Storybook Favorites
I chose to browse the Myth and Folklore storybooks because I have a relatively good grasp of Greek and Roman mythology and could therefore focus more on structure and thematic content rather than on content I am unfamiliar with. I will try to create a storybook with a similar structure and fictionalization to these examples:
1. Gossip Greeks
https://sites.google.com/site/mythfolkstory/
This is the first of three storybooks I chose which focus on both Greek mythic tradition and its retelling through fictionalized accounts of popular and/or foundational myths. In Gossip Greeks, a goddess comes down from Olympus to eavesdrop on women in the Greek marketplace as they gossip about famous female heroes and damsels. The goddess proceeds to tell the women that she knows 'what really happened,' and this launches a dramatic retelling of the famous Greek stories of Medea, Atalanta, Eurydice, and Andromeda.
While I find this concept very interesting -- evidenced by my other two selections sharing the same conceptual framework of retelling ancient mythic stories -- that the characters are all women supports the toxic stereotype that women are untrustworthy gossips -- a stereotype the Greeks perpetuated in their myths, in fact.
2. Hades' Iliad
https://sites.google.com/view/hadesiliad/home?authuser=0
This storybook interests me the most out of the three, mostly because I read Homer's Iliad for a May Intercession class this past summer, and I loved it. Also, the fictionalization of the stories centered around three important, plot-altering deaths -- Iphigenia, Patroclus, and Hector -- creates an easy-to-follow structure while not sacrificing much thematic content from the original epic poem. (True, not many Greeks died, so telling this from a Greek perspective does give the author a limited cast of characters to choose from, if the author considers the Greeks to be the 'good' guys. The jury's still out on that one.)
Additionally, I really liked the inclusion of Iphigenia's death, which isn't included in the Iliad but is assumed to be known by the reader (technically, the listener) as contextual information preceding the Greeks' voyage to Troy. A smart addition and nice way to structure the war with beginning-middle-end deaths that are, really, the three most impactful in the Trojan War (not counting Achilles' death, of course).
3. Life at Olympiad Living
https://sites.google.com/view/retiredgods/home?authuser=0
This storybook was my least favorite, mostly because I skimmed some of the stories and found the writing style to be lacking in flow and compelling language. That said, this storybook seemed the most creative to me, as it took the Olympian gods out of their usual context in myth and put them in a modern-day retirement home playing Yahtzee! Super creative.
1. Gossip Greeks
https://sites.google.com/site/mythfolkstory/
This is the first of three storybooks I chose which focus on both Greek mythic tradition and its retelling through fictionalized accounts of popular and/or foundational myths. In Gossip Greeks, a goddess comes down from Olympus to eavesdrop on women in the Greek marketplace as they gossip about famous female heroes and damsels. The goddess proceeds to tell the women that she knows 'what really happened,' and this launches a dramatic retelling of the famous Greek stories of Medea, Atalanta, Eurydice, and Andromeda.
While I find this concept very interesting -- evidenced by my other two selections sharing the same conceptual framework of retelling ancient mythic stories -- that the characters are all women supports the toxic stereotype that women are untrustworthy gossips -- a stereotype the Greeks perpetuated in their myths, in fact.
2. Hades' Iliad
https://sites.google.com/view/hadesiliad/home?authuser=0
This storybook interests me the most out of the three, mostly because I read Homer's Iliad for a May Intercession class this past summer, and I loved it. Also, the fictionalization of the stories centered around three important, plot-altering deaths -- Iphigenia, Patroclus, and Hector -- creates an easy-to-follow structure while not sacrificing much thematic content from the original epic poem. (True, not many Greeks died, so telling this from a Greek perspective does give the author a limited cast of characters to choose from, if the author considers the Greeks to be the 'good' guys. The jury's still out on that one.)
What the Trojan Horse was, basically -- though it was never in the Iliad. Source.
Additionally, I really liked the inclusion of Iphigenia's death, which isn't included in the Iliad but is assumed to be known by the reader (technically, the listener) as contextual information preceding the Greeks' voyage to Troy. A smart addition and nice way to structure the war with beginning-middle-end deaths that are, really, the three most impactful in the Trojan War (not counting Achilles' death, of course).
3. Life at Olympiad Living
https://sites.google.com/view/retiredgods/home?authuser=0
This storybook was my least favorite, mostly because I skimmed some of the stories and found the writing style to be lacking in flow and compelling language. That said, this storybook seemed the most creative to me, as it took the Olympian gods out of their usual context in myth and put them in a modern-day retirement home playing Yahtzee! Super creative.
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