Reading Diary B: Robin Hood

More stories from the Robin Hood unit!

The Bishop of Hereford: I loved that this took place in Barnsdale, which is in Yorkshire. Basically, one of my favorite places on earth. This is a good story that describes the mystery and trickery of Robin Hood.

The Bishop: I like how this story starts right in the middle of an action when Robin Hood is running away from the Bishop. Robin Hood thinks on his feet and trades clothes with an old lady, which almost gets him killed by Little John.

Robin Hood and Main Marian: This is the story I've been waiting for. I like that this ballad takes in a lot of information and makes it more of a concentrated story. I think that Maid Marian and Robin Hood are such strong and independent characters. I think this story captures their personalities really well.

Robin Hood and Maid Marian

Week 11 Reading Diary A: Robin Hood

I'm pretty excited about this Robin Hood Unit. I know I'm starting off with a pretty idealized, movie representation of him. Either way this should be an interesting unit.

Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham: I like the format of this story--pros. It reads really quickly and the dialogue helps speed that up. This first story kind of sets up the action that I imagine we will see later on in the unit.

Robin Hood and Little John: The language in this story is very fierce. It's extremely descriptive and well written capturing so many elements in short phrases. The story is longer, but it reads so quickly. The introduction to Little John is really good and has an interesting spin compared to other stories I have read.

Robin Hood & Little John

Robin Hood and the Shepherd: I think this story does a better job of describing the personality or Robin and some of the supporting characters. I like how each of the story has a little paragraph, like a wrap up, of the story.

Week 10 Storytelling: The Color of My Bluebird

I came running in from the bus stop! This morning, before I left for school, my mom whispered in my ear and said I would have a very special present to come home to. I was so excited. I hardly sat still during school today. 

I ran into the house and collapsed straight into my mom. She must have seen me coming. She told me to be quiet and close my eyes. She guided me to what I think was patio. And then, I could hear it, the beautiful chirping of a Bluebird. They have a very distinctive sound. When my father and I go bird watching, he will mimic the sounds of the different birds we see. The call of the Bluebird is my favorite. It has a very smooth and even tone that makes you want to listen to it forever. 

My mother tells me to open my eyes. I've really been peeking the whole time. Then I see it. In an old white cage, stands a Bluebird on the perch. The bird is majestic, tall and proud. I spend the rest of the evening on the patio. I rarely focus on my homework and always focus on my bird. My bird. Who I still haven't named yet. It's just too much of a responsibility. I couldn't just change it after a few days, weeks, months or years. It has to live with the same name forever.

Bluebird

The sun sets below the hills and I begin to yawn more and more. Without realizing, I fall asleep with my math book resting on my stomach. I am lulled into a deeper sleep by the singing of my bird. The soft sounds morph into a song.

There's a blue water.

It lies there

I went in.

I am all blue.

Then in my dreams, my bird appeared singing the song. It smiled at me and began to tell its story.

Once, the Bluebird was an ugly color until one day it dipped its head into the crystal blue river. It continued to bathe in the water four times for four mornings, every time singing the same song.

There's a blue water.

It lies there

I went in.

I am all blue.

On the fourth morning the Bluebird shed all of its feathers and came out of the water in just its skin. The bird waited until morning and woke up, dipped itself in the river one more time and came up covered with blue feathers.

The Bluebird finished its story and continued to sing the song. The beauty of the song lulled me into a greater sleep and, eventually, I woke up with the sun. I knew exactly what I would call my little Bluebird. WATER. Water, like the river the bird bathed in to receive its beautiful color.

Because of the nature of my bird, my mother let Water fly wherever he wanted in the house. We especially loved hanging out on the patio together. He would perch on my shoulder for hours while I did homework or read books. Water was my friend and companion.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really loved reading this origin story of the how the Bluebird got its color. Instead of a retelling the whole story, I integrated the original story, called How Bluebird and Coyote Got Their Colors, into a dream like sequence. The original story also describes how the coyote got its color, but I thought it would be a little strange for a child to have a coyote as a pet. After copying the bird's ritual the coyote also turned into a beautiful blue color, but because of his vanity he tripped and fell into a the dirt while showing off. 

