Storyteller 'wows' young listeners

By Crystal Hancock

Herald-Tribune

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- The Nevada Public Library conducted its weekly "Wowsome Wednesdays" mystery program for several children at the Nevada Community Center.

This week's special guest was Jo Ho, a storyteller from Overland Park, Kan. Her performance was packed with audience participation and with a unique, theatrical style of her own, she invited the listeners to participate in songs, chants and role-playing. The participants in this week's program seemed to be having a great time singing along with her to all of her mystery songs and listening to her stories, animation and all.

Ho is an accomplished storyteller, actress and drama instructor performing with the Minneapolis Children's Theatre, Theatre for Young America in Kansas City, Playmaker's of Baton Rouge, La., and The Alliance for Drama Education in Honolulu, Hawaii. According to her Web site, in 1989, Ho created "Granny Bear Tales," a storytelling company for all ages with collections of folktales, fairytales, holiday stories and curriculum enhancement stories. She has spent the last 15 years telling stories at schools, libraries and festivals including the Annual Historic Storytelling Festival in Atlanta, Ga. (1992), Louisiana's Earth Day and Zippity Zoo Day from 1993-96, The Bankoh Talk Story Festival in Honolulu in 1998, Kansas City's Storytelling Celebration from 2001-2003, The Nebraska Storytelling Festival in Omaha in 2002, the Kansas Storytelling Festival in Downs in 2003, and the Annual Arts Festival in Garden City, Kan., in 2003. Ho appeared as a guest storyteller for the Kansas City Shakespeare Festival in 2004 and 2005. She is a member of the River and Prairie Story Weavers in Kansas City and the National Storytelling Association. Ho was chosen as the Johnson County Libraries Performing Artist of the Summer 2002 and is currently serving as a Kansas Touring Artist for the Kansas Arts Commission.

"It's a mystery to me" was the name of the program that Ho performed for the participants at the library program Wednesday.

How did the tiger get her stripes? Why do birds fly south for the winter? Why is an elephant's trunk so long and who is that man in the moon? These mysterious questions and more were answered by the storyteller as she told tales of how things came to be.

Folklore from different cultures and original child-authored stories made up the mystery-solving storytelling program. The audience was full of smiles during the entire program and some of the parents even managed to bust a giggle or two. Overall, Ho was very entertaining and the audience was pleased to have her as their guest.

For more information on this incredibly entertaining storyteller, contact Ho at joho@johostoryteller.com.