Research indicates the importance of the relationship between music, adult/child interaction, language practice, rhythm, repetition, familiarity of content, and story time, and a child's oral language development. Folk songs that have been illustrated and put into book form--"stories that sing"--can be used by parents and teachers to assist children in developing their oral language as they move from egocentric to socialized speech. Folktales adapt well to a variety of oral activities, and music increases listening skills and is a highly enjoyable mode for oral participation. A folktale sung to a child can be followed with open-ended questions that stimulate creative language and thought. Allowing children to find a rhyming word or substitutes for a noun or verb in part of a song is a good structured language practice, and children enjoy anticipating the script of a familiar tale. Audiovisual activities can also be used with "stories that sing." Pantomime and dramatization are activities that allow children creative participation in a story. Parents and teachers should also use their own creative energies to further develop "stories that sing" with children. (Additional titles of "stories that sing" are appended.) (HTH)