McBride-Smith

Winners of Storytelling World Award & PLA/ALLS Best New Books for New Adult ReadersWhen she was a young girl, Barbara McBride-Smith was introduced to the ancient Greek myths but she didn’t quite hear right. When her teacher told her they lived in the cradle of western civilization, young Barbara thought she said Western civilization - as in central Texas, around about Waco, where they seemed to fit right in.Ol’ Man Zeus, after all, was a gun-totin’ Big Daddy, sort of the J.R. Ewing of Mount Olympus. You know Aphrodite, the school basketball queen or Pandora the debutante, the best guitar picker around was Orpheus - Tom T. and wasn’t Medusa the one who started the fashion trend known as Big Hair? With her incurable Texas drawl, feminist sympathies, and cheerleader’s do-right attitude, master storyteller Barbara McBride-Smith spins the Greek myths as you’ve never heard them before. Readers will learn the importance of fairness, resourcefulness and respect.

Barbara McBride-Smith Bio Barbara McBride-Smith wears many hats -- simultaneously! For over 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, a school librarian, a theological seminary instructor, a traveling storyteller, and a writer. In each of these professions, she has employed storytelling as an integral educational tool and a compelling art form. The multi-faceted McBride-Smith has authored two books for August House. Her book, Greek Myths, Western Style retells classic Greek myths in a compelling voice with contemporary touches to engage young readers and it was chosen by the American Library Association as a ＂Top Ten Title＂ for adult new readers. The Tell It Together book, a collection of foolproof story theatre scripts, was a recipient of the Anne Izard Storytellers’ Choice Award. Ten years ago, McBride-Smith was awarded the prestigious John Henry Faulk Award for outstanding contributions to the art and folkway of storytelling and she was inducted into the National Storytelling Association’s Circle of Excellence. The popular performer and keynote speaker has appeared at hundreds of festivals and conferences across the country. Born and raised in Texas, Barbara McBride-Smith learned the craft of storytelling from her two deaf sisters, who ＂communicated with their entire beings,＂ and her parents, known by all as the ＂natural born keepers of the family lore.＂ Her favorite collaborators, she reports, are her students, her professorial husband, her son (a musician in New York City), and her dog.