Reading Notes: The Voyages of Sindbad, Part B

What to say. I think "Luckiest Unlucky Person Ever" is the most appropriate title for Sindbad. His decision to stay home after 7 (yes, seven) terrifying, near-death experiences was a wise one. I liked that the author acknowledged the fact that he was not learning from these experiences. It's interesting to see the creativity of these stories, but they all seem to follow a pattern. Sindbad goes on an adventure, some evil befalls him, we think he may die, then he somehow gets saved and goes home with riches upon riches. It's funny how exasperated I became with him. I'm just glad he finally agreed to stay home and grow old with his family. The best part of the stories was definitely the creative detail. The author included so much imagery, it was like seeing everything in real life. Overall, it's an entertaining albeit slightly frustrating story!

He went down a dark river into the unknown and survived. Again. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Learning Challenge: Reading Out Loud

So this week, I tried reading out loud. Normally, I'm not a fan. I'm much faster if I just read in my head. However, I actually liked reading the stories. It forced me to read every single word and not skip anything. Since I'm a silly person, my favorite part, of course, was adding sound effects and appropriate sounding voices for all the characters. I don't think I can always read out loud since I usually do my reading in the library, but I'll definitely keep it in my mind!

Reading: It's not for everyone. Pixabay

Growth Mindset: Challenge: Exploring Random Growth Mindset Cats

So I decided to look through some adorable pictures of cats and pick some that made me laugh out loud. :)

Yes, he can. Growth Mindset Memes

First off, we have this daredevil. I know cats don't necessarily have the same expressions as humans, but I love the seriousness with this cat. He could be jumping into grass or a pool, for all we know, but he's doing it like a boss.

Maybe he can make it. Growth Mindset Memes

Next, we have this poor little squirrel who just wanted some lunch. Honestly, when I first saw this picture, I didn't even see the cats/ I was wondering why this was a cat meme.. I can't even tell how many there are.. poor mouse.

I hope he finished it. Growth Mindset Memes

Last, we have this ambitious little fellow. I'm going to be completely honest. If that bag had chocolate or cheesecake inside, this cat would literally be my spirit animal. Kudos to him for being motivated.

Wikipedia Trail: From Sindbad the Sailor to Peter and the Wolf

Since I read the story of Sindbad this week, I thought I would start out with some history on him. It's commonly known as part of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights" but it actually wasn't added until the 14th-century manuscript which I thought was crazy! The book had been going for over 1300 years, and it was still being rewritten and modified. As it is a popular tale, I found out that it was one of the aliases of Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo. I remembered liking this book when I was a child, but not so much that I actually remembered the reference, of course. It has such an interesting plotline; I would highly recommend it to anyone who is willing to read through some dense wording! Wikipedia said that the book is as much of a classic as the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. It has been interpreted and retold in so many different ways, some of which included an ogre or vampire took the place of the wolf. The theme of the wolf has been adopted in a few stories including the Russian tale, Peter and the Wolf. It's actually a musical composition, which surprised me, about a boy who rescues his grandfather from a wolf. It's the most popular of Sergei Prokofiev, the author.

A coloring book cover from 1947. Image: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: Voyages of Sindbad, Part A

Voyages of Sindbad taken from The Arabian Nights Storybook
I know I'm only halfway through, but I feel like this should be titled "Why Sindbad and Islands Don't Mix" or something along those lines. No matter how many islands this guy goes to, he still wants to travel the world! I'm trying to decide if I should try to include every story but a little shortened, or stick to one and make it different. I think the more realistic option would be to focus on one voyage. My favorite, by far, was the trip to the valley with the large diamonds and big birds. Even though I was slightly annoyed at Sindbad, I think he was really clever in that scene. I could never have guessed about the large hunks of meat being thrown down, but it's smart. I like that it's all told from Sindbad's point of view. It's comically dramatic, of course, but without a doubt, entertaining.

An eagle larger than an elephant? Yeah, I would be scared too. Image: Wikimedia Commons