After 40 years of storytelling, the internationally acclaimed Len Cabral was as captivating as ever during his performances for the kindergartners and first graders at the James M. Quinn Elementary School on March 18.

Cabral has been enchanting audiences with his storytelling performances at schools, libraries, museums and festivals since 1976.

“Storytelling is so very important,” said Cabral. “I enjoy performing and answering the questions the kids ask. I have the best seat in the house.”

Cabral told African, Cape Verdean, and Caribbean folktales, as well as original stories and tales from around the world. He is the recipient of the National Storytelling Network 2001 Circle of Excellence Oracle Award. Cabral is the author of a children’s book and has contributed to several folktale collections; he also has five CDs and audio cassettes featuring a wide range of his favorite stories.

“I get to see everyone’s face for 40 minutes,” said Cabral. “I can look into every child’s eyes. I wish I could freeze their faces and have every adult in the room see the looks on their faces – full of wonder.”

Cabral told three stories to the students, beginning with a tale of why spiders live in our houses.  He then went on to describe why rabbits have short tails and why dogs always chase rabbits. In two of his stories, Cabral mentioned Anansi, an African folktale character. Anansi often takes the shape of a spider and is considered to be the spirit of all knowledge of stories.  He is also one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to grow up to be when I was younger,” said Cabral. “All I knew was that I wanted to enjoy what I was doing, and I am. It’s a blessing”

In his third story, Cabral told a didactic tale about Anansi and common sense. He asked the students to give examples of common sense and received various answers such as “don’t rob” and “don’t talk to strangers.”

The best advice, however, came from Cabral when he told the students that, “If you can’t remember the last time you washed your hands, it’s time to wash your hands.”

“It was an awesome performance as always,” said kindergarten teacher Darlene Blanchette.

Assistant Principal Stephanie Yermalovich agreed.

“He’s so engaging,” said Yermalovich. “It’s so cool to watch the kids’ faces light up. They copy his hand motions and everything.”