Dreaming of storybook topics

1. Possible Topic: Mermaids. I have always thought mermaids were very interesting creatures. I had always believed them to be fictional characters until the documentary came out on Animal Planet. After watching it, some of my friends truly believe mermaids exist; however, I am still not sure about that. One thing that I think could be interesting to do is to watch the documentary and see if there are any ties to the storybooks or any common themes. In addition, The Little Mermaid movies were some of my favorite growing up. I really want to read Andersen's version of the story. An idea for my storybook would be to create the story of a life of a mermaid and weave in the different people and the experiences she has from her perspective. Another idea would be to create a romance story between the mermaid and a man, but I feel like then I would be retelling the story of The Little Mermaid.

Research so far: I visited the humanity.org website and looked over the different titles to the stories. All of them seemed very interesting to me, especially the ones about mermaids in relationships with other people, such as The Mermaid's Twin Sister and The Mermaid and the Poor Fisherman. I am very curious about the romanticized relationships that men out at sea had with mermaids and the different things that happened. I also visited the Mermaid Wife tales website, since it ties into the theme I am already interested in. I read the first story on the page named The Mermaid Wife. For more research, I would read more stories and see the different themes that persist throughout them. In addition, I would like to read stories from different cultures, if possible, and see if they relate.

Painting by John William Waterhouse

2. Possible Topics: Fairytales and Nursery Rhymes. I like the idea of writing about fairytales and nursery rhymes because they are so comforting. We've all read them growing up, so I think we can all relate to the feeling of being safe at home while our parents read us a story. Also, I think they have the potential to be very whimsical and fun. While this might be more challenging for me to write, I think it would also be a great exercise in creativity. Lastly, I am interested in them because I really only know the Disney version of each of these stories, with a few exceptions. I think it would be really interesting to see the origin of each and read the real story. That being said, I don't know much about the actual stories since I have only watched the Disney versions, so it would definitely be a learning experience for me as well. One idea I had for the storybook would be to focus on fairytales that are in the same setting, but from different cultures to see how they compare if possible. An easier route might be to focus on storybooks from one culture and tie in the common themes there. 

Research so far: After reading the Fairytales and Nursery Rhymes blog post, I have a good idea about the differences between a fairytale and a nursery rhyme. While I like the idea of reading a short nursery rhyme and then expanding, I am more interested in the differences between the Disney stories and the real stories. Because of this, I will probably stick with fairytales. From there, I do have some previous knowledge of true fairytales. While growing up, I heard the real story of Snow White. I have also read Hansel and Gretel from the Brothers Grimm. I really liked each of these stories, so I have high hopes that I would like the others as well. I also visited the Sur La Lune website and saw many stories that looked interesting. From looking at the stories on this website, I'm thinking that I would stick with Celtic fairytales, but I am also open to change on this. 

3. Possible Topic: animal stories. I got this idea when I saw the Everything is Froggy past storybook. I really liked how the common theme was stories about frogs and they pulled from four different cultures. I really like this idea because I could gather information about the different cultures and see the common themes, like I so like to do and then compile them into one story. Also, I like how she was writing from the frog's perspective and gave him a persona of his own. I would like to read different fairytales and see if other animals other than frogs come up multiple times. 

Research so far: I will admit that I have hardly any research so far. I have read two of the stories on the Everything is Froggy blog which gave me some good ideas on how to start. However, I don't want to just copy their idea (or possibly plagiarize) so I would need to come up with a fresh idea on my own. I think as I read fairytales with this in mind, it would be easy to do. I would need to read a lot more fairytales and do some research on which animal I would chose and how I would expand it to fit the whole storybook. 

Screenshot of the Everything is Froggy blog by Tana Moore
Screenshot created 01/29/2016

4. Possible Topic: Greco-Roman mythology. I am really interested in reading more Greco-Roman mythology this semester. Specifically, stories about the women like Andromeda and Medusa. I like how these stories have not been adopted by companies such a Disney or Nickelodeon, so they're not as well known in America but also not as altered. I would like to do a storybook on the women in Greco-Roman mythology because I think it paints a really nice picture of how beliefs were then with gods and goddesses and also how women were historically viewed. Were they celebrated in Greco-Roman culture? Or were they seen as submissive slaves to the men? I would love to learn more about this.

Research so far: In sixth grade, we had a Greek mythology unit where we had to read different stories from Greek mythology. We also had a Greek day where we had to pick a character from Greek myths, research them and develop a profile, and then dress up as that character for a parade around the campus. So, I do have some experience from that; however, I do need to revisit some of the stories. In addition, I would like to read more and really focus on the women through the myths.