How to Tell a Story: 1 Book + 20 Story Blocks = A Million Adventures Paperback – September 22, 2015

This is a great educational and fun book/game. My 8-year-old son loves it. It is written in a fun way and the activities are broken down to slowly teach you the art of storytelling. If you do a small section for each lesson, it basically unfolds similar to a curriculum. It sparked my own creativity and this is something I can see will be valuable to my son now but also when he is older. It is fun for all ages; the level of complexity or depth that one can go into will just vary depending on one’s age. This is appropriate for kids and teens alike —- and fun for us adults as well.I will add — don’t just hand this to your kid; play it with them. Dialogue and conversation is what makes this fun, although some kids might enjoy independent writing. But most people benefit from engaging with others or at least sharing their work. Younger kids will definitely need extra help getting going, such as your own examples.Also, having both the book and the hands-on blocks are a great learning tool for kids to keep them engaged. I saw a review that said the blocks were poor quality and that almost made me decide against the game. I am glad I gave it a chance — the blocks are cardboard but are sturdy and good quality. I am not sure what the person wanted for the price, but unless they got a used game, they are perfectly fine. And unless your kid is throwing them, smashing them or chewing them, they should hold up just fine, like any game. Have your kids simply roll them and focus on the storytelling fun.My son can’t wait to play again tomorrow and I see a great deal of value in the lessons, short-term and long-term.

This is cute. I use these story cubes with my son and we have a good time coming up with our own little stories. Originally I thought the book was going to have stories in it and you use the cubes to insert words to make the stories different every time. That is not the case. The book is really teaching you how to write a story and it does give you some games that can help you learn the principles the book explains. We don't really ever use the book though and we just enjoy using the cubes to come up with our little tales.

I love this game story book. Got it a couple weeks ago and have used it twice already. Through the use of blocks, images and color, it provides a structure for kids and families to share in the creative art of storytelling. This reminds me of a more sophisticated, imagnative and versatile form of AdLibs that I have played with my kids at times except in this game the players construct their own story Through this game kids learn to trust their creative powers and to practice telling exciting and creative stories. The images and colors on the blocks easily prompt the players to combine subject, action and descriptive words giving them license to be creative and unusually crazy, inspiring and/or philosophical if they like. If players do not know the parts of speech it is a great way for them to be introduced to them. Story telling techniques are also introduced. A good way to use this is for families to play this together. Parents can get a good idea what kids are thinking even. This is a good way for families to spend a snowy evening together or for siblings to do something other than stare at a screen.

Since this arrived it has become our favorite family game/activity. We love that it engages a wide age range (we have 7, 9 and 12 year olds) not to mention my wife and I have a ton of fun with it too! The instruction book is really an insightful and inspiring class in story writing, that makes the game come to life even more as you try different aspects of the story building process. Or for a quick game just have fun making up stories with the absolutely marvelously illustrated blocks with a bounty of imaginative storytelling elements! We continue to find new aspects of this book/blocks that we learn, laugh and grow with! Truly a new experience every time! Workman Publishing produces the most unique interactive books and this one is a gem among their treasure trove! We are certainly going to be hoping for a PART 2 of this!

I bought this as a literacy game for my pre-k child’s year at home. We have similar story telling cubes/games that she enjoys and I thought this would be a fun addition. The artwork on the cubes are nice and there are a lot of options. The color coding noun/verbs is a great idea and something I haven’t seen on other sets. There are games in the book but they’re interspersed in a long narrative of how to play the game making it hard to follow and my youngest loses interest as I’m glossing over the ‘instructions’ to find where the game picks up again. I am planning to read through the book on my own and come up with a few clear and concise games. The book reads as the author’s brainstorming session about how the cubes could be used where I wish they would have done the work to edit this into a few games.

Wow,this is much more involved than I first thought! My eight year old and I are enjoying reading through the book together,rolling the dice and creating the story. That is the extent of what I thought I was buying. But this creative little game is also a mini course on Creative Writing. While you are rolling dice to see where the mermaid wants to go,you're also exploring the values,backstory and motivation of your antagonist. You're dissecting conflict,where to place it in the story and how each character will resolve it based in the rest of the information. And that's literally just the Beginning of the story. This is a fantastic find for me,a homeschooling mom with a kid who loves telling stories and is prone to be more visual and kinesthetic then strictly language-driven. Even a young teen would learn new ideas from this book/blocks set.

My 6 yr old and I enjoy using the blocks to create our own stories. The book is too advanced, I'll save it for next year. It is a very imaginative activity and my daughter is enthusiastic about developing her stories. My 2 yr old loves looking at and stacking the extra blocks - bonus! We are pleased; it's a stand-out activity in the sea of board games, books and barbies.

Stimulating for children - and adults

A great way to encourage imagination in your little one or to help develop their language skills.

This is a fantastic activity for older children who like to read and write stories. I have a 5 year old and he loves to look at all the pictures on each cube but building a story is a bit more difficult when you follow the booklet.

No complaints.

Not sure how I feel about these blocks.... they are made out of cardboard, so not very durable for little ones. Good concept for teaching sequencing.