Week 1 Storybook Favorites

I started off selecting storybooks to explore by title alone, then I examined the actual premise of the storybooks by viewing the cover page and the introduction. There was a huge variety of storybooks on the list provided, and I appreciated all of the different, creative ideas past students used to create their projects!

I was super excited when I found a storybook titled Oscar Wilde’s Tales. I love Oscar Wilde’s writing style (and style in general) and The Picture of Dorian Gray has been one of my favorite books from the moment I picked it up and finished it in one night in high school. I felt that the layout of this storybook could have been better. I hated the font and it almost stopped me from reading this storybook. I didn’t necessarily love the route this student took on the introduction either. I felt writing the introduction as Oscar Wilde was a little bit bizarre and uneffective. However, I thought the student did a good job with the condensing/retelling of Oscar Wilde, and I think that’s what matters most.

Next, I decided to look at True Urban Legends: Retold. I’ve always been fascinated by the macabre and mystical, so stories based on urban legends appealed to me. I thought the premise seemed nice and the introduction made it very clear how the stories were going to be presented and what types of things the stories were going to be about. I thought the page design could have been a little darker, but that didn’t detract from the storybook in my opinion. The retellings were not the kind of urban legends I had hoped for, but I still felt they were well done.

Lastly, I explored Women in White: Legends of the Haunted Hitchhikers. I selected this one for the same reasons I selected my previous choice. I had a feeling maybe this one would have a bit more of the spooky element I was hoping for, and I was proven right. The introduction spurred my interest, so I continued on. I thought the choice to lay the stories out as case files was a clever one. The retellings were enjoyable, and I thought this student produced a solid project.