Stories From Around the World, an innovative new concept in children's video, is gaining enthusiastic acceptance by children, parents, and reviewers. At the 17th Annual Telly Awards held in July, three bronze Telly Awards were presented to three programs in this unique storytelling series.

Stories From Around the World is a series created by National Training Network that presents internationally known master storytellers enthralling studio audiences of children with the power of the spoken word and Evely expressions. The stories are classic themes with roots from around the world. Many stories are well known favorites, while others may be new to most viewers. Some are thousands of years old.

Dr. Brian Enright, president of National Training Network and creator of the series, attributes the success of the tapes to their unique simplicity. A small studio audience of attentive children is gathered around the storyteller. Cameras capture the p erformance and the reactions of the children with their eyes wide open in wonder.

"Unlike much of commercial programming for children, Stories From Around the World draws the viewers into his or her own imagination," says Enright. "We simply capture the power of the storyteller with no cartoons, no special effects, and timed at a pace that keeps children interested.'

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African-American Stories (4/30 Min. programs in English)
Features Jackie Torrence, internationally acclaimed storyteller, sharing some of her favorite stories from her collection of African-American stories. Jackie explains that these stories had their roots in Africa and that when African tellers arrived in America their stories were inter-wined with Native-American stories and European stories to become what we now call African-American stories

Asian-American Stories (4/30 Min. programs in English)
Features a solo performance of Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo of Eth-Noh-Tec, the nationally acclaimed "tandem telling" duo from San Francisco. Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, a storyteller/musician, shares some of his favorite performances of folktales and myths from various Asian cultures. An American of Filipino and Japanese ancestry, Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo explains that although these stories have their roots in Asia, his style of performance, musicality, and lyricism is truly a weaving of traditional Asian influences and contemporary American culture. Robert Kikucbi-Yugojo performs regularly with Ws partner, Nancy Wang. Together they formed Eth-Noh-Tec, whose purpose is to celebrate their culture through storytelling, movement, theater, and music. These programs feature stories that were chosen because of their humor, wit, and social message.

Native-American Stories (4/30 Min. programs in English)
Features Johnny Moses, nationally acclaimed storyteller, sharing some of his favorite stories from his, collection of Native-American stories. Johnny Moses learned his stories, called the teachings, as part of his traditional Indian education. He augments his tales with traditional singing, drumming, dancing, and audience participation.