Reading Plan

I’m really excited about the upcoming reading units but for many different reasons. 

The Native American unit will give me a chance to explore some of the folklore from my father’s side of the family.  My Nana died when I was quite young but can still recall the cadence of her voice when she told me stories.  I’m often jealous of my older brother, who remembers her much more clearly and even learned some Cherokee from her before she passed. My mother’s side of the family is Muscogee Creek but I didn’t find a unit from that tribe so I plan to ready the Myths of the Cherokee during week 9. I was surprised to see a story similar to the well-known fable of The Tortoise and Hare but with a unique twist.  I will focus on Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes unit for week 10 because the stories sound particularly interesting to me. How the Hunter Destroyed the Snow and Why Deer Never Eat Men immediately caught my attention.

There are so many units I would like to read during weeks 11 and 12.  Since my storybook is based in a small Irish village and deals with fairy creatures of legend, this unit is a gold mine.  When I first perused the unTextbook, The Vision of Maconglinney in the Celtic Fairy Tales II unit grabbed my attention. While reading the story several months ago, I began to formulate a retelling of my own. I would love to include that unit just so I can write that story. My second choice is Emerson’s Welsh Fairy Tales unit.  This unit seems to have a wealth of fairy stories that will help me gain a better understanding of my characters.

During week 13, I want to continue on my fairy tale trend but I’m having trouble deciding on a unit. While browsing the unTextbook I came across a few Czech fairy tales that I really enjoyed but I also planed on reading Crane’s Brothers Grimm.  I think that I will leave this decision in limbo until later in the semester. Speaking of limbo… I want try something completely different by reading Dante during week 14. I’ve heard so much about Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy but I’ve never set eyes on it myself. I really want to challenge myself with this reading. This is a perfect piece to analyze and I think I will benefit from reading it.

(Wikimedia Commons)

I can’t wait to get started.