Storybook Favorites

After going through the Storybooks from previous students, I have finally found my 3 favorites! Although I know almost nothing about the characters and stories they describe, these blogs' introductions and the simple, easy-to-follow layouts helped grasp my attention and keep me interested to read through their projects!

Epic Love Stories

I am a sucker for love, so when I read the title and clicked on it, I was pleasantly surprised. The student had used diary entries as a way to depict in detail what each character that she chose (Sita, Rama, Damayanti, and Nala) was feeling. Since many of us are familiar with writing in diaries, spilling all our deepest thoughts, feeling, and worries, this was a great idea to learn more about the characters.

Love Stories (Wordpress)

As I read through each entry, I learned more and more. For some reason, I feel I can focus more and connect to a story when it is written in a form like a diary entry. I can read one section and take it in before I read the rest of the entries. It was a great way to build suspense too! After one entry, like in the first few from Sita's diary, I was excited to see what would happen next and what "she" would write. The idea of a diary was extremely creative and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them!

Oscars: The Heavenly Academy Awards

One look at this title and I knew I was in for a hilarious ride. I read the first few sentences in the introduction and I was already laughing. It starts with Brahma as the host saying, "Good evening, everyone, and welcome to this year's first heavenly version of the Oscars! I'm your host, Brahma! I'm sure most of you know me since I did create you all. Ha ha!"

Brahma at the Oscars (Picture by Grace Fairchild)

It only got better as I read on, depicting little details that made it seem like such a normal Oscars. The introductions, audience cheering, crowd reactions, and of course, the awards. I really liked this idea because they connected an event most of us are familiar with, The Oscars, to characters from an Indian Epic. The combination of the two results in a magical, hilarious time at the Heavenly Oscars. I felt like laughing the entire time I was reading through the project and really appreciated how the student explained things so well about the characters through little details in the event, whether it was through introductions or why someone was receiving an award.

Lord Rama: The Greatest OU Football Player

Anyone who knows me, knows very well that I love anything having to do with sports. After reading the title, I knew it was going to be one of my favorite projects. What was amazing was the twist that the student put in her project to connect something as straightforward as football to a unique concept concerning warriors, lords, and reincarnation.

Lord Rama, the football player (Lord Rama Storybook)

The fact that the student included a story about our beloved OU/TX game with Lord Rama was so impressive and very entertaining. What was even better was having Chris Simms from Texas get upset with how the game was going and make the obvious choice to transform into Ravana. The student did an excellent job of creating suspense and excitement while writing about a football game. He or she even included a part of the story detailing the Heisman Trophy and the National Championship game! The unique details involving transforming characters, a time machine, and supernatural powers like controlling the wind made the story very fun to read. I liked the layout of the project and how the sections connected to a different game and a different turn to the story The creativity involved in creating this project was just wonderful and I really loved every bit of it!