The storybook's main photo drew my attention immediately with the vivid colors and I saw that the storybook was about festivals which I love reading about because I can learn more about a culture from observing their festivals. I also really liked the storybook's background and word choice such as "A Calendar of Enchantment." The introduction is very detailed and even includes a list of dates of all of the festivals. I like how the student used the first person point of view as a tour guide for the introduction because it drew me in.
Holi, Festival of Colors: NBC Photoblog
This storybook has a great cover photo that drew me in and continued to have a multitude of photos for each story. The photos help the audience imagine the scene at which the story is set place. I like that the student used different colors for the title, introduction, and body paragraphs of the stories. Each story also has a different color font so the stories contrast from one another. I also enjoyed the change in sentence structure as the author changed from first person point of view at the very beginning to third person and then worked in dialogue. What's different about this storybook is that it also has a tab that directs the reader to the original blog.
Mount Kinnaur Kailash: Wikimedia Commons
The title drew me immediately because I was curious about what the stories entail. I also enjoy reading love stories so I knew this would be the story book for me. The introduction is very interesting and leaves me wanting to continue to reading the rest of the stories in the storybook. I like the dialogue and the conversation between each character in the introduction. The cover photos are all intriguing and match the stories well.
Damayanti and the Golden Swan: Image Source
I hope you will like the epics, Rosa! If you keep an eye out for curses as you read, you will see that it is a huge part of the Indian storytelling tradition — and such a powerful one too! It's like karma taking an active form: when a person commits some crime or makes some terrible mistake, there is karma (consequences)... and sometimes it takes the form of a curse. You'll see that with Dasharatha in the Ramayana: because of a hunting accident long long ago when he was young, he suffers a terrible loss in his old age — and he realizes it is the power of the curse/karma at work. Very intense! Maybe you will want to look at that as a possible topic for class: the curses are very dramatic!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why the Damayanti image did not come up; sometimes you have to upload an image a second time if Google has a hiccup the first time around, but no worries: you have a link so people can see the image and also read about Damayanti there. Her story is also a beautiful one; it is part of the Mahabharata epic that you will be reading in the later part of the semester. :-)
Rosa, that first picture is amazing! This past intercession I took World Music, and I got to explore different festivals around the world. It is really interesting to see how various cultures utilize festivals to celebrate, mourn or worship. I really like that you found that image that symbolizes a beautiful moment in Indian culture. I can't wait to read what else you find!
ReplyDelete