My Storybook Favorites

 The first storybook that caught my eye is called El Salvador Legends.  The home page of this storybook is striking from the start--the background picture is a tumble of stormy, dark clouds.  This immediately set a powerful and ominous tone.  And I became instantly intrigued! :) This topic isn't entirely new. I remember finding this storybook last semester and I was entranced immediately.  The title is brilliant; I think it's concise and appropriate for what lies ahead if you dare to venture further into the realm of Salvadorian folklore. What I remember the most about this storybook from last year is its introduction.  The setting and dialogue of the introduction last semester--as well as today--made me feel as though I too was sitting in the living room listening to Abuelito Tomas' childhood tales.  The dialogue in particular, a combination of Spanish and and English, gave this storybook a feeling of authenticity for me.  This kind of authenticity is something that I would like to work on in my own writing.  The translations at the end of introduction were particularly helpful and really neat.  Finally, one of the best parts of this introduction was the cliffhanger within Tomas' story.  This instantly hooked me, and made me want to check out the rest of the stories.  

The next storybook that stuck out was Wizarding World Tales.  Knowing this, I'm sure that it comes as no surprise that I really love Harry Potter.  I think it's awesome that someone would want to base their project over a series like this! I love the color scheme of the homepage for this project.  The dark colors and the shades of blue really appeal to me.  This is one of the better art pieces I have seen of Hogwarts, and this is one I have never seen before! This all being said, this topic isn't new to me.  My familiarity of Harry Potter helped to interest me in the characters I found from these Wizarding tales.  I think the title fits quite well for what I have found in this project! This is one that I will have to come back to later to read to completion. The introduction sets the stage nicely for the rest of the project.  

The third project I picked out was Grimm Villains.  I have always thought that Grimm Fairy Tales were pretty neat, so I liked the idea of using these stories and tones as the building blocks for writing new stories.  The title is well-fitting--it succinctly describes the theme of the project and what the reader can expect to find if they venture further.  The introduction is a nice presentation of what lies ahead, and what kinds of villains/plots a reader might expect to find should they continue to the stories.  While I like the design and lay-out of the project, I feel like there is some pretty cool art from the Grimm Fairy Tales and that maybe there was one out there better suited for the home-page.  That being said, I loved seeing the layout of the project, and exploring its theme and stories.  

Perhaps a background for my project should I choose to pick a "magical" theme as well :)

source: Flickr