A love of storytelling is what inspires Larry Sceurman to write.

His books come from 30 years of storytelling in the Lehigh Valley for children and adults.

He tells life lessons that youths enjoy hearing about and stories about his life that are just a little enhanced in his two adult works of fiction.

Sceurman leads a group of storytellers in “Larry and Friends, A Fun-Filled Night of Storytelling,” 7 p.m. April 23, Charles A. Brown Ice House, Bethlehem.

The “Friends” include Charles Kiernan, Denise McCormack, Geoff Fleming, Dave Howell, Ingrid Bohn, Nancy Scott and Karen Maurer.

Sceurman’s latest two books for children are “Bookworm’s Magical Journey: A Story About Learning to Read” (40 pages, 2024) and “Frog and Crow’s Conversation: A Fable For Children and Adults about Decision-Making” (42 pages, 2025), from Parisian Phoenix Publishing, hardcover, $19.99; paperback $10.99.

“Storytelling is the oldest form of entertainment and the oldest type of true communication and recording history. Our brains are hard-wired for stories. We like them and learn from them,” says Sceurman.

“Bookworm,” with its theme about learning to read, has a special meaning for Sceurman, who is dyslexic.

“I always did write stuff, but dyslexia always held me back. I would use what I called ‘Larry language’ to compensate. I thought I was dumb, because that was the story told to me,” Sceurman says in a phone interview from his home in Nazareth.

“Bookworm” is published in the font “Lexie Readable,” designed to make the book easier to read for persons with dyslexia.

Says Sceurman: “‘Bookworm’ was a story I told, but I never wrote it down. It’s about learning to read, and to keep on trying. In shows, I have encouraged people to read.

“For those with difficulties, I suggest beginning with fairy tales. People with the same problems have come up afterwards and said, ‘I’m so glad you mentioned that.’”

“‘Frog and Crow’ is about decision-making, asking, ‘Why do we put ourselves through such needless torment to make a decision?’”

Sceurman did his own artwork for “Frog and Crow,” using Magic Markers.

He hesitates to give an age range for the two books:

“It’s hard to say. They are for beginning readers. Someone might begin at four or at seven. Or they could be read to someone who is three. They could be read to an adult as well as a child.”

Sceurman was born in Allentown and with his family moved to the Kaywin area of Bethlehem, in the vicinity of Westgate Mall, when he was three. He attended Nitschmann Middle School and Liberty High School.

Sceurman has written two books for adults: “The Death of Big Butch” and “Coffee in the Morning,” the latter a collection of short stories.

‘“Big Butch’ began as a dream, as did several of the stories in my other book. The characters are composites of people I have known throughout my life.”

Readers will recognize references to Lehigh Valley landmarks in the stories and can get a picture of less complicated times.

Sceurman was inspired by storytellers and musicians at Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem, including folk musician Gamble Rogers (1937-1991), who shared tales of colorful people between songs.

“He said that his characters were based on real people and just exaggerated a little bit. You can’t beat that,” Sceurman says.

Sceurman is a founding member of the Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild, now Patchwork: A Storytelling Guild.

He has performed at Musikfest, Mayfair, Godfrey Daniels, Touchstone Theatre, NCC, schools, libraries and the Cops ‘n’ Kids literacy program.

His books and performances display the wonder of storytelling. As he says, “If we lose the ability and gift that we have for telling stories, we lose part of our humanity.”

“Larry and Friends, A Fun-Filled Night of Storytelling,” 7 p.m. April 23, Charles A. Brown Ice House, 56 River St., Sand Island, Bethlehem. https://patchworkstorytelling.org/upcoming-events

“Literary Scene” is a column about authors, books and publishing. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com