It was something, in fact, with which the transplanted Hoosier had some little experience. The Indianapolis native began her professional life in Colorado as a second- and third-grade teacher, and thus had plenty of experience getting -- and holding -- the wee ones' attention.

After relocating to the Bay Area in 1987, she attended Holy Names College in Oakland, studying under Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme. Then Hill plunged wholeheartedly into lore and legend, from Native American traditions to those of cultures around the globe. She holds a master's degree in spirituality and eco-justice from The Institute of Culture and Creation Spirituality at Holy Names, a certificate in storytelling from Dominican College in San Rafael, a bachelor's degree in education from Saint Mary's College in Indiana and a life teaching license in elementary and special education.

Her professional career had an auspicious start -- it was 1990, at an Earth Day celebration in UC Berkeley's panoramic Botanical Garden. "What a great beginning!" Hill enthused. And isn't a great beginning what all storytellers are after?

"I love to tell creation myths about how the first rainbow appeared, why some trees stay green, why Sun and Moon live in the sky, how night came from the sea," said Hill.

Sunday's reading at ChangeMakers Bookstore, on the site of the old Mama Bear's store, will be another of her seasonal celebrations, fitting for the first weekend of spring.

Her stories are often interactive and involve props. She doesn't read from books; instead, she calls it "a sort of learning by heart," wherein she memorizes the salient points of a tale, and then is free to improvise certain sections, depending on audience reaction. "I build a relationship with the story and we get to know each other, and I think of ways we can perhaps build on it, like creating dialog where there isn't any," she explained.

She is constantly building her repertoire. "I just learned a tall tale from Japan, and I had never told a tall tale before!" she said. It's a connection back to her old days at Holy Names and Brian Swimme, though, that has spurred Hill's specialty.

"We Are the Stars That Sing: The Story of the Universe" weaves separate strands of myth and science into the fabric of the 15-billion-year history of the solar system. It combines a little bit of what Hill is all about: myth, song, story and cosmology. Though the other stories she tells are based on existing tales, "Stars That Sing" is her own creation.

In addition to spinning yarns around California classrooms, Hill also passes her storytelling fancy on to the next generation through Puppets and Pie, a project she does with creative partner Gitty Duncan. Their summer workshops result in children learning all aspects of a theatrical production, then putting one on.

Her friend and mentor Swimme summarized what Hill does for her audiences, great and small. "By telling stories of the universe that are grounded in contemporary science and nourished by spiritual traditions, Mary Ellen energizes and informs us all," he said.

You may reach Berkeley freelance writer Brian Kluepfel at## bkluepfel@hotmail.com.

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