Extra Reading Diary: Hans Christian Anderson

This story comes from the Hans Christian Anderson unit.

The Little Match Seller: I absolutely loved this story as I was reading it. It had both an extremely sad and eerie quality to it while also providing us with a happy ending. This is probably one of my favorite stories I've read this semester.

(Illustration of The Little Match Seller)

Reading Diary A: Brothers Grimm (Ashliman)

These stories are from the Brothers Grimm (Ashliman) unit.

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids: This story was one that I had been familiar with before reading. It was a lot of fun to go back and read it again. The wolf character thinks he's quite clever in getting what he wants but in the end he gets what he deserves.

The Seven Ravens: This was a very interesting story to read. It was not one of the Brothers Grimm tales that I was familiar with and I enjoyed reading a new story.

Rumpelstiltskin: This was one of my favorite stories when I was a kid. It was really enjoyable to read it again.

 (Rumpelstiltskin)

Extra Reading Diary: More English Fairy Tales

This story comes from the More English Fairy Tales unit.

Tattercoats: This story was very much a type of Cinderella story. I really enjoyed reading it in a different version. Instead of the wicked stepmother we have the grandfather who refused to look at her face. We also have the gooseherd who takes the place of the fairy godmother. It's always fun to read what we consider a classical story in a different way.

(Illustration of Tattercoats)

Reading Diary A: English Fairy Tales

This story is from the English Fairy Tales unit.

The Rose Tree:  This story was really great to read. It's about a little girl who is killed by her wicked stepmother but in the end the stepmother gets what she deserves and is also killed. It was a bit unexpected because usually when we think of fairy tales we think of happily ever after endings but that was not the case here. I really liked this story because it wasn't happy ending but it was a just ending.

(Painting of a rose, by Redouté)

Extra Reading Diary: Native American Hero Tales

These stories come from the Native American Hero Tales unit.

 The Jealous Uncle (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3): I really enjoyed reading this story. I loved how the nephew continuously was able to outwit the uncle and escape from the attempts on his life. It was a really great story. The ending was great with the uncle getting exactly what he deserved. The fact that the boy used the playthings of his murdered older brothers to outwit the uncle was also really great.

(Kodiak, Alaska)

Dug-From-Ground (Part 1, Part 2): This story was really interesting to read. There seems to be a theme of curiosity and exploring throughout the story. The woman gets curious and pulls up a root. The man gets curious and follows his mother. Overall it was a really good story.

Reading Diary A: Cherokee Stories

These stories are from the Cherokee Myths unit.

How The World Was Made: This story was really interesting to read. It's always neat to read creation stories from different cultures and learn about their views on how our world came to be.

The First Fire: I really enjoyed reading this story. It's a story that explains the origin of fire but also explains some of the physical characteristics and behaviors of some animals that we have today. It's also a great story in that after many failures and when none of the others want to venture forth one small creature agrees to try and succeeds in the task.

(Fire, by Awesomoman)

How the Rabbit Stole the Otter's Coat: This story was a great story about trickery and deception. The ever crafty rabbit came up with the plan to steal the otter's coat so he could be named the animal with the finest coat. However in the end he wasn't able to fool the other animals but he still managed to escape from them. It was really fun to read. 

Reading Diary A: Eskimo Folk Tales

This story comes from the Eskimo Folk Tales unit. 

The Giant Dog: This story, wasn't necessarily one that I really liked, but it was one that stuck with me as a possibility for what I want to do with my story idea. I got a bit ahead of myself and came up with an idea without reading the stories first this week, oops. I may switch and save this idea for another reading since it is very flexible. I thought this story was very interesting however. It was not at all how I was expecting the story to progress. At the end I'm still just sitting here going I think I really liked that but it was not at all what I was expecting and I don't yet know how to process my thoughts on it. Who knows what story I will end up writing tomorrow. 

(A very large dog)

Reading Diary B: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)

These stories are from the Japanese Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang unit.

Schippeitaro: I really enjoyed reading this story because I always like a good story with some trickery and deception. However what really stood out to me in this story was the beginning. The odd sight of the man seeing the cats dancing around and yelling makes me think of some possible story ideas for this week.

The Crab and the Monkey: I really liked this story because its about getting exactly what you deserve. The Monkey acted really terribly toward the crab and in return he got exactly what he deserved. There are several ways this story could be spun for a retelling and I may just use it as my inspiration this week.

