Storybook Possible Topics

Possible Topic 1: Mermaids
I have always been a huge fan of mermaids and water and they play a big role in mythology. There are many stories they appear in or the whole story is about them. They are very elegant and beautiful, and some are known to lure men to their deaths, which is pretty cool. There is also the huge debate if mermaids are real or not and its always wonderful hearing those stories (even though I don't really believe them).
Research so far:
I have read some older storybook from students who previously took this class. I looked up the stories that they read for their stories and skimmed a few of them. I have also watched The Little Mermaid probably 80 or so times. A few stories I looked at were the Mermaids Wife, Menanna and Piskaret and The Beautiful Girl and The Fish.

Possible Topic 2: Real vs. Disney
Disney is known for taking very adult stories and turning them PG and colorful. I am a huge fan of Disney, but for most stories I like the original. Disney's Hercules is my all time favorite movie, but its not as happy, bright and cheery as the animated version makes it out to be. This is true with a lot of stories.
Research so far: I have seen just about all of the Disney movies like Tangled, Cinderella, Hercules and Alice in Wonderland, which I personally think is a great first step in research. I do know some of the real stories, but I do need to reread them a little further in depth. I think other people have done this topic so I could go and look at some of the old storybooks.

Possible Topic 3: Engagement Announcements
This could possibly be one of my favorite topic themes. There are so many love stories in Mythology that end in marriage and engagements and engagement stories are my favorite (I always cry). I would write this in the 1st person of the girl who just got engaged whether it be a long romantic story, or one where Hades stole her and brought her to the underworld. Because of the array of stories the engagement announcements would all be very different and hopefully leave you with a smile and a small tear rolling down your face.
Research: Like I mentioned I already know the story of Persephone and I know there are many more like that. Theres also Cupid and Psyche, but I do need to do more research on some of these stories. There are always the classics like Cinderella. I could also add a mermaid story or a story from the bible.

Possible Topic 3: Underwater Mysteries
This kind of  leads back to mermaids, but this is a little bit of an expansion on that. I was thinking I could almost write the stories like they are being broadcasted on the show "Unsolved Mysteries." These are stories that have no ending and lead you to use your imagination to solve them yourself, or keep you guessing forever. With stories about mermaids or water sprites or even monsters like the Kraken there are many things I could do with this topic.
Research so far: In the story of Odysseus he is sailing in most of his adventure so he encounters many water creatures. There are many stories about pirates and water sprites. One that really captures my attention is the Kraken. These things may have already been on "Unsolved Mysteries" now that I think of it.

Kraken by MaBuArt

Storytelling Week 2: Creation from a Rabbit's View

My Story this week was about Adam and Eve and the creation of humans, so instead of writing letters home, I will be writing in a diary as the first rabbit ever.

Day 1:
This is a whole new world, literally. I was nothing yesterday and now I'm this creature with long ears and big feet. There is one guy here I know,  God. He created me and a bunch of other things like me, but were all a little different and some are a lot different. I think I'm going to like it here.

Day 2:
When I woke up this morning I saw God making miracles. He created this thing, we call him Adam and he is amazing. He speaks in this language I've never heard any of the other animals use, but I like it. Also today, Adam named us. All of us, it was crazy. He calls me Rabbit.
Even though all of us are Adams friends, he seems lonely. I think God knows and he's just waiting for him to go to sleep. Im going to stay up to see what miracles he's going to do.

Okay, its really late right now and Adam just fell asleep, and just like I said, God is doing something! This is weird but its beautiful, He's making another Adam. But it looks a little different, but defiantly still an Adam. I think I will talk to the new Adam tomorrow, but I'm tired so I'm going to bed.

