Week 14 Reading Diary Continued: Fables of La Fontaine

These are notes over the second half of my reading on the Fables of La Fontaine.

I think it would be fun to do a story about a rooster and how he takes his job seriously of waking people up each morning. Maybe he has gotten too cocky though with the other animals and needs to get taken down a peg or two.

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I think it would also be fun to write a story about an animal that can also transform into a human. Maybe it could be a guy that when he wants to can transform into some kind of fish or whale. Maybe he swims to exotic places or goes to the Great Barrier Reef.

It would be fun to write a story about a woman who lived on a star and because she lived on the star she could travel to any moment in history. Not the future but anywhere in history.

Week 14 Reading Diary: Fables of La Fontaine

This week I decided to read from the Fables of La Fontaine. Below are some notes on my reading from the first half of the week.

I think it would be fun to create a spin off of the story about the rabbit and the turtle racing. I was thinking it could be a story where the rabbit wins because he has been taking performance enhancing supplements.

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I think it would be fun to create a story where two very unlikely animals become friends and help each other accomplish something. Maybe there could be a dolphin and a stingray that are big wave surfers and a huge wave comes and one has to save the other.

It could be interesting to make a story about a pack of wolves who are forced to survive through hardship and starvation. It could be a story about the will to persevere and how having support can get you through the toughest times.

Week 13 Reading Diary Continued: Russian Fairy Tales

Below are notes I had while reading the second part of the unit I chose for this week over Russian Fairy Tales. 

There seems to be a lot of stories that are on the scarier and more suspenseful side. I think that it would be cool to create a suspenseful/scary story that really makes the reader swallow their breath little.

I also think it could be fun to tell a story about two friends and a journey they go on together. Maybe I could even make it animal themed like Homeward Bound.

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I think it could be interesting to tell a story about the problems gossip can create. Maybe I could kind of make it like a black plague.

Week 13 Reading Diary: Russian Fairy Tales

This week I decided to read Russian Fairy Tales. I am excited to read this unit because I am also reading a book right now called The Brothers Karamazov.

I think it might be fun to tell a ghost story. Growing up I always asked my dad to tell us ghost stories and it could be good practice for when I might need to tell one in the future.

It could be kind of funny to tell a story about the origin of naming Friday Friday. Maybe it could have  originally been called free day or fried egg due to some reason. Over time it could have changed to Friday due to people miss pronouncing the original.

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I would like to tell a story about a group of brothers. I was thinking it could be a story that is kind of a coming of age tale that could be funny but also kind of heartwarming.

Week 12 Reading Diary Continued: Canterbury Tales

Below are notes from the second part of the Canterbury Tales I decided to read for this week.

It would be cool to have a story set in Asia. There is some really beautiful landscape there that could be unique for a story.

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I think I would like to write a story that highlights God's grace and his forgiveness. I would want to show how judgment and deeds are not what God cares about.

It could be interesting to tell a story of a man who is about to be hung for a crime he committed. Maybe he has some unique realizations about life and death.

Week 12 Reading Diary: Canterbury Tales

This week I decided to read from the Canterbury Tales unit and more specifically The Chaucer Story Book. These are some notes over what I read in the first part.

I think it would be interesting to do a story about someone who is ashamed of their job or does their job even though they don't like it. Maybe it could be a story about realizing that you don't have to commit yourself to misery.

It could be cool to do kind of a scary story since I haven't done one of those at all. When I was a kid I used to love ghost stories. Of course then I would hate them when I was trying to fall asleep. Maybe I could do when about a grim reaper type character.

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I might want to do a story of a group of men that see debauchery as favorite practice. It could be a story about them realizing that it has grown boring and lacks purpose. They could realize they find more fulfillment in their lives elsewhere.

Week 11 Reading Diary Continued: The Nursery Rhyme Book

These will be notes for the second part my week 11 reading over The Nursery Rhyme Book.

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This picture made me think of an idea for a story. What if a young boy or girl stumbled upon an animal gathering in a weird place in a city. The animals could be gathered there for their monthly concert and party. It would be a jam session and kick back with their friends. 

I could write a story about a guy who likes a girl and tries everything to woo her. In the process he changes the way he really is and doesn't show his true personality. The girl and him could come to a final confrontation where she tells him he should have just been himself. 

It could be interesting to write a story that tries to explain and show the feeling a person has when they join a group that is already close with each other. Sort of the feeling associated with being a rookie in something.

Week 11 Reading Diary: The Nursery Rhyme Book

For this week's reading diary I will be going over The Nursery Rhyme Book, which is part of our British unit.

I think it would be fun to do a story about a man who lived on the moon and how he came to live there. Maybe it could be written as a sort of conspiracy theory. 

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I think it would be interesting to write a story that talks about living in the rainy season in the amazon rain forest and what its like. Maybe it could be a man telling a story over a fire as he is hiking with his buddies. He could have seen every kind of rain there was and what he liked about them all. 

I think it would be fun to do a story about what it is like for bears when they hibernate. 

