Brainstorming Storybook Topics

Idea 1

Storybook Topic: Wits Win

Comments: You had mentioned the possibility of writing a storybook for my son and I think that is a wonderful idea. I would like to include stories about courageous protagonists who use their wits (as opposed to strength or beauty) to win the day. I would like to name the hero after my son and keep this character consistent throughout the book. It might be interesting to take mature tales (like Greek myths) and create child friendly versions.

Possible Stories: Some may say that this is the typical premise for any story, so I should have no trouble finding examples. Jack and the Beanstalk and the trials of Hercules would be good sources for inspiration.

Sample Story: The Drawing of the Sword

Bibliography: source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).

(Boy pulling sword from stone, Source: Flickr)

Idea 2

Storybook Topic: Mother’s and Babies

Comments: One of my son’s favorites songs is “The Wheels on the Bus” and his favorite lines are about the mommy and the baby. He wants me to sing those over and over again. I think a storybook about mommies and babies would be a perfect fit. This would also be a storybook I could share with my son. The first story I wrote was inspired by the lullaby “Hushy Baby,” and I think that would be a good place to start. Unfortunately, too many of the mothers in fairy tales are evil, dead, or absent, so this might take some searching.

Possible Stories: Could all be told from the perspective of Mother Goose. Rumpelstiltskin, Kangaroo

Sample Story: I read and Australian story online called “How the Kangaroo Got Her Pouch,” and I thought it was really sweet.

Bibliography:“How the Kangaroo Got Her Pouch.” Flood, Bo, Beret E. Strong and William Flood. Pacific Island Legends: Tales from Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Australia. Honolulu, Hawai’i: Bess Press, ©1999. pp. 248-251.


Idea 3

Storybook Topic: Scary Fairies: Tales from the Unseelie Court

Comments: The darker fairy tales has always fascinated me: fairies forcing mortals to dance to their death, changelings, and banshees. I would like to write a storybook that is a little bit creepy.

Possible Stories: The majority of the Fae seem to have evil intentions. Nuckelavee, silkies, redcaps are all dangerous to mortals. I think I will stick to the Celtic units or other European folklore for these stories.

Sample Story: Fair Ointment from the English Fairy Tales Units 1

Bibliography: Bane, T. (2013). Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology: McFarland, Incorporated Publishers.

Sample story source: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890).




Idea 4

Storybook Topic: Clever Women

Comments: When browsing through the UnTextbook, I came across “A Clever Lass,” in the Czech folktales units. I found this story to be delightful and I would like to find other stories with witty heroines. Too many female characters in folklore and mythology are passive. I want to seek out stories where the hero is a girl.

Possible Stories: Rumpelstiltskin (again), "A Clever Lass "

Sample Story: "One Woman" from the Laos unit

Bibliography: source: Laos Folk-Loreby Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).