Potential Storybook Topics

1.  Possible Topic: Native Americans.
I think the first thing that interested me in this topic was probably a Native American history class I took when I was a freshmen. I love how they tell stories and the morals that they weave into them. I am really interested in reading some from the Pacific Northwest. I really like that area of the country and would love to hear about the Native Americans that lived there. I also would like to learn more about Native American stories from Michigan and the central part of the north. Michigan is where I am from and I think it is always fun learning more about where one is from.
Research so far.
One thing I love about Native Americans is their style of art so some of the images have really caught my attention thus far. I am also finding the book from the Iroquois about the origin of medicine interesting because I am a science major wanting to be in a medical field. I found the title Canadian Wonder Tales to be intriguing especially because I have spent some time in Canada growing up.

2.  Possible Topic: Urban Legends.
For whatever reason urban legends have been enticing to me. I think it is a unique way to get to know a community on a level that not many people typical try to understand. From the ones I have heard they seem to be really creative while being believable enough to make me say, "what if". I didn't realize there are so many different urban legends. There are definitely enough topics within urban legends to keep me occupied for a long time.
Research so far.
I think the website Snopes.com is incredible. Their archives of urban legends is massive and I was immediately interested in their college section. There is one about exam scams that has a ton of stories that look like they might be funny and interesting to read. I am a sucker for conspiracy theories so the section on September 11th also really caught my eye. I have heard some weird stuff about September 11th so it would be interesting to hear more about it.

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3. Possible Topic: Pirates.

I think this would be a really fun topic to read about but it is hard to decide between doing a storybook on one pirate or to do it on four different pirates. Growing up my favorite movie was Hook with Robin Williams. I thought it would be so cool to be a lost boy because they lived in a tree and it looked like they just had fun every day. If I could pick one pirate it would probably be Captain Hook. It might also be interesting to do one on Blackbeard or some lady pirates. 

Research so far.

After looking at some of the previous projects I think it might be more fun to do a storybook on multiple pirates. I am really interested in doing one on a girl pirate. I didn't even really think that there were girl pirates back in the day. The girl pirates all have such awesome names too. However, researching and finding stories about pirates does not seem to be exactly easy so it might not be the best topic.

4. Possible Topic: Historical Legends.

I really enjoy studying history and in high school it was probably my favorite class to take. Actually, my favorite class in college so far has been a history class called Origins of Christianity taught by Kyle Harper. If anyone gets a chance to take it I would because he is such a great teacher. My roommate for most of college was a history major and so having conversations with him about different things definitely showed me the importance for studying it. I think it is really cool when you look back at history and see situations or events that I can relate to in some way today. 

Research so far.

I have liked learning about philosophy and I have a friend who is majoring in it so I think the story about the lives of philosophers looks really interesting. I have also enjoyed learning Roman history so the story about Roman history is intriguing. I have heard multiple people referencing Joan of Ark in different things and I have never read a story about her and I don't really know who she is so I would be interested in reading the story about her. 

Joan of Ark
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Storytelling for Week 2: Benji and Claud

Benjamin had reached his last straw. The seniors had done enough pranks on him to leave a serious dent in his self perception and confidence. If that wasn't enough, his girlfriend Ricki decided, "she needed to find out who she was on her own" and broke up with him. This seemed ironic when Benji saw her making out with another guy in the hall the next week. 

It was at this time that Benji decided to get a pet. He thought about getting a lizard but decided against it since their food could be a source of insomnia. He saw a video of a baby pig and thought it was cute but they turned out to be too expensive. When he went to the pet store and browsed through the stacked cages of artificial environments he noticed a rather odd looking animal. He sat there looking at its sad eyes and wondered if he felt dejected and lonely like him. It turned out to be a fennec fox and because he was not selling the store gave him to Benji for nearly nothing. Benji named him Claud because he thought it would be a funny name to yell. 

He was a great listener.
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Benji grew close to Claud during high school and people knew that if they saw Benji Claud was most likely to be following behind diligently like a faithful friend. They had fun together and Claud actually made Benji a happier person. As a senior Benji and Claud were voted most likely to get married, which was actually supposed to be a prank but Benji thought it was actually pretty funny. It also made Benji sad because he knew he would have to leave Claud at home when he went to college a few hours away because they didn't allow pets, especially foxes, in the dorms or surrounding apartment complexes. 

Their last night together they did all of their favorite things. They went to the river to swim and cool off before eating dinner at Red Robin as that was Claud's favorite bird to eat. Then they went and made fun of the fishes in the aquarium and played peek-a-boo with the dolphins. Then they went home to relax on the couch and watch Meerkat Manor on animal planet. Benji was about to crash when Claud sat up and looked him straight in the eye balls and said, "Please don't be alarmed, Benji I think you are a great friend and because you have treated me so well I need to tell you something". Benji sat there motionless with his jaw touching the floor. Claud said rather calmly, "I am a unique fox not because I can talk but because I have the power to grant wishes for humans". After Benji regained his composure he explained to Claud, "Since I am going to college it would be nice if I could be part of the popular crowd and to have more friends". Claud agreed he could help him with that and it came true once Benji got to college. 

