Storybook Topic Brainstorm

Topic Idea 1: Jataka VeggieTales

When I was growing up, the church I went to often showed VeggieTales to children (including myself) in Sunday school classes in order to teach the bible in simple terms. I believe a similar style of storytelling could be a fun way to tell many of the Jataka stories. I really liked the Jataka tales from the second week and I think VeggieTales would be a good format for re-telling the stories because it too sought to distill the themes and virtues of its subject matter into entertaining stories. I think the best way to write this type of story would be in a script based format.

I would rely on the sources below - the first two mainly so I can stay true to the spirit of the Jatakas and VeggieTales, the third for additional research, and the fourth for story ideas.
Source on Jatakas
Source on VeggieTales
Project Idea: Jatakas
List of Jatakas from Class

Topic Idea 2: Love Letters of the Ramayana

One topic I am interested in exploring is the way love was shown in the Ramayana. In particular, I would be interested in showing what I learn in the form of different love letters between characters in this epic. I think I would be able to learn a lot by getting in character and writing letters - this would also allow me to write responses to the letters and get a series going about the love dynamic in the story.

I was inspired by the Love Stories project idea, and I would want to use couples from the Loving Couples of the Ramayana section. Obviously I would want to cover Rama and Sita, but I think exploring lesser known couples in a love letter based format might help tell their story in an interesting and different way.

Topic Idea 3: A Ramayana Travel Guide

One thing that always helps me understand a story that takes place in many places is a map. When I first read the Wizard of Oz, I had an old copy of the book and it had a map in it, which helped me understand the progression and travel throughout the story. I want to do something similar for the Ramayana, and I think a good way to do it would be in the form of a travel guide - I could be a Ramayana travel blogger. I would talk about the best destinations and retell the stories that happened at each place, while providing some geographical context.

I found the Geography of the Ramayana page to be a good jumping off point, especially because it has a list of important places I could write about.

Topic Idea 4: Super Ramayana Bros.

The video game I loved the most growing up was Super Mario Bros., a great adventure of two Italian plumbers on their mission to save the princess. I think the Ramayana could provide a similar story to this classic video game. Retelling this story in the form of different Mario Bros. levels with a Ramayana twist would be really fun, and mixing the two would make for a good story in my opinion.

I would focus on Rama and his brothers, and have their mission be to save Sita from Ravana and the Rakshasas, as outlined in Sita's Wikipedia page. I would be able to use the project idea page for Epic Brothers as well.

 

The logo for Super Mario Bros. - this could be Super Ramayana Bros. when I write my storybook (Source: Wikipedia)