StoryBook Favorites

Journal with the Tree of Life depicted on it

(Online source)

Dai Dreaming: A Collection of Birth Stories 

For this StoryBook, I was shocked at how quickly I took to the idea being presented: a young girl in a family of midwives experiencing her first birth and recording it, along with the subsequent births she witnesses and is aid to in her Tree of Life journal. I devoured the introduction page... to the point where I wondered if this was fiction or fact. It's close enough to the truth to be believable.... The frame the information was given to me in was comfortable: a diary, midwifery, childbirth. However, the content of the three births presented was completely new. The layout and design was good in that in was easy to navigate, and I enjoyed the quirk of the font looking nearly handwritten. The introductions to each new story in which the author transitioned from the original meeting with Sashthi to the event she now goes on to describe that involves Shashthi again was superbly written. It was brief, but intimate enough to continue the reality of the scenarios presented. This is by far, one of my favorite to have Storybooks to have come across.

The Fall of the Titans, Cornelis van Haarlem

(Image Source)

Titan Tales

The introduction to Titan Tales was quirky, fun and imaginative. A gathering of brothers is occurring as a therapist attempts to aide the brothers in relieving some of the family tensions that have arisen. Great pains have been taken to get all of the brothers together, including letting one out of jail for this meeting. The writing style is relatable and entertaining, and the choice of images was also entertaining. The design is easy to navigate, and the formatting fits with the conversational flow of how the Titans are presented. 

Grani, theViking Boat

(Source)

Sigurd the Sailor

This Storybook was somewhat bland in design, although I did appreciate the text being broken up occasionally with a more interesting image. However, the stark pencil drawing type images for each story were disappointing. I was hoping for more imagery, although I see how those images were likely chosen for their continuity. The content of the stories was completely foreign to me, as I have never heard of Sigurd the Sailor, however, with Sailor being in the title, and my love of sailing, I couldn't pass up checking this Storybook out. I enjoyed the introduction because it read like a a great mythic novel -- you can feel yourself getting sucked in and set up for some great tales to come. Thoroughly enjoyable to read. I especially appreciated that the author noted that this original story and Norse myths of this kind were used as the basis for J.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings. It was an apt placement to note that, as it further drove home the importance and interest of these stories today.