Here are my top three favorite storybooks from past students:
This storybook is centered around the Hawaiian legend of "The Shark Man of Waipio." In the introduction, the author gives us a good geographical and cultural background on the Hawaiian islands. The next two sections give us then the origin of the Shark Man's arrival at Waipio Valley on Big Island, and then the actual legend itself.
I liked this storybook for a lot of reasons. One of the main reasons is because it's about Hawaiian mythology. I think in mainstream media, when we think of mythology and legends we tend to immediately go to Ancient Greece, Egypt, or Scandinavia in our minds. Up until Moana came out, we in general didn't seem to think much about myths or legends from this part of the world very much. So, I liked that the author chose a region that most of us don't know much about when it comes to mythology. The author also included beautiful photos and curated playlists to accompany the story, and it really helps to suck the readers in. I wouldn't have thought of that detail myself, to include music to help construct the setting for the reader. The story itself was well-written and easy to follow. With the pictures, the music, and the narrative, I found myself really invested in Nanaue's story. Overall, I really enjoyed this storybook.
This storybook is told from the perspective of Medusa, who is offering her commentary on famous Greek myths, which, as she points out, are generally only presented from the male perspective. She offers in the introduction some background on Medusa's story. I don't know much about the mythology surrounding Medusa, but it seems like the author takes the traditional tales of her, normally told from the heroes' perspectives with Medusa as a cold, heartless villain, and presents what she imagines her own side to be. I don't know enough about the mythology surrounding Medusa at this point to determine what's part of the original myth and what the author took creative license with, but I found that this version of the story gave Medusa a vulnerability and empathetic element that we've never gotten to see before. I wouldn't have even thought to think about this side of Medusa, but the author did. Not only was Medusa's backstory unexpected, but even the idea of Greek myths essentially being retold by her was completely out of the realm of my expectations. I enjoyed getting to read these stories as told by Medusa, who makes very clear her disdain of the male gender. It was an entertaining and unique way to tell these stories
In this storybook, the author presents a couple of emblematic Greek myths through the lens of the gods and goddesses reminiscing about their lives at Olympiad Living, a "Retirement Home for the Gods." Again, this is an interesting way to present these stories, instead of just recounting them from the POV of a nameless, unattached author. These conversations take place over games of Yahtzee, and they remind me of the kind of teasing, bickering conversations you would hear between your aunts and uncles at a family gathering. Zeus and his siblings seem to disagree on how events took place, and we are reminded again, just like in the Wonder Women storybook, how every story, even myths and legends, have more than one side to them. I enjoyed reading this storybook because of that relatable, often funny, way of telling.
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