The Magic Kettle: This was my favorite story of the unit. It was really fun to read about the trouble the Tanuki caused the men initially as they attempted to figure out what to do with it. However in the end they were able to work it out for the best. This was a very light hearted story that was just plain fun to read.

(Photo of a Tanuki)

Reading Diary A: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)

These stories are from the Japanese Fairy Tales unit retold by Andrew Lang.

The Stonecutter: I really liked this story because I really like the message it conveys. It reminds me of the saying the grass is always greener on the other side. We're always looking at what others have and don't always see the value in what we already have.

The Envious Neighbor: I also liked this story because of the message it sends. This story deals with greed and talks about how our continuous greed and envy for what others have can end up destroying us.

The Cat's Elopement: I liked this story because it's a classic love story and sometimes it's nice to just be able to read a love story. Although I'm generally not a fan of the and they all lived happily ever after endings I did like the ending in this story with their eventual reunion.

(A cat with multicolored eyes, by Odorousrex)

  

Reading Diary A: Tibetan Folk Tales

These stories are from the Tibetan Folk Tales unit.

The Donkey and the Rock: This was my favorite story of this unit. I really loved the character of the king and how he resolved the situation with the dispute between the two men. While reading the story I knew there had to be some sort of clever twist coming at the end but this one was a pleasant surprise and I really enjoyed the story as a whole.

(Depiction of the story of the donkey and the rock) 

Extra Reading Diary: Arabian Nights

These stories are from The Arabian Nights.

This unit was really interesting to read. I liked that they weren't all separate stories but instead were stories layered within each other. We have the Arabian Nights story with the story of Scheherazade telling the story of the Fisherman and the Genie who is telling the story of the Greek King and his Vizir who is telling the story about the Husband and the Parrot. It was a little troublesome to keep track of at times but I enjoyed the way everything related back to each other and it was all connected rather than being several different separate stories.

(Scheherazade)

Reading Diary A: The Voyages of Sinbad

These stories are from The Voyages of Sinbad.

The Second Voyage (Part 1, Part 2): The second voyage was my favorite story to read. Reading this story, it just seems so outrageous and so ridiculous that it was really fun to read. My favorite part was where he tied himself to the giant bird to be carried away. Most people when they see a giant bird would go running in the opposite direction. But with Sinbad he just decided to tie himself to the bird's leg so the bird would carry him away from where he had been stranded. Overall I just really enjoyed reading this story.

(The Valley of Diamonds, by M. Parrish)

Reading Diary B: Egyptian Myths

These stories are some of my favorites from the second half of the Egyptian myths unit.

The Two Brothers (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4): I really loved this story in it's entirety and couldn't single out one of the four parts as my favorite. I think this story teaches a great lesson about the consequences of our actions. When we try to avoid the consequences they just seem to keep coming back and catching up with us. Especially when we lie and try to use underhanded methods to avoid them. 

(Papyrus sheet from the Tale of Two Brothers)

The Tale of King Rhampsinitus: I really liked this story because of the ending. It was somewhat of a surprising ending with the robber getting caught but instead of being punished his talents were acknowledged by the king and he was given a pardon for his crimes. It was just a fun story to read to see how the robber would continuously outwit the guards and even the king's daughter. 

Reading Diary A: Egyptian Myths

These stories are some of my favorites from Egyptian myths.

The Secret Name of Ra: This was a story that I was familiar with before reading this unit. It had been a while since I had read it so it was nice to go back and read it again. It's an interesting story to read about the lengths we will go to when we are obsessed with obtaining something.

Osiris: This was a story I was aware of but hadn't actually read. I like this story because it's about rebuilding. Previously we read about a great destruction and in this story it's about building a prosperous and peaceful society. The end of this story is also a build up to the next one and it ends in a way that leaves you wanting to keep reading to find out what is going to happen.

The Death of Osiris: I liked this story because it illustrates the treachery that so often appears in mythology regarding gods and goddesses. This one also shows how things can change drastically when we least expect it. In this case Osiris was celebrating his return and everything was going well and next thing he knows he's locked inside a coffin.

(Egyptian God Osiris)

Extra Reading Diary: Aesop (Jacobs)

These stories came from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs.

The Wolf and the Lamb: I like this story because it illustrates a very real and harsh truth. It illustrates how when people are determined to find fault in someone they will come up with any excuse to do so even when presented with facts that would dictate otherwise.

The Wolf and the Kid: I like this story because I think it relates to our society very well but in a different way. The main message here is that it is very easy to be brave from a distance when we believe there are no consequences. The same could be said for how we act online. When we are online we often hurl insults and say things we normally wouldn't because we believe the anonymity we have online will protect us.

