Storybook Favorites

Today in Myth and Folklore, we were asked to read Storybooks from past classes, and choose some of our favorites to be highlighted on our own blogs. While I was initially wary of this assignment, I was pleasantly surprised by the posts I read. The Storybooks I enjoyed most are listed below.

Toto's Adventures in Oz 
This delightful Storybook is a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, written from Toto's perspective. I have always loved new interpretations of familiar stories, and I especially appreciated that this iteration of L. Frank Baum's classic was delivered from the point-of-view of a dog. This blog was full of pictures, and did a phenomenal job of incorporating aspects from both the book series and the 1939 film, including original illustrations and video clips. For example, the blogger introduced the Storybook with the image below, originally captioned "Toto, ready for an adventure."

When writing my own Storybook, I hope to rival this blog with intriguing subject matter, and creative use of media! 

Back to the Inferno

Like Toto's Adventures in Oz, this Storybook is another adaptation of a classic, Dante's Inferno. In this blog, Death takes Charley, a character invented by the author, to the hell of the future, where he encounters both sinful people and characters, such as Hitler and Darth Vader. I remember reading Inferno in high school, and admiring Dante's bravery for naming public figures he believed would be in hell. True to Dante's form, this blogger did the same, with slights directed towards Kevin Durant and Hugh Hefner. 

While this Storybook featured far fewer photos than Toto's Adventures in Oz, I was drawn to its first-person narration, and its derivation from Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," along with Dante's work. My goal is to curate a Storybook that, like this one, respects a renowned piece of literature, while including pieces of my own thoughts and feelings. 

Love Stories from Biblical Times

Keeping with the theme of favorite tales reinvented, the final Storybook I chose to highlight takes couples from the Bible, and attempts to add context to their love stories. While I was initially fascinated by this concept, I was also hesitant that in the search for "context" sacrilege might occur. While I did not find backing for my initial concerns, there were some other issues with the blog. For example, the "Story Collection" in the sidebar lists five separate postings. However, only three of the five included text; the other two were blank. Furthermore, the posts are written only from the point-of-view of the females, ignoring a whole half of each couple! 

This Storybook remains a favorite, simply because I think its blogger took a risk with the subject matter, and did a sufficient job overall. Nevertheless, I hope to avoid issues like missing posts and one-sidedness in my stories.