You will recognize Janice when you see the twinkle in her eyes, the  captivating smile and unlimited enthusiasm that she brings to each Spellbinder Workshop. What a joy to be in her presence and witness her amazing stories. Janice was born and grew up in Montreal Quebec. One of her fondest memories growing up was about the evenings her Dad would sit in his big rocking chair with a child on each knee and tell scary stories. She loved those evenings even though the details of the stories have faded from memory. Her work for 20 years with IBM as a programmer began in Toronto and led to meeting a man who would play an important role in her life, Arvin. After they were married IBM transferred them both to New York into the Research Department. Most of their careers were spent in New York State with the exception of a year working in Tokyo, Japan. Arvin and Janice LOVE to travel. This passion has taken them to approximately 30 countries. The one trip that stands out in memory was a long walking trip in the Pyrenees of France. This walk takes you from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The goal was to walk half way across, which is 270 miles and 73,000 feet of elevation gain in a thirty day time frame while carrying clothes, books and some food. Usually there was a nearby grocery store for supplies. Arvin called this walk the 'wine, cheese, bread and pate diet'. They both lost weight and accomplished their goal. Janice interests beside Storytelling include hiking (obviously), camping, skiing, knitting and geocaching. She organizes tours for Newcomers and hopes to introduce people to Spellbinders by coordinating tours that will bring groups of Newcomers to a special event or one of the monthly workshops. People may not know that Janice has a bit of a Lucky streak and has won some prizes over the years with a variety of her talents. She once won $125 from Reader's Digest for an article involving the quote, "I can't tell by what she's wearing" and "The Gettysburg Address." She also won a box of cookies at a carnival in Vietnam in an air-rifle shooting contest. The irony is Janice has never shot a real gun or rifle in her life. Although she does not drink beer she won a bottle of beer in a Reggae contest and if you want to know 'the rest of the story' just ask her, she is dying to tell the stories. Janice was introduced to Spellbinders at Mesa Mall when she was manning a booth for The Colorado Mountain Club on a Community Day event. She struck up a conversation with the folks manning the Spellbinder table next to her and she realized she had stories she wanted to tell. Her favorite types of stories involve math and science, as well as, rescue stories involving people and animals. Three of Janice's favorite stories to tell are: One Grain of Rice by Demi, Billy and the Rebel by Deborah Hopkinson and The Woodcutters' Daughter by Naomi Baltuck. She loves to see the kid's reactions to the stories and really enjoys doing research and attending the workshops. The big challenge for Janice is working out the proper timing and combination of stories to fill a 30 minute time slot. Janice tells to 4th and 5th graders. Back to Top | 
Evelyn Kyle kindled the Halloween spirit in us with her lively telling of the 1885 poem 