I intertwined the personality of a young girl to add a little more color and life. I think her personality keeps the story young and innocent, which is kind of how I view birds of all kinds. I think the girl and the Bluebird have almost matching personalities. The whole unit is full or origin and creation stories, which is why I think I liked it so much. I really enjoyed this retelling. To me it was simple and fun to write. I didn’t have any trouble writing this story. My only issue was figuring out whether to use present or past tense. I find it hard to figure out where the memory starts and where the present emotions begin. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson 1912

Reading Diary B: California and the Old Southwest

More California and the Old Southwest readings!

Origin of the Sierra Nevadas and Coast Range: I'm really enjoying all of these creation stories! There are so cool! A Hawk and Crow make the mountains from the bill of a duck. Talk about creativity. The Hawk and Crow create their own mountain ranges from the duck's bill. The crow's is larger than the hawks but they connect the two ends making a circle. Now known as the Sierra Nevada Range.

Sierra Nevada Range

The Children of Cloud: I really liked this story. The dialogue helped with the flow and I really enjoyed the characters. Two boys go in a search for their father Cloud. When the find him, the two boys prove their strengths to him and the live with him for awhile. Eventually, they miss their mother and decided to go back to earth to be with her. Before they go, their father commands them not to speak to anyone. They are taunted many times, but keep their fathers wish.

How Bluebird and Coyote Got Their Colors: This is easily the cutest story I've read. The Bluebird is blue because it bathed in the blue water for four days. The Coyote saw the birds beautiful new color and wanted to be like him. So the Bluebird taught the Coyote the song and he bathed in the water for four days. The Coyote was very busy showing off his new blue coat when suddenly he ran into a stump that made him tumble down across a dirty dusty road. And that is why the Coyote is the color of dirt.

Reading Diary A: California and the Old Southwest

This week I will be reading stories from the California and Old Southwest unit. Yay.

Three Coyote Creation Stories: Awesome! A creation story, I love these. Each story is a little bit different which I really liked. A whole new perspective for differing tribes. In the first two stories, the Coyote is not alone and has other animals helping him in creation. But, in the last one the coyote is a lone animal. who saved the planet.

Coyote

The Great Fire; The Origin of Light: This first story is really cool. Fire was created out of vengeance, for a man who loved two women but they did not love him back. The Coyote seeing the fire ran to put it out, upon doing so he lost all of the water on the earth. He chewed sugar, dug a hole at the bottom of a creek, covered the hole with sugar, and then there was water again. I love learning about the different ways characters make the world and the elements among us. It's so much more of an exciting process than the boring science stuff.

The Great Flood: I liked this story a lot! It's similar to a story earlier on in this unit, but with a few differences. I really liked the use of dialogue. It made the story more relatable and it read a little quicker. There are many different animals included in this story, but the most important one is the spider. The spider eventually saves everyone from a huge flood.

Extra Reading Diary: Apache Tales

For my extra reading diary I am reading Apache Tales!

The Emergence: This is a creation story about how the world first began. A Beaver and Badger are the first to emerge from the underworld to the upper world. Their are four ladders people use to ascend. When the black ladder is worn out, the blue ladder replaces it, so on and so forth. When almost all have climbed the ladder their are four routes to be taken. Each route has something good or bad associated with it that the followers must encounter. No matter what each road lead to their own country of Taos.

The Cultured Heroes and Owl: I liked the dialogue in this story. For me, it always helps it go a little faster. The only thing I didn't like about this story, was that I had to read it twice to figure out if the children were humans or owls. It was a little confusing.

