The focus of the articles in this theme issue of a journal for librarians and teachers working with young children is storytelling. The first article, "Observations on Storytelling," (K. Roberts) relates how storytelling can be essential to reading--if one observes the law of diminishing returns. The second article, "How to Turn a Story Hour Into a Family Outing," (M. Silveus) describes a bedtime story program from Monroe County, Indiana. The third article, "Learning Them By Heart," (B. Barton) urges the storyteller not to memorize the stories, but to learn them "by heart." Picture books and drama as powerful tools for language development are discussed in the fourth article, "Creating Pictures in Time and Space" (D. Booth). The fifth article, "The Medford Storytelling Guild, or,'Volunteers Unlimited'," (P. Blair) describes the voluntary storytelling guild (with a membership of 360) established by the Jackson County, Oregon, Library. (HOD)