Maddie's Topic Brainstorm

Hello everyone, below is a list of my brainstorming ideas for 4 possible storybook projects! 

(Brainstorm; Image from the Blue Diamond Gallery)

Idea #1: Goddesses

I am very interested in the idea of goddesses because they were the stories I grew up reading as a kid.  As a kid I read all about Greek Goddesses and found it so interesting, so now I think it would be beneficial for me to learn about the goddesses of a different culture in order to branch out a bit with my knowledge.  I would like to learn how other cultures' goddesses compare to the Greek goddesses: what similarities they have, what differences they have, and whether or not one culture influences another culture in any way.  I would like to tell stories about goddesses sticking together, sort of like a girl group in the modern day: dinner parties, gossip, drama, etc.. It would be fun to bring the goddesses into the modern world with technology as well.  I would tell these stories with a lot of dialogue between all the goddesses; I would need to research which ones were more likely to be friends than others and all the relationships between them. An area I would be most interested in exploring specifically would be the Roman Goddesses.  I found this website that talks about some of the goddesses; the website has a lot of valuable information. I think the Roman mythology would be interesting to see all the counterparts to the Greek goddesses.

Idea #2: Mermaids

As a kid I always believed that mermaids were real; I had myself convinced. I think a project about mermaids would be fun to do because of my childhood experience believing they existed and that one day I would be able to be one.  The story I like the most that I would be interested in recreating or telling is the Mermaid Wife from the Shetland Islands; it was listed as one of the research ideas, and it drew me in. I would like to tell stories of the mysterious underwater and everything that goes on. In this story I would like to include some kind of love story similar to Ariel the princess that includes love, a trickster, parents approval, etc.  I would like to learn more about the origins of the mermaids as well: how they came about, whether or not they were liked by communities, whether they caused good or bad things to happen, etc.

Idea #3: Cookbook

The idea of a cookbook is very interesting to me because of my new found love for cooking.  I used to eat out all the time when I first came to college; over the past few years I realized that is way too expensive, and very unhealthy.  I would like to do a Greek cookbook because of how healthy their food tends to be.  My roommates and I now cook all the time, and I could try out recipes on my own and include personal pictures in my storybook of how they turn out along with a story that goes with it like was mentioned on the research page.  I looked at the Apple Symbolism page for a good inspiration of what I would like to do. I would like to do foods that have a specific symbolism behind them. The greek foods I am most interested in include greek salad, baklava, and the cheese trays. 

Idea #4: Fairy Tale Princesses

Finally, one of my most favorite storybook ideas is fairy tale princesses.  I am a lover of all things romance and love; what better way to portray that than through the use of fairytales and princesses? The storybook I looked up to get more ideas was the most well put together storybook I have seen (maybe I am biased because I am so interested in it though!).  It was Madame Gossip: The French Princesses You Haven't Met Yet. I would like to focus on the French/Italian culture since I have always wanted to go to Paris since I was a child.  I have also taken four years of French language and find the French culture very beautiful and mesmerizing. I would like to tell stories of all the princesses meeting and hanging out, similar to what I would want to do for the goddesses as well. The only previous knowledge I have about princesses is the ones I grew up watching over and over again: Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella (my favorite), Beauty and the Beast, etc.