The Hare With Many Friends: I like this story because it's a very classic quantity vs quality illustration. While the hare had a great quantity of friends, they were not quality friendships. It made me think of the country song Find Out Who Your Friends Are by Tim McGraw. While it can be a good thing to have a large number of friends, it's also important to make sure we develop a small number of friendships into quality ones where we know we can depend on the person in a time of trouble.

(Hare and Friends)

Reading Diary B: Aesop (Winter)

These stories were taken from Aesop for Children illustrated by Milo Winter.

The Cat the Cock, and the Young Mouse: I like this story because it's the classic don't judge a book by it's cover but told in a different way. Most of the time you see this lesson being taught so as to not make negative judgments about people who might be really good people. What I really liked about this one is that it went beyond that and also addressed the issue of assuming someone is really good or nice when in reality they might be deceiving you.

The Astrologer: I really liked this story because of the message it sends. Sometimes we get so caught up thinking about the big picture we miss what is right in front of us. We should pay more attention to the present and not worry so much about the future.

(Illustration by Milo Winter)

The Serpent and the Eagle: This story reminded me of a situation I was in. I once found someone's lost phone and turned it in. Later that same day I lost my phone and luckily someone turned my phone in and I was able to get in back. It's always good to be kind because you never know when you will find yourself hoping someone else will show the same kindness. 

Reading Diary A: Aesop (Winter)

These stories were taken from Aesop for Children illustrated by Milo Winter.

The Farmer and the Stork: I really like this story because it reminds me of a situation form my own life. My friend and I in high school were looking around a Halloween store in our mall. There were a group of girls near us who were making attempts to steal merchandise. They were caught by the employees and thrown out but then we got thrown out too because they thought we were with them. Even though my friend and I weren't doing anything wrong the outside perception meant that we had to partake in the punishment as well. Lesson learned, always be aware of the people around you.

The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox: I liked this story because it's a reminder of how quickly the tables can turn. We might think we have the upper hand in something but in reality we are the ones who are being tricked.

(Illustration by Milo Winter)

The Two Goats: I think the lesson with this story is a great one. Sometimes we have come to a sticking point on an issue we stubbornly refuse to budge. At some point it's possible that we might be being stubborn just to be stubborn. We've held out for this long and we can't give in now. But this can also lead to a more disastrous result than we expected.  

Reading Diary B - Greek Myths: Ovid I

Here are the stories I liked the most from the second part of Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 1-4).

Mars and Venus: This story was really short but also really funny. The gods didn't just mess around with mortals but also messed around with each other. In this case when Vulcan learns his wife Venus was having an affair with Mars he creates a trap for them. He ensnares them in a net and then brings in all the other gods to view them in their entanglement. One of my favorite lines is, "and one of the gods, undismayed, prayed that he might be shamed like that." This story was a fun departure from the usual stories of gods interfering with mortals.

(Illustration by Virgil Solis)

Perseus and Medusa: This is where Perseus tells his stories of his adventures and his battle against Medusa. I really liked the language of this story. The way some things were phrased was amusing to me. Lines such as, "He told of his long journeys, of dangers that were not imaginary ones," or when responding to a question he says "Since what you ask is worth the telling, hear the answer to your question". It could be the fact that I read this really late at night but even so reading this story brought a smile to my face. 

Reading Diary A - Greek Myths: Ovid I

Here are the stories I liked the most from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Books 1-4).

Phaethon's Ride. This story has to do with Phaethon's ride on his father's chariot and his inability to control it as it begins scorching the earth. My favorite part is at the end section where the earth is complaining to Jupiter. This just seemed really funny to me because essentially she's telling Jupiter that if he won't stop the fires for her or his brother Neptune in the sea then he should at least do it for common sense because his own palace is in danger of falling. I just had an image of how this would play out in my mind while reading and I found it funny.

(Painting by Gustave Moreau)

Callisto: Wow, what a shocker, once again something ridiculous happens all because Jupiter can't keep it in his pants. This one actually didn't have all that sad of an ending. Callisto really  had to go through a lot of troublesome experiences. She even got turned into a bear and was nearly killed by her son. But in the end this was prevented and both she and her son were turned into some lovely constellations. She did however receive a better fate than some of the others like Phaethon or Semele who both died. I think that's why I liked this story, because even though it wasn't really a happy ending it was still different and not just ending with a death.