Monday, September 7, 2015

Topics

Topic: Mermaids
Comments: I have always been fascinated by the concept of mermaids. Actually I'm pretty fascinated with anything to do with the sea in general. I think the idea of mermaids is such an intriguing one because we are continually discovering new species within our oceans. They are so vast and so much of it has yet to be explored so who is to say that mermaids don't exist? Maybe not the half man half fish that we typically associate with mermaids but perhaps a species of highly intelligent beings that have managed to avoid our grasp other than a few glimpses to create stories from.
Possible Stories: One particular story that could be used obviously is Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. Many stories pulled up when mermaids was entered in the search bar of the Untextbook so the possibilities are quite numerous.
Sample Story Comments: One book that came up from the Untextbook search was the Fisherman of Shetland. In this story a fisherman and merman work together so the fisherman can make a successful catch. The merman was given a magical belt to do such things and it goes stolen from him by a witch and her dwarf companion.
Bibliography:
Sample Story: The Fisherman of Shetland
Book Title: Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories
Book Author: Peter H. Emerson

Topic: Fairy Tales
Comments: Who doesn't love all of the fairy tales they grew up listening to? To this day Disney movies are some of my favorites because I love the nostalgia of thinking back to when I was a kid watching these movies.
Possible Stories: The possibilities are endless for fairy tales in the Untextbook. Many I have known for years and even more that I have yet to hear so there are some good selections.
Sample Story Comments: One story that caught my eye was Old Mother Wiggle-Waggle. I have never heard this story before I just thought the name was pretty funny! This story is about a daddy fox who steals a goose from a farmer and his wife and gets away so that he can feed his family.
Bibliography:
Sample Story: Old Mother Wiggle-Waggle
Book Title: More English Fairy Tales
Book Author: Joseph Jacobs

Topic: Dragons
Comments: Dragons are just a fascinating topic. I think people get so caught up in the idea of what if we could actually have these magnificent beasts? I'm really into Game of Thrones and the dragons are definitely one of the coolest things in the show, so I think it would be interesting to read more stories involving them.
Possible Stories: Once again there are many options on the Untextbook for stories of dragons. I really don't know of any stories containing dragons so there should be a lot of interesting ones to choose from!
Sample Story: There was a story in which a little boy and his bull-calf work together to ultimately kill a dragon. This in turn saves the Princess's life so the King gives the boy her hand in marriage.
Bibliography:
Sample Story: The Little Bull-Calf
Book Title: More English Fairy Tales
Book Author: Joseph Jacobs
 
Topic: Creation Stories
Comment: Creation stories are always so interesting. I love seeing how different cultures describe what they believe was the start of their people and/or land. All stories are so wildly different that you could sit and read for hours and still learn new ideas.
Possible Stories: There are a great deal of creation stories within the Untextbook. Many of the ones that pop up are stories from the various groups in the United States. I would be most interested to read up on the creation stories of the Native Americans!
Sample Story: There is one story that details the creation story believed by Cherokee Indians. It is quite interesting because they believe that initially the Earth was suspended above an ocean of sorts. The end of the world would mean the dropping of the Earth into the ocean and its consequent submersion killing all.
Bibliography:
Sample Story: How The World Was Made
Book Title: Myths of The Cherokee
Book Author: James Mooney

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