Storybook Favorites

 Reading through the previous semesters' storybooks was quite inspiring for my own story ideas. In fact, I now have a pretty good idea of exactly the sort of story I want to write, but I'll elaborate on that when I get to the storybooks.

First Storybook: Mythical Monsters of the New World by Brett Drake

This one was a lot of fun to read through. The choose-your-own-adventure style of storytelling is one I have always loved, and it was a novel thing to see in these storybooks. That said, it unfortunately does not fit the sort of story I plan to tell. Beyond just the style, I liked the story as well. The protagonist had an enjoyable voice, and the story went in a direction I was not expecting. I liked the use of cryptids for a horror feel and the author made great use of the folklore in the characterization of them. The one thing I did find a little disappointing was that the story only had one "true" ending. I feel that the format of branching narrative paths could be better explored in a story with multiple possibilities (beyond the main character either living or dying). 

Second Storybook: The Coyote by Levi

I love tricksters. Looking at the storybooks, I am not alone in that. This was the first story I found featuring them however, and it gave me an epiphany on the storybook assignment: I can use Native legends for my story. Allow me to explain. I am Cherokee, and I grew up with a storyteller telling me and the other Cherokee kids the traditional legends. Those legends inspired me to want to write stories, and I actually based a character from my stories on the animal from my favorite legend. I won't get into that just yet though, I want to touch on this story first. 

I like the comedic tone of this story. Many legends that were not told to scare were told to illicit laughter. This is generally done in how the storyteller tells the story. On paper the stories just are not the same. That is why I also like the decision to include a narrator within the story. It feels like a reference to the traditional storyteller role. I also like how the author blends traditional stories with his own elements; the way he does this makes it feel like the story adapted over several retellings, if that makes sense.

Third Storybook: Cherokee Campfire by Michele "Ahyoga" Duggie

After the second story, I looked for any stories inspired by Cherokee legends. This is the one I felt handled them best, though I personally was not fond of some of the changes, and the use of Cherokee was extremely hit or miss. The set-up was novel, having an unnamed businessman character as the audience stand-in. It was interesting to see the moral changed in the legend of how the turtle's back was cracked. It felt like the legend was localized to suit the new culture it was being retold in. However, there was one arbitrary change that bothered me. Going back to what I stated earlier, I have a favorite animal in the legends. That animal, opossum, was meant to be in that legend, but was written out. Again, this does not detract from the story, it is just a personal gripe. 

(Opossum on a branch: Wikimedia Commons)

Opossum only shows up in two Cherokee legends, and is only the focus in one of them. This legend is "Why the Opossum's Tail is Bare." In it, opossum is vain, always bragging about his tail. The storyteller usually will waltz around the room playing as opossum, singing about his beautiful, bushy tail and how it sweeps the ground. The more melodramatic the storyteller is, the more fun the story is. Then, rabbit and cricket trick opossum and shave his tail, resulting in him fainting with a grimace on his face. That is the proposed reason for why opossum faints when he sees you - he is so ashamed of his hideously bare tail. I always felt sorry for opossum. So, I decided to make a character based on him and give him a happy ending. His name changed over the years as I made changes to his character (first graders are not exactly masters of writing) before he finally chose the name Arthur, after the legendary king. I suppose he never did learn his lesson about vanity. 

Of course, with the exception of the storybook assignment, I will not be sharing any of those stories. My story writing is a hobby that is meant to make me happy. It would stop being fun if I had an audience to please.

-A