Why Is Storytelling So Important in the Early Years?
Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have in the Early Years.
It supports language.
It develops imagination.
It encourages children to listen, predict, communicate and make connections.
But storytelling does not have to mean an adult sitting at the front while children quietly listen to a book.
Stories can move.
Children can become characters.
They can make decisions.
They can create sounds, actions and dialogue.
They can change what happens next.
In this episode of The Muddy Puddle Teacher Podcast, Sarah Seaman speaks with Olivia Corbin-Phillip, better known as Stories with Liv, about going beyond the book and using interactive storytelling and drama in Early Years.
Olivia specialises in helping practitioners use stories as a starting point for play, communication, creativity and child-led learning.
Her approach asks us to rethink storytime.
Instead of asking:
How do I keep children sitting and listening?
We can ask:
How do I help children become part of the story?
Listen to Stories with Liv on The Muddy Puddle Teacher Podcast
About the Stories with Liv Podcast Episode
Let’s Chat Stories with Liv 🙂 is episode 29 of The Muddy Puddle Teacher Podcast.
The episode was published on 24 May 2023 and runs for approximately 33 minutes.
Olivia Corbin-Phillip is an Early Years literacy consultant from West Yorkshire who specialises in drama pedagogy and storytelling.
Through Stories with Liv, she supports Early Years practitioners to move beyond simply reading books aloud and create interactive storytelling experiences where children can lead, respond, imagine and play.
Her work is particularly focused on helping practitioners use drama and storytelling in ways that make literacy meaningful and enjoyable.
Listen to Episode 29: Stories with Liv
What Is Storytelling in the Early Years?
Storytelling in Early Years is much broader than reading a book.
Reading aloud is incredibly important, but storytelling can involve:
spoken stories,
traditional tales,
puppets,
role play,
movement,
small-world play,
songs,
rhymes,
props,
improvisation,
children retelling familiar stories,
children creating entirely new stories.
The key difference is participation.
Children are not simply receiving a finished story.
They are contributing to it.
They might decide where a character travels.
They may suggest what happens next.
They might create a sound effect, invent a monster or change the ending.
This involvement gives children ownership.
It can also provide rich opportunities for language and communication. New to outdoor learning? Head to the Outdoor Learning Hub.
What Does “Going Beyond the Book” Mean?
A book can be the beginning of the learning rather than the end.
After reading a story, we sometimes immediately ask children questions about it.
Who was the main character?
What happened first?
Can you remember this word?
There is nothing wrong with checking understanding.
But stories can offer much more.
A child might want to rebuild the character’s house.
Another may act out a scene.
Someone else may invent another character.
A group might recreate the story outdoors.
These responses show that children are processing and interpreting the story.
The adult does not need to control every outcome.
Going beyond the book means giving children opportunities to take ideas from literature and make them their own.
Explore our Early Years Outdoor Learning Hub for more ways to extend stories through play and exploration.
What Is Interactive Storytelling?
Interactive storytelling invites children into the story.
The adult may still lead the narrative, but children influence what happens.
You might pause and ask:
What should we do?
Which path should we take?
What noise can you hear?
How should our character move?
What could be hiding behind the tree?
Children contribute ideas.
The adult responds.
The story becomes slightly different each time.
This makes storytelling exciting because children do not already know exactly what will happen.
It also requires them to listen.
Their contribution needs to connect with what has happened previously.
That supports comprehension and communication in a natural way.
Why Is Drama So Powerful in Early Years?
Young children often understand ideas through their bodies before they can explain them verbally.
Drama gives them a way to show what they understand.
A child can become a bear.
They can creep through an imaginary forest.
They can pretend to be frightened, excited or surprised.
They can take on another character’s perspective.
These experiences support vocabulary and emotional understanding.
Instead of simply hearing the word “enormous”, children can become enormous.
Instead of defining “tiptoe”, they can physically try it.
Drama makes language tangible.
Olivia’s work particularly focuses on drama pedagogy and on helping children take a more active role in the stories they experience.
Storytelling and Oracy in Early Years
Storytelling is a natural way to develop oracy.
Children hear language used with purpose.
They listen to sentence structures.
They hear expressive vocabulary.
They practise taking turns.
They learn to build on another person’s idea.
