LYNNFIELD — Internationally acclaimed storyteller Motoko has traveled across the world to entertain and educate people. On Tuesday, she brought her wealth of knowledge to the children of Lynnfield.
The event, sponsored by the town’s Cultural Council, allowed the group of children to travel to the other side of the globe, all while seated inside the Lynnfield Meeting House. Motoko began by explaining her background as an immigrant from Osaka, Japan and taught the kids how to find Japan on a map.
Motoko’s first story was about a mouse named Chuko on a journey to find the strongest thing in the universe. She followed with a story about a goose-catcher named Gombe who learns about empathy. She incorporated lessons about Japanese culture and language in each of her stories, like how to count to 10 in Japanese.
Motoko then showed the kids “storygami,” a story that corresponds with origami. As she told the children about her grandmother’s tips for growing “as strong as a mountain,” she led the children in folding paper into a cup. Each fold related back to a part in Motoko’s story.
Her last story was about sumo wrestling mice. She taught the children about sumo and showed them how to make paper sumo wrestlers. Motoko invited one of the children, Chris, to play a game with the paper dolls. She stood two “wrestlers” on a pizza box and then tapped the corners of the box until one fell over. When Motoko and Chris went head-to-head, Chris won, “beating [her] winning streak.” Later, Chris said the sumo wrestling was his favorite part.
For almost 30 years, Motoko has been captivating worldwide audiences, from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood to Miyazaki, Japan. She said that she has told the story about Gombe the goose-catcher, one of her favorites, at least 5,000 times.
After her performance, Motoko recalled a time where she returned to a school she had performed at years before.
“This third-grader said ‘Aren’t you the one who told me the story about the old lady who swallowed a bird?’ and I was like, that’s the story you heard when you were in preschool! When the occasion arises they can remember the stories and what the stories teach,” she said.
She said that telling stories to children was special because of how reciprocal the performances are.
“These first- and second-graders in this classroom, they were all looking at me like I was the most exciting thing they have ever seen … they are giving me so much back.”
Emma Fringuelli can be reached at [email protected].