Day 3:
Her name is Eve and she's a woman. She is very nice, but I think she messed up today. This is a long story so ill tell you from the beginning.
I was hopping up to her when suddenly this serpent slithering very quickly, Im not sure where I am on the food chain yet, so i just stopped and stayed still. He wasn't going for me though, he went right up to Eve. He started talking to her in the Adam language. She seemed confused, and he kept talking to her. I was hiding behind this tree. They call it the Tree of Good and Evil, it has some very delicious looking fruit on it. Suddenly the serpent leads Eve right to this tree and has her touch it. She looks scared, like she doesn't want to touch the tree for some reason. She closed her eyes and put her hand on the tree, but nothing happened. She looked very relieved. Then the serpent reaches up and takes a piece of fruit from the tree and gives it to Eve. She has it in her hand, but the serpent uses his tail to push the fruit to her mouth. She bites it, then she eats the whole thing. After she rushes to get Adam and she leads him to the tree and grabs another piece of fruit from the tree. He pushes her hand away, but she talks really loud like she's excited about something. Adam then eats the fruit, then looks scared. after a while they both look down at their bodies and seem even more scared, they run and hide.

Adam and Eve with Animals 

I hear God's voice and I get very excited. Adam and Eve are no where to be found, but I follow God. He finds them and God looks upset. He talks to them and they look very sad. The serpent is punished just like Adam and Eve were. I wish I could hear what they were saying but everyone wasn't happy. Adam and Even went to bed and I think I am too. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow.

Authors Notes:
In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, the story went a lot like this but in a different perspective. Adam was made from dust by God and then God made Eve out of Adams ribs. Eve gets persuaded by a serpent (the devil) to eat the forbidden fruit. She does then convinces Adam to as well and they feel scared and ashamed and they hide from God.
In some of the other stories I read, Adam was as tall as the heavens, so when he ate the fruit he shrunk down to about six feet tall, so it was obvious when he was hiding from God. In another story there was another women named Lilith, who ran away from Adam, which I thought was very interesting. Most of the stories followed the story told in the Bible, but were a tad different.

Week 2 Reading Diary: Adam and Eve

The Creation:
In the beginning God created.... Everything! and it was very good. The creation of man and woman has begun and this is where the story starts getting juicy.
The Fall:
Like most innocent women, Eve was tricked by a snake. The fruit of the tree of good and evil was completely off limits, but Eve was talked into it by the devil himself. Adam, trying to be the good husband he is, listened to his wife and also ate the forbidden fruit. They were no longer innocent, which caused distress for the human race.
The Ideal Man:
Tall and wide as the eyes can see, can live a thousand years, and can make up names for every creature on the earth? Perfection!... I guess. Stated in the reading and common knowledge, there are no perfect men anymore.
The Fall of Satan:
At first I thought this was going to be a story about the time my ex tripped but not so much. Jealousy took over one of the angels in heaven because of the perfection of the first man. He tried to compare himself to Adam but soon realized he was no match and threw a hissy fit. God kicked him out of heaven along with his evil posse.
Lilith:
Lilith was no Eve, except the whole rebellious attitude. Eve ate fruit, but Lilith didn't mind the death of one hundred babies daily just so she didn't have to live with Adam.
Eve:
Women were doomed from the beginning. Even though God tried to work around all the flaws that could go wrong, it happened any way. Eve being the first women was as great as she could be and to Adam she was perfect. They were married, now a days some might say a little too quickly, but they were in love!

The Creation of Eve, by William Blake 

Paradise:
In this story accepting the Lord into your heart was not the way to Heaven, but your soul has to pass through seven portals to see if it is worthy to join the angels.
The Fall of Man:
Like in the bible the fall of man was because of the meal of the forbidden fruit, but in this story the serpent was just about equal to man. They were almost equal in physical ability, so the serpent wanted to get rid of human so he could be superior over all God's creatures.
The Punishment:
For Adam and Eve the punishment for them was for all mankind. Adam shrank down in size, they knew they were naked, and they could feel pain. The sneaky snake was punished as well. God took away his arms and legs, made him crawl on his belly and he could only eat dust. Im sure there were many regrets going on at this point. The earth and the moon were punished along with man and the serpent.