Former Epics of India students retold stories they had read throughout the semester and compiled them into a "storybook" as one of their assignments for class. I got to read any three I wanted to so that I could discuss them. In this post, I will talk about the storybooks I read , pointing out some things that I like and dislike about each one.
The first storybook is Criminal Investigation: the Goddess Files by Whitney Patterson. Basic summary: a detective gets several reports of odd incidents that involve women that all resemble stories of Hindu goddesses. I wasn't familiar with any of the stories before I read this, but the author did a decent job of explaining the originals in her notes at the bottom of the page. The introduction to this story felt really choppy. It briefly described the situation. The setting wasn't explained well, just that it was a small town named Point Pleasant. There were no other clues to where it was in the introduction (in a later story, she mentioned the Ohio River). She briefly introduced the cases, but I felt a little lost by the way she went about it. The main character worked through a case in the introduction before the story (with the details of the case) was told, which was incredibly confusing. I liked the idea of organizing it like a journal. It enhanced the "detective" feel of the story. I really appreciated the links at the bottom of the page that would sent you a page forward or back, too. The pictures the author used on the introduction and story pages were really good for a mystery story. The picture on the title page didn't seem to fit, though.
The second storybook I read is Tales of Ganesha. I didn't see anywhere on the site that gave the author's name. Basic summary: Ganesha has come to Norman and is telling stories from his life. I really liked this author's style of writing. It was very relaxed and felt natural. I enjoyed the pictures that the author selected. They all seemed to fit the stories being told. I also really enjoyed the author's notes. I could tell this author did their research and put time into the storybook. I didn't really get why Ganesha (the narrator) had come to Campus Corner. It was also strange that he commented on sports. Those two things didn't really take away from the story, but I don't feel like they really added much, either. The introduction was good in introducing the narrator and giving the reader a brief idea of what would happen next.
The third and final storybook I read is Sita: A Song of Valor by Lorraina Robinson. Basic Summary: a teacher tells stories about Sita to his students as they grow up. I really liked the design of the page. The fonts and colors were great and the pictures she selected were supportive, too. I really like how much detail the author put into her stories. I feel like her "author's notes" weren't as helpful as those in the other two storybooks, but I felt like her stories explained themselves well enough without them. The introduction did a great job of setting up the story. I could tell she considered everything she wanted to convey while she was writing the whole storybook (or went back through after finishing and edited really, really well).
Overall I enjoyed reading these stories. I believe I have learned some things that I would like to use and some things that I would like to avoid when I make my own storybook.
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