Jon Sundell

includes mileage @ $.62 / mile RX and lodging expense where necessary or plane fare and travel time

How to Tell Stories - for students or teachers. Can be done in one long day or half day for teachers. Students in 2 - 10 sessions. 6 sessions or more can lead up to a culminating storytelling festival performance.

How to Share Books with young children - for caregivers and teachers

Singing Games - 4 yrs through 3rd grade. Simple dances and games from Appalachian, African American, Hispanic and other traditions that are done along with traditional songs, such as "Old Dan Tucker" or "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain."

Playing the Ukulele to lead singing - for caregivers and teachers - Basic chords, strumming, and picking techniques to use in singing wonderful old and new children's songs.

Square dancing - for 3rd - 12 grade students or for teachers and caregivers. Basic figures and moves for group dances arrranged in squares, lines and circles.

For over fifty years bilingual edu-tainer, Jon Sundell has been sharing folk tales and songs with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the United States, Europe and Latin America. He also served as a public library children's specialist and school media coordinator in Forsyth County NC for 32 years, hosting regular song-and-storytimes for toddlers through preteens and parents. Blending a warm, personal style, dynamic delivery, and varied, interactive program he easily captivates his audience and brings them together on a shared adventure that inspires, entertains, and builds a sense of multicultural community. In addition to telling stories himself, Jon also teaches children and adults to tell them.

Jon interweaves a multicultural assortment of folk tales with old and new songs, accompanied on guitar, banjo, autoharp, and other folk instruments, incorporating varied opportunities for audience participation. Audience interaction is especially important in his programs with preschool and primary children, but he finds ways to include older children as well, especially upper elementary. Programs for school-aged children are presented in a multimedia format, using color slides that further engage students' interest and increase their understanding. The slides provide cultural context and background knowledge, and they enhance the emotional impact of songs and tales. Slides are also used to draw connections with books that have been used as a resource or that students can use for follow-up reading and research.

Here are some of the program themes that Jon Sundell presents, organized under five general categories:

MULTICULTURAL/ SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING - Songs and Tales Around the World, Multicultural America, Songs and Tales of Latin America, We're All a Family Under One Sky - Supporting each other in a Diverse World

FOLKORE ORIENTED - Folklore : An Introduction in Songs, Tales and More; Genres of the Folk Tale (Animal trickster tales, fables, fairy tales, legends, tall tales, and wisdom tales); Fantastical Quests and Transformations (fairy tales); Songs and Tales of Smart and Foolish.

HISTORICAL - A Nation of Immigrants; The Way West (a multicultural view of westward expansion in songs and stories); The Industrial Revolution and the Fight for Workplace Justice

SCIENCE-RELATED - All Critters Big and Small; Caring For Our Earth

BOOK - RELATED (Except for the first topic, these are generally most appropriate with classroom-sized groups.) - Stories, Songs, Slides, Balloons and Books (This is the most appropriate theme in this category for large audiences. It is a good lead-in to the summer reading program.); What's So Great About Reading?; A Multicultural Reading Tour; The Beauty and Power of Figurative Language

To inspire students to read, learn, and act with compassion, understanding, and responsibility toward diverse beings and the earth that sustains them

Jon Sundell began performing and recording folk music, mostly for adults, in the 1960's, in his high school and college years, in New York, Michigan and western Europe. He began working with children in 1971, when he served as a camp music director, then, after moving south to east Tennessee, performed in a 4-room country schoolhouse. From that start till 1984 Jon's school programs - in the southeast, mid-west, and New England - focused on folklore, presented through songs, tales and singing games, and demonstrating various stringed instruments. During that early period Jon earned a MS in Education with an emphasis on Appalachian Studies, which enabled him to enrich his school programs.

After completing a Master of Library Science degree in 1984, Jon began working as a public library children's specialist in Forsyth County, North Carolina, incorporating many multicultural themes into his preschool and school- aged storytimes. As Jon became head of Children's Outreach, then Hispanic Services in the 1990's, he learned Spanish and started developing bilingual and Spanish language programs. He used them not only locally, but on many trips to Mexico, Central and South America, mostly during vacations.

In 2006, Jon moved from the public library to public schools, where his programs for elementary grades incorporated nearly all the other themes you see in his offerings. He developed a good knowledge of the school curriculum and often prepared programs in coordination with classroom teachers, particularly in Social Studies and Language Arts.

