bookshelf” recently did a feature photo essay on the creation of ‘The Storyteller’! I talked with them about the inspiration, my trips to Morocco, where I learned some of the techniques, and how the story began! Thank you so much to Natasha Gilmore at PW for reaching out.

 

You can check out a link to see it all below:

Evan Turk’s ‘The Storyteller’ In Photos

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