Week 1 Storybook Favorites: Lions and Princes and Rhymies... Oh my!

Wow! There are some really great storybooks out there.

Let's start with The Prince Diaries. The first time I read the title I actually mis-read it as "The Princess Diaries," imagining that the stories would be the personal musings of fairy tale princesses about the stories that made them famous. However, what I found was even more interesting. I'd never thought to think of the stories from the prince's point of view. One thing I really enjoy reading about is a familiar story from a new or modern angle (if you do too, I recommend this book, it's been a great read so far), so this storybook really captured my attention. Maybe I'll do something similar if I decide to do a storybook.

The Prince Diaries

Another storybook I really liked was Nursery Rhymes Gone Wrong. The tone of this storybook is very different from a lot of the others I browsed through, very creepy and eerie. It's a collection of stories like those imagining what life is like for fairy tale princes and princesses after "happily ever after" but concerning the main characters of nursery rhymes (called Rhymies) and with the disclaimer that all of the stories are tragic. Overall, it's a very unique concept and general feeling for a storybook (in a good way).

Nursery Rhymes Gone Wrong

The third storybook on my favorites list is Aesop Animal Pairs. I'm a big fan of Aesop's fables (and excited to start reading them for our first reading unit next week) so I was very happy to stumble upon this storybook. It focuses on animal tales, specifically those involving pairs of animals. I liked that the stories the student picked were not the more well-known animal pairings like the lion and the mouse. I have a habit of sticking to the classics I know and love, but I try to branch out and discover new favorites, which made this storybook especially delightful for me.

Aesop Animal Pairs

Honorable mentions include The Temptation of Zeus and Fairytale Case Files. When I saw the line "Zeus' lovers speak out" I was thinking along the lines of a daytime talk show like Jerry Springer or Maury, but the tone of the storybook was much more serious. Similarly, the tone of the latter storybook was serious and dark, reminding me of the movie Hansel and Gretel or a much darker version of the movie The Brothers Grimm.