Storybook Favorites

After browsing the extensive list of previous students' storybooks, I found a few that caught my eye, a couple that piqued my interested, and one that blew me away.  The first one I clicked on actually ended up being one of my favorites, but the other two took quite a bit of clicking and reading to uncover. The last storybook was definitely worth the trouble.

3. LSD in a Yellow Submarine by ???

I'll start off with my unpopular opinion: The Beatles are overrated.  They're good, don't get me wrong, just completely overrated.  Now that that's out of the way, I'll say that I really like the style of this storybook.  The design of the page went really well with the content, and I liked how the author wrote this story from the point of view of a 69 year old hippie in London.  I also liked the fact that this story was in the form of a psychedelic flashback; I immediately thought that it would be fun to see where the author goes with this...  Definitely an introduction that caught my attention. What wild adventures will ensue? How many Beatles references will be woven in the story? How many of them will I actually recognize or understand? 

2. The Legend of "Calico" Jack Rackham by Will Robson

For some reason, the simplicity of this landing page caught my eye, along with the large, obviously aged painting of a ship.  The author begins describing the legend of "Calico", or Jack Rackham, while enjoying  some "suds" with his fellow pirates.  As per usual, a cryptic old man interrupts the playful storytelling with enticements of "the truth" about Calico's tale.  No but really, it's always the old man in the corner of the bar who knows the "truth," which always somehow ends up being stranger than the original story.  Anyway, the author really grabbed my attention with this promise of an enticing, and hopefully a first hand, story.  I don't know much about pirates, but this storybook made me eager to find out ergo continue reading.  

1.  The Aviarium by ???

After clicking on dozens of storybooks, this was the most unexpected surprise I found.  I saw the title and nearly brushed it off, but I'm glad I didn't, because it is definitely my favorite.  I think the landing page simple and sophisticated, and I really loved the image of the bird exhibit in the Senckenberg Museum.  I navigated to the introduction page and read on, only to be struck by surprisingly gripping imagery.  I love that the author puts me into the story, forcing me to picture myself there.  I almost felt like I was in a "choose your own adventure" story.  The intro definitely gave me an eerie feeling, and the writing is great, and wow, another beautifully suited photo!  I literally felt antsy clicking on the "Exhibit One" tab...  

Here is an image from the introduction page:

To Breathe: A Mirror Woman by Kimsooja

... I was right. I'm blown away by this storybook.  Not only is the writing tantalizing and elegant, the story is keen, and well... phenomenal.  Now I wish I knew the name of the author, but the anonymity almost makes it more enjoyable.  If my storybook (assuming that's the route I take) is even half that good, I will be more than pleased with myself.  Bravo, five stars, the highlight of my evening, truly. Who knew a story about freakin' birds could be so good?!