Styles Brainstorm: Avatars of Vishnu

Topic.  My storybook will be about the different avatars of Vishnu.  In particular, I want to focus on the stories of Matsya, Rama, and Kalki.  Matsya is Vishnu's first avatar of the Dashavatara.  He is a fish who grows uncontrollably and then warns Satyavrata of a great flood.  Kalki, on the other hand is Vishnu's last incarnation and has not yet appeared.  Kalki bring the end times and is said to arrive atop a white horse and wield a flaming sword.

Bibliography:

1. "Matsya, the Lord's Fish Incarnation."  Website: bhagavata.org 
2. Kalki.  Website: Wikipedia.
3. PDE Ramayana. Website: Images and PDE Epics.


Possible Styles:

Bedtime Stories.  This is a very simple way to frame the different stories, but I think there are some ways to spice it up.  Similarly to "Where the Wild Things Are," the child who was listening could enter the story in his dreams.  The tale would start as a bedtime story, and as the kid falls asleep, he would be transported into the world itself.

Vishnu's Perspective. Since I will be focusing on the avatars of Vishnu, I can tell the stories as a frame tale from Vishnu's perspective.  He can describe his reasons for each avatar and tell the readers about his experiences.  These can be in the form of letters or set as a story told to a mortal hero.

Journey.  The stories could be told by a man who travels to a significant place where each of Vishnu's avatars visited and has an encounter with each of them.  This would be a neat way to include a map.  This would be a combination of the traveling India topic and the avatars of Vishnu.

The Earth as a Storyteller.  I can tell the story from the perspective of different objects.  The ocean could tell the story of Matsya and the forest could whisper Rama's story.  This could be set up with a frame tale or just be an anthology of different stories told in the same style.  For a frame tale, the Earth as a storyteller could be combined with the idea of the journey.  A man would travel to different areas of the country and hear the stories from the Earth instead of encountering the different avatars themselves.  As he dives into the ocean, he has a vision of Matsya's story.

All the above.  Vishnu's avatars become more and more evolved with each incarnation.  I think it would be fun to follow a man who experiences a different and more evolved avatar as he grows himself.  First, as a child, he would enter Matsya's world through his dreams.  Then, when he is traveling India, he hears the story of Rama from a tree in the forest.  As he dies, he hears from Vishnu himself as he becomes Kalki to bring the end times.

Avatars of Vishnu

Image from Wikipedia