I would like to do a story that takes place in the winter and shows how great snow is and how it is misunderstood.

Week 10 Reading Diary Continued: The Song of Hiawatha

These are notes for the second section of week 10 reading that I chose to do over The Song of Hiawatha.

A native american woman describing the sunset makes me think I could create a story that explains the origin of sunsets. Or maybe a could talk about a character who is a mythical artist that is responsible for creating the sunset each night.

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I think it would be fun to do a story where a white man falls in love with a Native American girl as he explores the west. Or maybe I could do it where a Native American man falls in love with a white woman. I could tell the story of them meeting for the first time or realizing that they liked each other. 

I want to do a story that incorporates birch trees because they are my favorite kind of tree. I could come up with some reason they are significant.

Week 10 Reading Diary: The Song of Hiawatha

This week I chose to do reading over the Native American unit called The Song of Hiawatha.
The notes below are from reading the first section.

I like the idea of doing a story where the main character has a battle with a bear and kills it. The story could be about courage. I think it would be cool to have a plot twist at the end where the reader finds out that the warrior who defeats the beast is a woman.

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I think it would be fun to create a story that involves a character building their own canoe or ship and having to set sail on it for some kind of adventure. Maybe he could die on his journey and his spirit becomes a mythical creature of the deep. The creature could be wreaking havoc on sailors because he never made it to his beloved woman.

I would like to try and do a story in a poem format or maybe at least have a poem in the beginning. I have never really written poetry and I think it would be fun to challenge myself to do that.

Week 9 Reading Diary Continued: Alaskan Legends

This is the second part of my reading notes for week 9 that are over Alaskan Legends.

I like the story about the first woman. I think it could be interesting to have a story that incorporates men meeting woman for the first time. I could imagine it being so odd to see someone so similar to you yet so different. The differences could become even more pronounced once they get to know how each other think.

I think it could be fun to write a story about what someone experiences after they are dead. Maybe there could even be two perspectives. One could be sort of a native americans heaven and the other a native americans hell.

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I have always been captivated by killer whales. Probably because of the movie "Free Willie" from when I was a kid. I think it would be cool to do a sort of native american version of free willie but with a twist. In the story I liked how he rode the killer whales out into the ocean and I think that could be fun to incorporate into my story.

Week 9 Reading Diary: Alaskan Legends

For this week's reading I decided to look at Alaskan Legends for the Native American section.

I like how it talks about man first coming to earth. It would be fun to do a story that involved man coming to earth for the first time. Or maybe someone who has been lost in time comes to an era that he has never experienced before.

I also like how the raven is a repeating character. It could be fun to incorporate a character that I previously used in another story.

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In the raven's marriage story he just all of a sudden decides to get married. I think it could be fun to do a story that dives into that a little deeper. Maybe raven talks more about why he wants to be married. Then once e is I could talk about the things he didn't expect and the good and challenging things that go along with marriage.

Week 7 Reading Diary Continued: Jamaica Anansi Stories

I have continued to read the second part of Jamaica Anansi Stories and below are some notes from part B for this week.

Some of the stories are actually had to understand because it is written in the Jamaican dialect. Make sure if I do write showing a dialect or slang that I don't go overboard.

It could be fun to incorporate a new law that everyone has to follow in a story and show how it effects life. It could be interesting considering some cultures have laws that others do not.

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I think it would be funny to tell a story that explains why dogs like to sniff their own poop and even eat it sometimes or why mosquitos love poop. Or maybe I could make a story that explains a different reason behind bees making honey. 

I like how the author came up with a reason why dung-beetles are always around poop. 

It could be a fun story to have two guys chasing after the same girl. Maybe have the guy who is the underdog come away with the girl for some odd reason. Maybe instead of it being because he was nice and caring it could be because she thought he'd make more money or some random thing she liked.

Week 7 Reading Diary: Jamaica Anansi Stories

This week I chose to read Jamaica Anansi Stories written by Martha Warren Beckwith

I like how in the stories you can see the Jamaican dialect and slang come out. It makes the story feel a little more authentic. It would be cool to do a story in which I wrote how the people from that region spoke.

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I think it would be interesting to do a story from a mother's point of view. Maybe her actual thoughts going on in her head could be heard rather than what she says on the outside. Mother's can be so strong even when they are struggling or having a hard day. It could be interesting to hear their inner workings and where their minds truly go in those times.

Week 6 Reading Diary Continued: Folklore of Laos

I have continued reading Folklore of Laos by Katerine Neville Fleeson.
Below ae some notes from reading part B.

I really liked the story about the rice and how it used to be that humans did not have to strain to harvest it and they had more than enough. I think it would be cool to do a dialogue between a therapist and a glass of water. The therapist could ask the glass of water how it is feeling and why it has been feeling down and abused.

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I think it would be interesting to tell a story about a woman who deceives a man for her own benefit but through the process she realizes how unhappy she is. The guilt could eat at her so bad that she develops some ailment and life becomes miserable. 

