Week 1: Storybook Favorites

In my head I know that I'm going to have to create one of these Storybooks, but wow have I got some big shoes to fill! I clicked on each of these links because the titles stood out to me and then I just couldn't stop reading. They were all really impressive! Here are the Storybooks I read:

Flipped Scripts
In reading this storybook, I was reminded of something I've heard multiple history teachers state at the beginning of a school year: "History is written by the winners." Can you imagine what our history books would look like if WWII was recorded from the perspective of the Nazi's. I've always wondered if the American Revolution is treated as a mere blip in England's history books or if they devote a full chapter to it as we do. This storybook didn't touch on World history but instead retold Mythology from the perspective of the "villains." It gave characters like Medusa and Polyphemus of Classical Mythology more depth and insight as to why they were the way that they were. The presentation of these "flipped scripts" equaled the concept of the stories in cleverness. The stories were told in interview format with interviewers that brought a light-hearted comedic air to some of these heavier stories.

Mermaids - CSI
This storybook actually ended up being somewhat different than what I expected but I loved it all the more. The stories are related from the perspective of an immortal murder detective to whom we are introduced in the introduction of the storybook. What I expected was an alternate telling of the story of the Little Mermaid but instead the storybook devoted attention to several different stories having to do with actual mermaids and maidens who have close ties to the sea and in which a murder is somehow involved. My favorite part about the presentation of the stories is that the narrator is incorporated into the action of some of retold stories giving the stories another dimension and perspective.
FRIENDS: The One with All the Stories
*Opening guitar riff from I'll Be There For You plays*
Of the storybooks I read, this one probably had my favorite concept, and not because I am a HUGE fan of Friends. My favorite part about these stories was that I had no idea while I was reading each of them that these were retold Aesop Fables. The stories fit so well with the Friends theme that I thought they were just short Friends episode concepts. The author did such a good job of fitting the stories to each of the personalities of each character that I had no trouble visualizing each of the scenarios as if I were watching an episode of Friends. Then when I read the Author's notes I was blown away that each story had been adapted to this modern day setting. Brilliant!