A child who may give very short answers during formal questioning can sometimes talk at length when immersed in imaginative play.
That is because they have something meaningful to communicate.
They are not answering because the adult has tested them.
They are communicating because the story requires it.
Adults can support this by modelling language without constantly correcting children.
For example, if a child says:
“The dragon goed over there.”
The adult might respond:
“Yes! The dragon went over the mountain. I wonder what it saw?”
The correct structure is modelled while the story continues.
Try This Tomorrow: Tell a Story Without a Book
Sit with a small group of children.
Start with:
“Once there was a tiny door…”
Then stop.
Ask:
Where is the door?
Who lives behind it?
How do we open it?
Allow the children to make suggestions.
Take one idea and build it into the story.
Continue pausing at important moments.
The story does not need to be polished.
In fact, part of the excitement is that nobody knows exactly what will happen.
Time: 10 minutes.
Preparation: None.
Best for: speaking, listening, imagination, vocabulary and confidence. Listen to more podcasts that explore emotions through stories for early years. Let’s Talk to Author Hannah Packham.
How Can Practitioners Become More Confident Storytellers?
Many adults feel nervous about storytelling.
They worry they are not theatrical enough.
They cannot do voices.
They might forget what happens.
Children generally do not require a professional performance.
They require enthusiasm and connection.
Start with a familiar story.
Know the basic sequence.
Then tell it in your own words.
Use your face.
Use your hands.
Change the pace.
Pause.
Allow children to contribute.
You do not need twelve character voices.
Sometimes whispering one sentence is far more effective.
Confidence grows through doing it regularly.
The more often practitioners tell stories without relying completely on the printed text, the easier it becomes.
Children Do Not Always Need to Sit Still for Storytime
One of the biggest misconceptions about successful storytime is that every child should sit perfectly still.
Listening does not always look like stillness.
Some children listen while moving.
Others need something to hold.
Some may join in physically.
A highly interactive story may actively require children to stand, crouch, move and make sounds.
The question should not always be:
“Are they sitting nicely?”
Ask instead:
“Are they connected to the story?”
Of course, routines and boundaries still matter.
But the physical expectations should serve the learning rather than become the purpose of the session.
Storytelling Outdoors
Outdoor spaces are fantastic for storytelling because they give stories room to grow.
A pathway can become a journey.
A tree can become a castle.
A shelter might become a cave.
A puddle can become an ocean.
Children can physically travel through the story.
This can be particularly useful for adventure stories and traditional tales.
Instead of imagining that the character crossed a forest, children can move through a space representing that forest.
They can stop at different story points.
The adult can introduce challenges.
Perhaps the bridge has disappeared.
Maybe something is hiding nearby.
Children decide what to do.
The outdoor environment becomes part of the narrative.
Explore our Outdoor Storytelling Activities for further ideas.
How to Create a Story Trail Outdoors
Choose a familiar story.
Identify four or five key moments.
Place each moment in a different location around your outdoor area.
You do not necessarily need printed signs.
The environment itself can provide the locations.
The gate might be the beginning.
A tree could be where the character meets someone.
A bench could become a boat.
A sheltered corner might become the final destination.
Move through the story together.
At each point, allow children to retell what happened or decide what happens next.
Once children know the process, they can begin creating their own trails.
Storytelling Through Loose Parts
Loose parts are brilliant storytelling resources because they do not have a fixed meaning.
A stone can become a character.
A stick might be a wand.
A leaf may become a blanket.
A piece of bark can become a boat.
Children choose what the object represents.
This requires imagination and symbolic thinking.
Give children a small collection of natural or reusable loose parts.
Begin a story.
Allow them to select objects to represent characters and places.
The story can grow around the objects.
Avoid creating elaborate adult-made resources every time.
Simple materials often leave more space for children’s imagination.
Should Adults Correct Children’s Stories?
Children’s storytelling does not need to be grammatically perfect.
When a child is deeply engaged in creating a narrative, constant correction can interrupt their thinking.
Adults can model rather than criticise.
If a child uses an incorrect word or sentence structure, repeat their idea using the correct form naturally.
Continue the interaction.
There will be other opportunities for more explicit language teaching.
Story creation should feel safe.