Baby Owls: The cuteness cannot be tamed

Naiyenesgani Takes His Leave: I enjoyed all of the stories about Naiyenesgani. I liked this one the most. It is told from an outsiders perspective, which I really liked. I also, think it had a lot of historical relevance because it dealt with the take over of Indian lands by the Americans.

Week 9 Storytelling: The Stone of the Buffalo

I clasped my rumbling stomach. It was speaking to me. I was still hungry. The buffalo have been gone for almost one hundred moons. I got up from my bed, trying not to wake my husband. He came in very early this morning after being out all night. He brought back a rabbit. He woke me from a sleep and we ate the rabbit.

Today, I am going to the forest to try and gather more roots and berries for some kind of sustenance. I pack a small bag and reach for the last bit of rabbit left over. I stop. My husband was out all night, I will leave the rest for him.

As I make my way deeper into the forest, I begin to sing. Now, my stomach joins in. I stop and pick small berries off of a nearby branch. Then, I hear my song being echoed back to me. It sounds like it is coming from the cottonwood tree. I slowly walk towards the tree, careful not to step on any branches. I know this forest is magical and mysterious from the tales my grandmother and mother told me. As I make my way closer to the tree, I see there is a strange stone jammed into the tree. The tree is split into two. I begin to examine the stone more closely. I gasp and step back from shock of what I see. There are buffalo hairs on the stone. Hairs I have not seen for some time. I missed their soft brown color and feel the coarseness between my fingers.

A voice comes to me through the stone. The stone tells me to remember the song it echoed back to me and when it is dark bring the wise ones back to this tree. If we sing and pray the buffalo may come back to our lands. I take the stone from the tree and run as fast as I can back to my husband.

I tell him what I have seen and we quickly go to the elders. I teach them the beautiful song, realizing now I had never sung it before. The song came to me like a dream when I walked into the forest. The elders learned the song, and when it was dark we ventured back into the forest. As we came upon the tree, we began to sing and pray.

All of a sudden the ground beneath our feet began to tremble. We all knew what this meant, looked up and smiled at one another. It had worked! The magical stone had answered our prayers. We made our way back to the village, continuing to sing the song and give thanks.

Buffalo Stampede

For the rest of my days, the village prospered. The buffalo never wandered far from us. The song we sang in the forest became a tradition. We sung it when we worked, played and celebrated. The song to us meant hope, love and prosperity.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I chose to do my story based on the story The Buffalo Stone from the Blackfoot Stories Unit. I really liked this story because, for me, it embraced a lot of Native American folktale themes. Magic, mystery and buffalo. I really enjoyed writing this is in the present tense, from the perceptive of the woman. I wanted her to be strong and smart. She was not foolish, but had faith in the stone and listened to what it said. Essentially, she saved the village. I changed a few timeline things in the story, but the message stays the same.

Bibliography: Blackfeet Indian Stories by George Bird Grinnell, 1915 

Reading Diary B: Blackfoot Stories

More Blackfoot Stories! I am liking this unit a lot!

Bobcat and Birch Tree: This story incorporated the Old Man, the "other side" of Napi. The Old Man tricks prairie dogs into laying in the fire and roasting them for food. Not super nice. While the prairie dogs are roasting a bobcat steals them from the sleeping Old Man after his nose repeatedly warns him. The Old Man woke up and saw the bob cat and pulled off it tale as retribution. This was another origin story, of why bobcats have no tails. I love stories like this.

Bobcat

Kut-O-Yis, The Blood Boy: This was a very long story, but I really liked it. The parents of their son in law were treated really badly and was very selfish. He kept all the skins and meat from the hunt himself. One day he let the father have a drop of blood from a buffalo he had killed. The man saved the drop of blood and boiled it in a pot. The next morning the father opened the pot a found a baby boy and named him Kut-O-Yis. The Father was instructed to tie the boy up on a pole and then the boy magically grew into a full grown man. Eventually, Kut-O-Yis kills the evil son in law.

I really enjoyed this story. Even though it was pretty long, it was interesting and easy to understand. I think this would be a good storytelling post, if i was to take a small section and make do a point of view from one of the small children.