Him and his friends sat front row at the football games.
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Benji and Claud started to become more distant as Benji grew up and experienced school in a different way then he had ever imagined. When Benji would come home to visit family and Claud he seemed to only do because he knew if he treated Claud well he could get him to grant him a wish. At first Benji asked for things like a girlfriend and a photographic memory. Eventually he started asking for things like the trendiest clothes, the most unique house right on campus, a vehicle that could also be used to go camping with, and to get set up with a job right out of college that paid big and required little effort. 

Claud began to see what was going on but as a pet he was not allowed to intervene, he was only allowed to support his owner to the best of his abilities. Once Benji became an adult he continued this process of exploiting Claud for his wishes and seeking out whatever new pleasure he could dream up. It wasn't until Benji began to suffer from anxiety and extreme sadness again that he realized how he had been living. He realized he had been wasting his life on things and selfish desires that were without true meaning and purpose. He felt sick to his stomach as he thought about all the wasted time. It was at the age of 45 that Benji finally realized what he valued the most in his life. The people he had the deepest relationships with and his fox Claud were what really made him happy. He told Claud what he had been thinking about and Claud smiled as tears rolled down his cheeks. It was the happiest day in Claud's life and he got to spend it with his best friend again. 

Benjamin at age 70.
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Author's Note: 

The story that inspired this story was called "The Fairy Frog". In the original story a man's parents are about to die and their dying wish is to have their son go to the market after they die and buy the first thing someone asks him to buy. They told him that if he does he will find good fortune from that purchase and that no price should stop him. He does as he is told and he ends up getting a frog. The frog is unique because it eats so much and gets so big it becomes a giant frog. The frog eats so much that the man and his wife have barely any food to eat themselves and are struggling to survive but they stay diligent. Due tot their loving nature the frog reveals to them that he is actually a fairy and because of them treating him so well they can both be granted one wish. In my story I wanted to make it a little bit more realistic and relatable for college students. I believe there is this illusion of success in our world and it has a lot to do with our world's capitalistic mindset. People believe they can feel happy and find purpose in being the most unique person or being the best at something. I think it is easy for people to be mislead and I hope this story makes people think about what success is to them and about relationships. I didn't know that you could have a pet fox, especially one as cute as that, so I made him the animal in the story and gave him human characteristics. 

Bibliography:

The Fairy Frog, Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends, Gertrude Landa, 1919.

Week 2 Reading Diary, Continued: Jewish Fairy Tales

These are some more notes that were inspired from reading Jewish Fairy Tales by Gertrude Landa.

The title of the first story I read makes me want to write a story where the main character is asleep the whole time and dreaming but the reader doesn't realize this until the end of the story. I think I probably got the idea from the movie Shutter Island, which is a great movie if you haven't seen it.

Another story had some funny words that rhymed, which makes me want to create a story that rhymes the whole time. It could be something like spoken poetry that tells the story of a character or maybe a place. I think it would be interesting to tell a story about something a redwood tree saw because I feel like they could probably tell some good stories if they could talk.

Look at those giants!
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I once heard a pretty powerful song about a guy who wanted to be in a gang and in order to do so there was a induction task that had to be done first. He was told he would have to kill someone in order to become a part of the crew. At the end of the song it is revealed to him that he unintentional killed his own mother. After reading about Jews being persecuted I think it would be interesting to make a story about someone who thinks he is killing in the name of something comical like Captain Crunch. The person could notice some secret writing on the back of a cereal box that leads him to believe he needs to kill something or someone. It could kind of be a comedic play on something that the reader could recognize as something that is happening in our world today, but with a slight spin.

It is funny to see my brain go to different places when reading some of these fairy tales. Sometimes my thoughts will seem so far away from what I was actually looking at yet I can still trace back the origin of the thought process.

Week 2 Reading Diary: Jewish Fairy Tales

My inspiration for this post comes from my first week of reading Jewish Fairy Tales by Gertrude Landa.

Right away as I start reading and a unicorn enters into the story I notice myself thinking something interesting. Does this fairy tale inadvertently discredit the bible in a way? The reason I am thinking this is because I am a Christian. It is frustrating to think that a non-believer might come across something like this and link it together with the bible because it has an important bible character in it, Noah. I am not an in your face bible beating Christian but it does make me wonder if this is an unfortunate distraction for some readers. In my future writings and stories on this blog I have made a mental note not to create stories that mix bible characters and extreme make-believe.

I think it would be worthwhile to try and make a story that demonstrates how success is not found in money and things but instead in love and helping others. I was recently listening to an interview someone did with J. Cole (hip hop artist) and he was speaking about how our capitalist system has developed this illusion of success that focuses on money and selfishness and less on helping each other as people.

What is Success?
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Another possible story idea that I think would be fun to work in would be a story where dogs represent only females and cats represent only males. Both the cats and dogs could go through a story where then eventually realize they needs each other to live in this world even though they are so different and have a hard time understanding each other. It could also be cool to make a story where cats and dogs are talking to each other and making fun of humans. I have seen some funny movies that involve making pets more human and I think they are pretty funny.

I think one of the most debilitating things in this world that people deal with every day is fear. I think it would be fun to make a story that shows fear as the name of a person, maybe a child. There could be a kid that at first is scared to go talk to fear for numerous reasons but as he gets to know fear he becomes more comfortable with him and even learns to love him as a friend.