About the Holiday

Are you a raconteur? Do you love to weave a tale so intricate and intriguing that your listeners are on the edge of their seats? Or are you the one leaning forward, all ears, feeling the tingling thrill of that story? Either way—this day is for you! The Society for Storytelling instituted National Storytelling Week 17 years ago to promote the oral traditions of this art in England and Wales. Since then it has become an international event. So take some time to tell or listen to a story—or even write one of your own!

One Day, The End: Short, Very Short, Shorter-than-Ever Stories

Written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich | Illustrated by Fred Koehler

Hey! I have a fantastic story to tell you! Ya gotta minute? Ok! See… “One day I went to school. I came home. The End” What do you mean, “Is that it?” Don’t you get it?  So many things happened—funny, messy, worrisome, happy. It was an amazing day! I didn’t say that? But it’s all right there! Where? In the middle. In the pictures!

Image copyright Fred Koehler, text copyright, Rebecca Kai Dotlich. Courtesy of Boyds Mills Press

On other days the little girl who so creatively told about her day at school becomes a detective to find her lost dog who’s gone off to chase a squirrel, invents ingenious ways to hide from her brother, and creates something awesome for her mom. She also runs away from home, but of course comes back, and shadows her cat to a surprising discovery. On yet another day mistakes, mishaps, and frustrations just make her feel like stomping. And on still another day she  relents to a much-needed bath…and shares it with her dog!

What does she do after all these adventures? She wants to write a book about them…and she does!

Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s One Day…The End is such an ingenious concept that readers will keep turning the pages just to see what clever idea comes next. Each story consists of a first sentence that introduces a plot and the last line that wraps it up. Sure Dotlich could have fleshed out the characters, detailed the setting, added dialogue, and symbolized a theme, but sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words, and this is where Fred Koehler comes in.

Image copyright Fred Koehler, text copyright, Rebecca Kai Dotlich. Courtesy of Boyds Mills Press

Koehler takes these kid-centric tales and fills in the exploding science experiments, ice-cream trucks, accidental oopsies, distractions, clues, and more that make up each day’s adventure. With humor and an eye for real-kid emotions and actions (the little girl pours glue from the bottle held above her head), Koehler creates a unique plot for each story.

In “One day I felt like stomping” the little girl doesn’t stomp for no reason: her cat eats her pizza lunch, she splatters herself with purple paint, and her fishing pole breaks. She just feels like…! The word STOMP grows bigger across the page and even gets stomped on itself as the girl vents her frustration in a puddle, on a pile of leaves, and—almost—on a flower. But seeing the daisy saves her day and she saves the daisy. Haven’t we all been there?

Image copyright Fred Koehler, text copyright, Rebecca Kai Dotlich. Courtesy of Boyds Mills Press

One Day…The End is a joy to share with kids and would make a great addition to home bookshelves. They’ll love to spend time pointing out the humorous details and depth of story each page holds, and may even like to “tell” the story as they read. This book would be a fantastic jumping off point for kids wanting to write their own stories or for teachers wanting to demonstrate the elements of active, detailed story writing. As Dotlich says on the first page: “For every story there is a beginning and an end, but what happens in between makes all the difference.”

Ages 4 – 8

Boyds Mills Press, 2015 | ISBN 978-1620914519

Discover all of the amazing books by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, plus lots more, on her website!

Learn more about Fred Koehler and his work and get freebies – including a One Day, The End coloring page – on his website!

Tell a Story Day Activity

Story Maze

This puzzle may look like a regular maze, but there’s a secret to it! Within this maze is any story you’d like to make up. Why do you go left instead of right? Are you avoiding a zombie or a rainy shower? Why do you go up instead of down? Is it because you can you float? What lurks in that dead end you’ve entered? There are as many cool stories as you can imagine right in those little pathways. And when you find your way to The End, you’ll have written a story! Print the Story Maze and the Solution here!

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