I would like to do a story about the first snowboarder and he could be a boy from Laos. I want to explain how he addicted to the feeling of flying town the mountain. It could be a story about how everything is right in the ride down the mountain and that there isn't room to think about the problems of the world.

Week 6 Reading Diary: Folklore of Laos

For the first part of the week I will be reading Folklore of Laos by Katerine Neville Fleeson.
Below will be some notes from reading part A.

After reading An Enchanted Mountain I think it would be fun to do a story about a mountain and how people who climbed it found their true calling in life. They could have a new sense of purpose when they descend the mountain.

I also thought it would be cool to do a story about a lake that had magical powers. Maybe when you swim in the lake you could become your true spirit fish. It would be fun to have like a group of friends stumble upon this lake on accident and go for a swim only to have things be drastically different then what they expected.

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I think it would be cool to come up with a story that explained the process of angels earning their wings. Maybe it could be a dialogue between an older angel and a younger angel. The older angel could be sort of mentoring the younger angel on what to do. It would be a story about attitude and grace and not about what the angel thinks she had "to do" to become an angel.

Week 5 Reading Diary Continued: Jataka Tales

I have been reading Jataka Tales by Ellen Babbitt this week. I have really enjoyed these shorter tales in this series of reading. I feel like it allows for a little bit more creativity when thinking of how to recreate them or take a spin off of the original story.

I think it would be a cool idea to have a story where bird migrate to a different region due to the winter and when they do they are totally without anyone they know besides themselves. It could be a story about having courage to go and meet people unlike yourself and pushing yourself out of that comfort zone.

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I think it would also be fun to do a story that is more of an adventure tale about an animal hiking up a mountain. Maybe it could be a story from the perspective of a donkey that helps carry things up Mt. Everest with the sherpas. It could be a story about how he had wanted to climb the mountain for so long but was stuck at base camp until he finally got his chance to go up the whole way.

I think doing a story that involves fish would be worthwhile. It could be a modern day fairy tale about how the oceans came to be over fished. It could start with a good relationship between fish and human. One where they both helped each other until the fishermen became greedy and how they eventually ended up hurting themselves by destroying the fish populations.

Week 5 Reading Diary: Jataka Tales

These are some of my notes from the first part of week 5 in which I will be reading Jataka Tales by Babbit.

I like how a river can be such a huge part of life for animals. It is rejuvenating and can be a source of life to all. It would be cool to do a story about a river and the people it interacts with. Maybe it can have human characteristics.

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I really like elephants and I think it is amazing how they can literally die from heartache. They also have fantastic memories. Just yesterday I saw a video of an elephant picking up trash and throwing it away in a trash can. 

I like the story of the turtle and how he needed to keep his mouth shut but was unable to do so. It could be a good story to use the turtle character from Finding Nemo to do a story about the importance of knowing what not to say. 

I think it would be fun to do a story about a deer who played in a band up at the north pole. He deceived everyone by wearing reindeer antlers and he achieved success and sold plenty of albums. Only to find that everyone stops supporting him when they discover his lie. 

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Week 4 Reading Diary Continued: Panchatantra

Here are some more notes on my reading for week 4 over Panchatantra.

I think it is interesting how each side of our brains can specialize in a certain things that make us who we are. I think it would be fun to personify each hemisphere of our brain in a story. One side could be like a hipster that likes to make art and do creative things and the other could be the nerd that likes to do sudoku and play chess at the library with older men. Maybe they could end up meeting each other and decide to work together on a project at work and end up realizing they are a good pair and they end up making something incredible.

Creativity and logic
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I think it could be interesting to do a story about how a character goes to unheard of lengths to attain wealth. Doing things that are outrageous and ridiculous in order to have more of a feeling of power and stability. He then suddenly realizes that this feeling is only fleeting and that it has left him empty once again. He starts to think about money and how it controls him and aspects of his life even when he realizes it is as important to him anymore. He realizes how broken the world is due to greed. 

I think it would also be interesting to write a story about a scenario where an animal hordes all of the food and resources from the other animals does it in such a way that those resources can't reproduce. Afterwards when those things run out and he is left with nothing and no friends he realizes what a mistake he made.

Week 4 Reading Diary:Ryder's Panchatantra

For my reading this week I chose Panchatantra by Arthur Ryder. The stories are translated from Sanskrit into english.

One of the stories talks about having future lives and how it is difficult to act in the present life while considering those future lives and the effect the present might have on them. It would be interesting to do a story on characters that live differently in the present but both end up the same creature in their next lives. I could also do one where they could end up being different things in the future life.

I was thinking it might be fun to have an animal that is this huge "bully" of the jungle and he gets taken down by one of the most unlikely animals. Maybe a porcupine could devise this perfect plan to make it so the mean animal never messes with other animals again in the jungle.

The "Bully"
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I would like to do a story about the turtle from Finding Nemo who's name is "Crush". In the movie he is a young turtle and I think it would be funny to do a story that looked at him as guy in his twenties. Maybe it could be from the prospective of Nemo going to visit him in Australia. I loved that movie and the turtles because of their funny personalities and laid-back attitude.