Children need confidence to take risks with language.
Storytelling for Children With SEND
Interactive storytelling can be highly inclusive because children can participate in different ways.
A child might:
say a word,
choose between two objects,
make a sound,
point,
use a symbol,
move a character,
copy an action,
use AAC,
watch before joining.
The adult should not define successful participation as speaking in full sentences.
Stories can include sensory elements too.
A child might feel an object associated with a character or hear a sound connected to the story.
However, sensory additions should be purposeful.
More sensory stimulation is not automatically better.
Some children may need a quieter and more predictable storytelling experience.
Explore our SEND Outdoor Learning Hub for more inclusive strategies.
How Storytelling Supports Vocabulary
Stories expose children to words that do not always appear in everyday conversation.
Characters might:
wander,
stomp,
gaze,
whisper,
tremble,
sprint,
swoop,
creep.
Children hear these words within a meaningful context.
Adults can strengthen understanding by adding actions.
“What does creeping look like?”
Children physically explore the word.
Later, use the vocabulary again during play.
“Look at you creeping towards the den!”
Repeated use helps the word become part of the child’s own language.
Storytelling and Emotional Development
Stories allow children to experience emotions at a safe distance.
The character is scared.
The character feels lonely.
Someone is angry.
Another character feels left out.
Children can discuss what might help without being required to reveal their own experiences.
Drama can deepen this.
Ask:
How might this character’s body look?
What might their face do?
What could another character say to help?
This builds emotional vocabulary and perspective-taking.
Stories can therefore support emotional literacy without becoming formal or overly adult-directed.
Let Children Change the Story
Adults sometimes feel uncomfortable when children alter familiar stories.
But this is a brilliant sign of creative thinking.
What if Goldilocks apologised?
What if the wolf was scared of Little Red Riding Hood?
What if the three pigs built a boat?
What if the Gruffalo visited your nursery?
Children are manipulating narrative structures.
They understand the original well enough to change it.
Encourage this.
You can always revisit the traditional version at another time.
There is value in both knowing established stories and creatively adapting them.
How Storytelling Supports Early Writing
Children need stories in their heads before we expect stories on paper.
Oral storytelling helps children understand narrative structure.
Something begins.
A problem occurs.
Characters respond.
Something changes.
The story ends.
Children rehearse this structure repeatedly during talk and play.
Later, when they begin writing, they are not starting from nothing.
They already understand what stories do.
This is why oral storytelling should not be viewed as something children need to move beyond quickly.
It is part of the foundation for writing.
Explore our Teaching English Outdoors Guide for further support with developing writing through experience.
Storytelling and Play
Children frequently tell stories while they play.
Listen carefully to a group building with blocks.
There may already be a narrative.
“This is the baby’s house.”
“The dinosaur is coming.”
“No, you can’t come in because this is the hospital.”
The children are developing characters, settings, conflicts and rules.
Adults can support this without taking over.
Ask an occasional question.
Introduce useful vocabulary.
Provide an additional resource when it genuinely extends the idea.
Then step away.
Storytelling does not always happen at storytime.
It happens throughout children’s play.
Is Reading Aloud the Same as Storytelling?
They are connected but not identical.
Reading aloud means sharing the author’s written words.
This is incredibly important.
Children hear carefully crafted language and become familiar with books as objects.
Storytelling gives the teller more freedom.
The adult can respond to the audience.
They can change details.
Children can contribute.
The narrative can develop differently.
Young children benefit from both.
We should not replace beautiful books with oral storytelling.
Nor should we assume that reading aloud is the only way children should experience stories.
A rich Early Years environment contains books, storytelling, songs, rhymes, drama, conversation and imaginative play.
Get to Know the Guest: Olivia Corbin-Phillip — Stories with Liv
Olivia Corbin-Phillip is an Early Years literacy consultant and professional storyteller known as Stories with Liv.
She specialises in interactive and responsive storytelling, drama pedagogy and helping practitioners take children’s literacy experiences beyond the pages of a book.
Olivia has a background in performance and Early Years practice and is particularly interested in how storytelling appears within children’s play and oracy.
Her work places children at the centre of the story rather than positioning them solely as listeners.
She also advocates for the Early Years workforce, helping make research and arts-based approaches more accessible to practitioners working directly with children.
