This is the first definitive reference work to address the substantive elements of oral storytelling, a form of communication that dates back to the dawn of humanity. It is an ʺA to Zʺ collection of over 700 entries covering such major storytelling elements as motifs, character types, tale types, place names, and creation mythologies and storytelling techniques of cultures around the world. Examples of subjects covered are the contributions of pioneering folklorists and mythologists such as: Franz Boas, Stith Thompson, and Joseph Campbell; descriptions of such well-known Western tales as ʺCinderella, ʺ the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter, and the story of Exodus; as well as tales from Native American, African, and Asian cultures, including ʺIndra and the Ants, ʺ tales of Anansi, the spider-trickster of the Ashanti, and the Cherokee Bear-man. Includes African American storytelling, afterlife, Agamemnon, Ali Baba, allegory, American storytelling, ancient Greek storytelling, animals, Apache storytelling, apocalypse, Argonauts, Artemis, King Arthur, Baal, Baba Yaga, Babylonian storytelling, ballad, bards, Beauty and the Beast, Beowulf, Bible, birth, Black Elk, Bluebeard, Daniel Boone, Brer Rabbit, Buddha, Camelot, Celtic storytelling, Charlemagne, Cherokee storytelling, Chinese storytelling, clown, origin of corn, Corn Mother, cosmic egg, creation myths, Davy Crockett, crone, death, Demeter, devil, divine child, Dogon storytelling, dreams, dwarfs, Earth Mother, Egyptian storytelling, elves, Eskimo storytelling, European storytelling, fairies, fairy tale, father, fertility stories, Finnish storytelling, flood stories, folklore, folktale, fox, French storytelling, frog, the frog prince, gender Book of Genesis, German storytelling, giants, Gilgamesh, God, goddesses, gods, Grimm brothers, Guinevere, Gypsies, Haitian storytelling, Hare, Hawaiian storytelling, heaven, Hebrew storytelling, Hel, hell, Helen of Troy, hero, heroine, Hindu storytelling, Holy Grail, Homer, Hopi storytelling, horse, Horus, Iktome, Iliad, Incan storytelling, Inanna, Indian storytelling, Irish storytelling, Islam, Israelites, Japanese storytelling, Jason, Jesus, Jewish storytelling, Johnny Appleseed, Carl Jung, Kachinas, Karna, kings, Jean de la Fontaine, Lancelot, Mahabharata, maiden, Mali storytelling, marriage, masks and masquerade, Mayan storytelling, Mende storytelling, Mexican storytelling, Midrashim, Minotaur, miraculous birth, Monkey King, Moon, morality tale, Moses, motifs, Muhammad, myth, native North American storytelling, Navajo storytelling, Nigerian storytelling, Norse storytelling, number symbolism (zero, one, two three, four, seven, ten, twelve, forty) numbers, nursery rhymes, Odysseus, Oedipus, Oglala Sioux storytelling, origin stories, Penobscot storytelling, Persephone, Persian storytelling, Phoenix, plays, plot, poems, Polynesian storytelling, psychoanalysis, psychology, quest Brer Rabbit, rainbow serpent, raven, rebirth, Red Riding Hood, Rhiannon, riddles, romance, Scandinavian storytelling, serpent, William Shakespeare, Sioux storytelling, Song of Roland, Spanish storytelling, spell, wicked stepmother, Swedish storytelling, symbolism, tall tales, Thai storytelling, Thousand One Nights, Tibetan storytelling, tortoise, trees, trickster, trolls, troubadour, Troy, Uncle Remus, Valhalla, Valmiki, vampire, verse story, Virgin Mary, virginity, water Welsh storytelling, witch, women, Yahweh, Yiddish storytelling, Yoruba storytelling, Zeus, etc.