Storybook Favorites

As a kid, I loved Disney movies and stories; the storybook Aladdin's Adventures grabbed my attention because it reminded me of my childhood. The title of the story peaked my interest and after reading the introduction, I was compelled to keep reading. The introduction did a good job of explaining how the story was set up without giving away any major details. Almost everyone knows the real story of Aladdin, but the introduction to the storybook explained that this particular story was going to be similar to the true story, but details would be adjusted. The story still had genies, Aladdin, and a magic lamp, but the way the story is told is different. I explored the page and I really liked how each story had a different link and that they were separated. The separation created a "need" to read more. The "author's note" at the bottom of each story also clarified the changes between the true story and the created story. The clarification was a great idea and really pulled together storybook. The image below is the magic lamp used in the real story and the created storybook.

Costume accessory available for purchase on Amazon

The second storybook that drew my attention was the The Stolen Princess because it portrayed a mystery. The introduction was longer than I expected, but it introduced the story well and helped lead the story into a suspenseful and mysterious direction. I personally like fictional books that have a mysterious backing. The introduction leads into the following stories and I appreciate the symmetry of the story titles. Each story begins with "In the..." and it follows the journey of the main character through the forest, village, etc. The story was designed well and the flow of it was easy to follow. The author also commented that he/she has been wanting to write this story for a while and I found it interesting and amusing how much detail was put into this storybook. The image below is an image used from the story itself of the princess; the image has a suspenseful touch to it which portrays the story well. 

Digital fantasy art by Nico23a

I want you to try and imagine Olympus, the place where the Greek Gods and Goddesses reside, as a university! Olympus University is a storybook that uses mythological characters and puts them in present day at a university. I think this was a great idea because it takes an interesting topic and transforms it into a relatable subject for current students. The story was well designed and relates "college stuff" to the actual mythological stories. They compared the Trojan War to the OU/Texas rivalry, they used Greek Goddesses for dramatic purposes, etc. This storybook was very interesting to read and I liked that it made "learning" about mythology amusing and relatable. The image below is my thought of what Olympus University would look like. The image is the Greek Olympus, but the power I feel from the image is what I think the university would be like. 

Sci-Fi drawing portraying Mt. Olympus