Olivia continues to deliver storytelling sessions and professional development and has appeared at Early Years and education events, including Whole Education’s 2026 conference discussing storytelling and going “Beyond the Book.”
Find Stories with Liv Online
Instagram:
@storieswithliv
TikTok:
@storieswithliv
Facebook:
@storieswithliv
YouTube:
Stories with Liv
LinkedIn:
Olivia Corbin-Phillip – Early Years & Literacy Consultant
What Is the Difference Between Storytelling and Reading Aloud?
This is a useful discussion for staff teams.
Reading aloud gives children access to an author’s exact words and an illustrator’s images.
Storytelling allows the adult and children to respond to each other more freely.
One is not superior to the other.
The richest practice includes both.
Try reading a traditional tale one day.
A few days later, tell the same story without the book.
Notice how children’s participation changes.
They may begin supplying repeated phrases.
They might correct you if you miss something.
They may add ideas.
That tells you something about how securely they know the story.
Five Simple Ways to Make Storytime More Interactive
You do not need to transform every book into a performance.
Small changes can make a big difference.
Invite children to repeat one key phrase.
Use an action for an important word.
Pause before a predictable moment.
Ask children to create one sound effect.
Allow them to suggest what a character might do.
The important part is maintaining the flow.
Too many questions can turn a story into an assessment exercise.
Children should still experience the pleasure of the narrative.
Storytelling as Professional Development
Storytelling is also something staff can practise together.
Choose a simple traditional tale during a team meeting.
Ask one practitioner to begin telling it.
After thirty seconds, another continues.
Nobody needs to perform perfectly.
Discuss what helped.
Was repetition useful?
Did gesture make the story clearer?
Where could children contribute?
This type of practical professional development can help staff become more confident much more quickly than simply reading a document about storytelling.
Gold members can explore further practical CPD through our Early Years Outdoor Learning Courses.
Listen to Stories with Liv on The Muddy Puddle Teacher Podcast
In episode 29, Sarah Seaman chats with Olivia Corbin-Phillip about interactive storytelling, drama and helping Early Years practitioners go beyond books.
The episode is ideal for nursery practitioners, Reception teachers, teaching assistants, Early Years leaders, literacy leads, childminders and anyone who wants storytime to feel more playful and participatory.
After listening, try one thing:
Tell a familiar story tomorrow without holding the book.
Allow the children to help.
Notice what happens.
Explore Early Years Outdoor Learning
Visit the Outdoor English and Literacy Hub
Join Our Free Outdoor Learning Magazine
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is storytelling important in Early Years?
Storytelling supports language, listening, imagination, vocabulary, communication, comprehension and children’s understanding of narrative.
How can I make storytime interactive?
Invite children to use actions, sounds, repeated phrases and predictions. You can also pause and allow them to influence parts of the story.
What is interactive storytelling?
Interactive storytelling involves the audience contributing to the story rather than only listening. Children might make decisions, create sounds, act out characters or suggest what happens next.
How does storytelling support oracy?
Children hear rich spoken language and gain meaningful reasons to speak, listen, take turns, explain ideas and respond to others.
Can storytelling support children with SEND?
Yes. Children can participate through speech, movement, objects, symbols, AAC, gestures or sensory experiences depending on their individual needs.
Is drama useful in Early Years?
Drama can help young children understand vocabulary, emotions, characters and situations through movement and imaginative experience.
Do I need props for storytelling?
No. Props can sometimes help, but they are not essential. Voice, gesture, imagination and child participation can be enough.
What is Stories with Liv?
Stories with Liv is the professional work of Olivia Corbin-Phillip, an Early Years literacy consultant and storyteller specialising in drama and interactive storytelling.
Who is Olivia Corbin-Phillip?
Olivia Corbin-Phillip is an Early Years literacy consultant and professional storyteller from West Yorkshire, known professionally as Stories with Liv.
How long is the Stories with Liv podcast?
The Muddy Puddle Teacher episode runs for approximately 33 minutes.
Author
Written by Sarah Seaman PGCE MA
Founder of The Muddy Puddle Teacher®
Teacher for over 19 years
Bloomsbury author
Trainer of thousands of teachers across the UK