Reading Diary A: Blackfoot Stoires

This week I am reading stories from Blackfoot Stories!

Two Fast Runners: I really enjoyed this story. I liked that the antelope and deer communicated in this calm and regal manner. I also, liked how the strengths within their environments were shown. It is another origin story that explains why deer have no gall an antelope have no dewclaws.

The Dog and the Root Digger: This is a story about Napi, or Old Man, The character kind of have two sides to him. I found this story really interesting and a little spooky. Basically, Napi and a young man hid themselves by changing into a dog and root digger. They are taken into a families home, ultimately to find the buffalo.

The Buffalo Stone: I liked this story because it focuses around the buffalo. I understand from my Native American classes that buffalos are not only routed in many traditions, but also make up much of the sustenance they need to survive. I really enjoyed this story. It had a very beautiful rythm and message behind it. I think it would be a really great Storytelling post.

Buffalo in the Great Plains

Pinterst Widget Tech Tip

Below is my Pinterest Board!


Follow Colleen Owen's board Myth-Folklore Board on Pinterest.

Commenting Review Week

I think the best part about commenting is getting to read everyone's introductions. You can always find something in common with someone in this class. Whether it's a favorite TV show, band or place you have traveled to, there is always common ground. I think it is really important that these kind of connections are drawn in an online class. The comments I find the most helpful are on my portfolio and storytelling posts because they help me be a better writer. When writing you can get so involved in your style and your story and often miss little things along the way. It can be grammar, spelling or just the general flow of the story that they can help you with.

When I leave a short comment, I'm generally focusing on how the story made me feel or, in the case of the introduction, what we have in common. When I'm leaving a longer comment, like on the Comment Walls, my comments tend to point of specific things I like and make small suggestions to things that could be improved. This whole commenting thing has been different that any of my other classes. In many of my advertising classes peer to peer feedback is really important, but is often done face to face. There is no real difference, except for maybe some minor miscommunication.

Two Baby Goats

Writing Review Week

I think the story I've had the most fun writing would be between my newspaper style story and the story I wrote about Amarterasu. I like my news paper article story because it was such a fun writing style. Also, I liked the story it was pulled from but took a lot of liberties when it came to changing and adding characters and storylines. Once I start writing it's hard for me to stop. I don't like going in with a full outline of the story. I rather ket me fingers wonder and my influences to be impromptu and wild. My story about Amarterasu was really great to write because it was centered around a strong female character. She was very interesting to write about and create a story around.

I have two different writing options I want to try in the coming weeks. The first would be to write from the point of view of a minor character. I think this will be cool because you can create their backstory, but stay true to the facts of the original story. Another options I'd like to try, is writing to a song. So, I would play a song that I really was digging this last week and then write a story to it. I would follow the rhythm and climax of the song.  I think this may create a really cool and dynamic story.

The feedback from Professor Gibbs and the students has been really helpful! Once you get invested in a story it can be hard to see a different side of it, which is why I like have the students feedback. Their feedback is especially helpful when they catch grammar or spelling errors that I didn't catch during proofreading.

Baby Goat

I have a felling this week there will be a lot of baby goat pictures. I'm not sorry.

Reading Review Week

So far, I've enjoyed almost all of the readings for this class. My least favorite unit has been Jamaican Anansi Stories. I found the main character completely not relatable and intolerable to read about. I also really hated the Jamaican slang it was written in. It made it difficult to read and understand at times. The stories I enjoyed read were the ones from the Japanese Mythology. I liked these stories because of the origin background information given in the story. I also, really liked the pros and rhythmic structure of these stories.

I often took what I read in the Reading Diaries as an inspiration for my Storytelling. My mind often wondered during reading, so it was easy for me to come up with cool idea to initiate in the Storytelling. I think this Review Week will be a really good opportunity for me to really proofread in detail the stories I'd like to put in my portfolio.

Baby Goat