A scene from a flannelgraph Bible story

Flannelgraph (sometimes called a flannel board) is a storytelling system that uses a board covered with flannel fabric, usually resting on an easel. It is very similar to Fuzzy felt, although its primary use is as a storytelling medium, rather than as a toy. Flannel is a cloth that is commonly used to make clothing and bedsheets. ... An easel is an upright support (generally a tripod) used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it. ... Fuzzy Felt is a popular toy for very young children. ... “Storytelling is humanity’s oldest form of literacy. ... Green Razor Scooter This article is about things that people play with. ...

Description of Use

The flannel board is usually painted to depict a background scene appropriate to the story being told. Paper cutouts of characters and objects in the story are then placed on the board, and moved around, as the story unfolds. These cutouts are backed, either with flannel, or with some other substance that adheres lightly to the flannel background.

Associations with Christianity

Flannelgraph has been (and continues to be) a popular medium for telling Bible stories to young Sunday School students in Christian (and particularly Evangelical) churches. Indeed, it is used as a storytelling method almost exclusively in elementary level Christian education. This may be attributed, in part, to the fact that flannelgraph is relatively inexpensive, yet provides a more vivid alternative to storytelling without visual illustration. Bible stories, Judeo-Christian parables retelling some portions of the Bible, have long had a place in family religious worship, spiritual instruction, literature, and the cultural underpinnings of many Christian and Jewish societies. ... Sunday school, Indians and whites. ... See also: Timeline of Christianity Beliefs Jesus crucifixion as portrayed by Diego Velázquez. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to a tendency in diverse branches of Protestantism, typified by an emphasis on evangelism, a personal experience of conversion, biblically-oriented faith, and a belief in the relevance of Christian faith to cultural issues. ... A church building (or simply church) is a building used in Christian worship. ... Example Illustration 1. ...

Sources

• Balmer, Randall. "Flannelgraph" in Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism. Westminster John Knox Press, 1st edition, 2001. p. 221.

External links

• In Praise of Flannelgraph
• Parodies of flannelgraph Bible stories at wibsite.com

See also

• Fuzzy felt
• Bible story