Browsing Storybooks from Semesters Past: My Storybook Favorites

  

    The first storybook that popped up at random when I opened this assignment was one that immediately caught my interest: Memoirs of a Land Not So Far Away. This story is another look at the world of Oz, a land quite familiar to many of us. The author strays away from the typical retellings of the story of Dorothy and instead focuses on the witches of Oz, both good and bad. I really liked the style of writing that was utilized, with each page being narrated by a different witch of Oz. Along with telling tales from different points of view, the author also has plenty of notes at the end of the stories, comparing her own rendition to the books and other renditions of the Wizard of Oz. There was also an excellent use of images, making the reader feel as if they were reading an autobiography or personal diary.

Introduction Image (which I find to be quite cute)

    The next storybook I read was one that I personally picked after browsing the list of storybooks of previous students: Disney's Grim Grinning Ghosts. The dark side of Disney is a favorite topic of many, one that has been covered from many different angles and regarding many different aspects of the parks of Disney. The first thing that caught my attention was the captivating narration in the introduction, which pulls you in, tempting you with grim tales within the happiest place on Earth. Honestly, this story was probably my favorite among the ones that I looked through, likely due to my fascination with paranormal and creepy stories. The author takes the basic premises of stories of victims of various rides and interprets them in their own way, such as with the young boy who perished on Big Thunder Mountain, who in reality had been a middle-aged woman. A young boy who does not want to ride a 'little kid ride' perishes on the said ride, a tragic surprise twist to the typical trope of a teenage boy who thinks he is too old for a 'baby ride,' and his family dismissing him as a party pooper.

    The final story I read had a really interesting layout, making the story like a journey, what with the links at the end of each page to move onto the next: LOVE ISLAND GONE WRONG. While I am not a big fan of romance stories, I am a big fan of Greek and Roman mythology and folk tales. The author takes classical, tragic love stories and beautifully illustrates them with words alone. The links at the end of each scene that led to the next was a really cool bit added in, giving a feeling of progression through the story. Within the tale of Ariadne and Dionysus, at the end of the introduction, the reader has two choices, in the form of links, which progress through the story in different ways, like a choose your own adventure book. Overall, the layout and navigation of this storybook really added to the intrigue of the author's storytelling.