Hampton Bays Middle School students from grades 5 through 8 were captivated on Monday morning, March 27, by Heather Forest, an award-winning recording artist and children’s book author.

Ms. Forest--whose minstrel style of storytelling blends original music and song, spoken word, poetry and prose—has traveled the world over entertaining listeners for the past 30 years. During her presentation at Hampton Bays Middle School, she taught students about “creative listening” and “imaginal space and the world behind your eyes” while telling folktales and allegories, sometimes accompanying herself on guitar.

The purpose of Ms. Forest’s visit was to teach the students life lessons about cultural roots and values while enabling them to gain more advanced verbal and listening skills and further developing their imaginations. During four 45 minute-long sessions (a period for each grade level in the middle school), she did just that while engaging the audience with her unique storytelling abilities.

As a recording artist, Ms. Forest has completed eight storytelling albums, including: “Songspinner: Folktales and Fables Sung and Told”, “Sing Me A Story,” “Tales Around the Hear”, and “The Animals Could Talk,” among others. As an author, she has written numerous books, including “Wonder Tales from Around the World” and “Wisdom Tales from Around the World.”