Tales from a Free Range Childhood  is a short collection of stories by storyteller Donald Davis recollect his childhood, growing up in the western Appalachian Mountain town of Waynesville, in a community where his family of Scots-Welsh ancestors had lived since the 1780s – before America had a Constitution.  These stories are rich with childhood mischief and the simple joys of growing up a bit away from the pressures and artificiality of the big, modern city.  These stories are all based on real people, real situations, viewed through the eyes of a child.  The stories are at once innocent and wise, and many of them absolutely hilarious. 

Donald Davis isn’t a writer by profession.  He is a storyteller.  And he is marvelous!  He travels over 300 days a year to festivals, colleges, concert halls, and conferences telling stories.  He tells in venues where the audience might be comprised of hundreds of people – maybe even a thousand.   He is among the best and most successful storytellers in America, and here’s the great thing – for twenty five of the twenty six years that the Library has been presenting an adult storytelling series, he has come to Monterey to tell stories in our Library Community Room!   

For a short and sweet read, I recommend Tales from a Free Range Childhood by Donald Davis, but if you want to hear a master storyteller, be sure to come to hear him next time he’s in town.  Mark your calendars:  Tuesday, July 23, 2013.  Tickets are required, so check our Web site in June 2013 for advance for ticket information.