Storybook Favorites

The first storybook that caught my attention was International Travel. This storybook was a combination of retelling old tales and personal accounts. In the introduction, the creator explained the idea behind her storybook: she was bringing readers around the world to a different location in each story. The three locations were the places from which she and her siblings had been adopted. Each story was a retelling of a tale from that place, but as a personal story. I enjoyed that I got to learn a bit about tales from around the world in the author's note at the end of each story, in which the author explained her reason for choosing that tale. I also liked that the stories were personal and true.

I was drawn to the storybook Once Upon A Museum because I both enjoy reading fairy tales and love museums. Although I was drawn in by the name, what I enjoyed most about the storybook is the style of storytelling. The writer brings the audience to a different "exhibit" in each story. Instead of each story being told through just writing, however, each story is told as a transcript of a video story being told at each exhibit. The images for each story are stills of the video. I loved that the storybook was an entire experience that follows the reader from introduction into each retelling of a popular fairytale.

The last storybook I really liked was Italian Fairy Tales. I am minoring in Italian, so I always love learning more about Italian culture. Through this storybook, I specifically learned about (surprise, surprise) Italian fairy tales. The only Italian fairy tale I was familiar with before reading this was Pinocchio. One of my favorite parts about this storybook was the use of pictures of Italy. Since each story takes place in a different Italian location, the pictures worked well with the tale being told.

(Image of Amalfi by andischatz. Source: Pixabay)

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Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes, Part B

In the "Jingles" section of the Nursery Rhymes unit, there are several well-known tales. The first is "Hey Diddle Diddle." HEY! diddle, diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon; The little dog laugh'd To see the sport, While the dish ran after the spoon. The next is "Tweedledum and Tweedledee." TWEEDLE-DUM and Tweedle-dee Resolved to have a battle For Tweedle-dum said Tweedle-dee Had spoiled his nice new rattle. Just then flew by a monstrous crow As big as a tar-barrel, Which frightened both the heroes so They quite forgot their quarrel. Another is "Rub-a-dub-dub." RUB a dub dub, Three men in a tub: And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, The candlestick-maker; Turn 'em out, knaves all three! As I said in the other reading post about the Nursery Rhymes unit, I think it would be difficult to write my own jingles inspired by these. They are all fairly short and follow a similar rhyme scheme. Th...

Reading Notes: Ancient Egypt, Part A

In the story " The Death of Osiris ," Osiris's brother, Set, creates an ornate chest that match Osiris's exact dimensions. During a large feast, Set tells everyone that whoever's dimensions are a perfect match for the chest will be gifted the chest. All the guests tried fitting in the chest, but none fit. Finally, Osiris tries laying in it and fits perfectly. Before he can get out, however, the "evil followers" of Set nail Osiris into the chest, killing him. The party quickly becomes filled with sorrow rather than joy, and Osiris and his coffin are put in the Nile, which they float down until they set sail in the ocean. I think it would be interesting to tell a similar story to this one, in which people thought someone was doing a good deed for society, but it is secretly a sinister act. I could use the same basic premise by having someone create an object that is unknowably created for one specific person, people trying to win this object, and ...

Story Lab: Writers Write

I chose to look around the Writers Write website. It offers advise to writers, writing courses, and writing motivation. One of the articles I most enjoyed was " 45 Ways to Avoid Using the Word 'Very.' " I thought the quote it started with was very funny: "Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to use the word 'very;' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be." -Mark Twain The article then gives a chart with adjectives commonly used after the word "very" and then gives a word that means "very (insert adjective)." Sometimes when I am writing, one of the harder parts is picking strong adjectives; this chart gives me a go-to list. I also liked the article " 20 Myths to Use as Writing Prompts ." The articles does not give specific stories to base your writing off, like I usually do for this class, but rather gives general myths to use as a starting point. A few of the id...

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