Stories come to life combining music, song, musical sound effects and the spoken word into a seamless live performance. Throughout history stories have been used as a fundamental means of communication used to preserve and perpetuate personal family and cultural history and to transmit and pass on family values from generation to generation. Drawing upon an assortment of modem stories and traditional folktales, students will hear thematic explorations that are historical, educational and entertaining with messages of fairness, kindness and truth presented as "Metaphors for Life". "In-Tune Tales" warmth and humor encourages audience participation and creates a joyful rapport that draws students and teachers into a variety of geographical settings,timescapes and world cultures. Exploring the rich tradition of the spoken word combined with music and song, the program is an excellent means for children to develop their verbal, interactive and attention skills to use their imagination and their minds. A favorite story of the group "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein uses "I Won't Grow Up" from Peter Pan to introduce the stozy and progresses into "When I Grow Up I Wanna Be a Tree" by John Gorka. The story is punctuated along the way with accompanying music and musical Sound effects that play off the story and a representation of the tree by the big String bass that is visual as well. The story's message of unconditional love is enhanced even further when the kids sing with the group "The Magic Penny" ("Love is something when you give it away ... ") and the story '!bookends with "I Won't Grow Up". Another group favorite fmds an old standby, "Goldilocks and the 3 Bears". The story is sung entirely as a swinging blues! "In Tune Tales" imparts a program of wisdom that entertains and teaches children when they don't know they're learning something the groups narration of stories, songs, history and humor reates a perfonnance that is wholly unique and "greater than the sum of it's parts".