Storybook Favorites

The first storybook I looked at was Player One Vs. MAYA because it sounded like a game. I was excited and a bit surprised to find out it actually is a game. Which I think is super creative! It’s a decision-based game about Maya, a divine architect. The goal is to get through the game without being influenced by the deceptive Maya. That is a very unique way to relay the story, and I liked it a lot. It’s a cool concept, and the writing itself is very good too. Additionally, the site has a video-game sort of look to it, as do all of the images, which go together nicely and support the concept. The whole thing was very well-made.

(Player One Vs. MAYA)

Tales from the Carnival was the next project I looked at, and I found it interesting because of its subject and its delivery. It’s about Wise Creatures, which are super intelligent animals. This story follows a modern day journalist who reports on traveling carnivals because they keep up the tradition of Wise Creatures, as it is fading everywhere else. I skimmed through the rest of the story past the Introduction, and it’s really imaginative and well-written. The dialogue is good, and the plot seems very interesting.

The last storybook that grabbed my attention was Yama’s Tattoo Parlor. It is told from the first person perspective of Yama, who is the god of Death and who, in this story, has given up the underworld to set up shop in tattoo artistry. The author tells different stories through characters who show up at the tattoo parlor, which I think is a really neat framework. The structure works well for setting up the different stories. I also like how the author uses it to incorporate information about how tattoos fit into the culture.

Looking at these examples, I see there are a lot of different ways to make a really great story. Unique story structures and presentations elevated the content of the storybooks I looked at, and I want to try to do something like that for mine this semester.