When Jon retired from librarianship in 2016, he formed the company, "Perfect Storm Edu-tainment," utlilizing his combined experiences as a performer, teacher, and librarian to present programs that support and enhance school curriculum and motivate children to read. In this endeavor, he is utilizing a lot of material that he developed in his library work, but often scaled up for larger audiences.

• Jon was perfect for our Little Folk Festival. The kids loved interacting with him and the parents did, too. – Cindy Tuttle, executive director, Stokes County Partnership for Children
• Our preschoolers loved this program! The songs were silly and engaging and the stories held their attention. The children each got to pick their own balloon animal to take home at the end of the show! They all went home smiling! - Lisa Wallace, director, Stepping Stones Preschool, Harrisburg, NC
• Great Show! Jon did a great job engaging the preschoolers and holding their attention with age-appropriate songs and material.  -  Tammy Burrows, Grace House Preschool Director, Kernersville, NC

• “I presented the line-up for Camp READ- A- Lot to the staff today, and when the teachers saw your name, the whole crowd lifted their voices with a cheer and started singing your praises! We can't wait for you to come back to entertain our children at Griffith!” - Cynthia Needham, media coordinator
•  In October of ’79, Jon gave several concerts in the elementary schools of Windham County. The response was almost unbelievable—the enthusiasm so strong that principals and parents from the school arts committees called one another, and the director of the Windham County Arts Council, to pass on word of his presence and abilities. The word everyone used to describe him was professional – quality in his music and presentation, and in the handling of an audience of school-aged children. Jon Sundell “plays” an audience of children as well as he plays any of the instruments he brings to a concert. The pace is lively as he moves from song to instrumental to tall tale to sing-along, and the atmosphere is one of warmth and good humor where every child feels a part of the happening.. – Lynne Crocker, journalist, Arts Council of Wyndham County, VT 
• Jon Sundell is a sensational musician whose folk music is enhanced by wonderful stories from many cultures, so his performance is entertaining as well as educational.  Jon’s first visit to Keene was for one performance at an elementary school; his next visit will be for a three-day residency, since word of that one performance has spread. Jon is very professional and accommodating, a joy to work with. –Judith Perry, Project Coordinator, Grand Monadnock Arts Council, Keene, NH 
• I felt your performances here were first rate. I received unanimously positive feedback from the kids and teachers. We were all impressed with your rapport with the kids of different grade levels, with your flexibility, your story-telling ability and your efforts to make the music and the culture come alive. – Clay Stites, headmaster, Friends Academy, North Dartmouth, MA 
• The children were absolutely enthralled from the kindergarteners through the seventh grade. Black, White and Hispanic children respond so well to Mr. Sundell because he operates on their level. They participate, and he never puts them down. Most children have never had an opportunity to see that kind of performance. – Jeanne Pearson, Coordinator of Arts and Education, Dekalb County for the Arts, GA 
• Mr Sundell presented his program in a delightful, educational way.. – Andrews Seventh Day Adventists Academy, Berrien Springs,  Michigan 
• A very talented person. An interesting, inspiring program for children and adults alike.. – Sharon Elementary, Wisconsin 
• Super person with a super program – well accepted by the kids! Nashua Elementary, Iowa 
• Excellent program with a well done combination of storytelling and music. Mr Sundell is knowledgeable of students’ abilities to understand. – Colesburg Elementary, Iowa

• Mr Sundell proved to be a perfect entertainer for middle school children. Our students were very attentive and enthusiastic about his performance.. – Hubert Humphrey Middle Schoole, Bolingbrook, Illinois 
• Very entertaining. Top notch. – Shepherd Junior High, Ottawa, Illinois 
• A very fine program. Mr Sundell has an excellent perception of his art.. – Indian Creek Middle School, Trafalgar, Indiana

Visit Jon Sundell's website, songsandtales.com, to get a real sense of his style and abilities. You will find program descriptions, action photos and video samplers.

You can get a nice overview with the one-minute slide show on the homepage:
https://songsandtales.com/

For a more detailed view of school program possibilities, go to:
https://songsandtales.com/school-programs-performances/

For information on preschool programs, go to:
https://songsandtales.com/preschool-programs/

To see a slide presentation on storytelling workshops, including research confirming their literacy and social-emotional benefits, as well an outline of how they work, click on:
https://bit.ly/4fi6pld The MJagic and Power of Storytelling

Jon Sundell can create a custom program for you if you wish.

For programs at a school far enough to call for plane transportation, ask Jon for a custom quote.