Storybook Favorites

 It's clear that there is a lot of creativity among the past members of this class! I enjoyed pursuing the old storybook assignments. Below are my three favorites.

"Tales on a Train: Alexa, How Do I Get to Canterbury?"

https://sites.google.com/view/talesonatrain/conclusion?authuser=0

This story drew inspiration from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It follows the similar format where individual characters take turn telling stories. Just like Canterbury Tales, the author left the story partially unfinished. "Tales on a Train" tells the story of three passengers on a journey through England: a receptionist, a student, and an actress. Each one takes a turn telling a story in a little competition to pass the time. The receptionist tells the story of a risk-taking cat; the student tells the story of a miserable workaholic; and the actress tells the story of a cow-boy. Ultimately no winner is declared. I enjoyed this story because it was written totally verse. I thought it was a very ambitious and fun thing to attempt, and I appreciated that the story stood out from the others I read because of that.

"Jane and Tarzan's School for Feral Children"

https://sites.google.com/view/feral-school/home?authuser=0

This story imagines a world where Jane and Tarzan open up a school for "feral" children, like Tarzan himself once was. This blogpost tells the story of the first day of class at this school, and relays the introductions from the four pupils. Romulus and Remus introduce themselves, showing signs of their burgeoning rivalry. A young Pecos Bill introduces himself with his classic laid-back charm. And finally Atlanta, a wild young huntress whose story I wasn't familiar with, introduces herself. Each child was raised by animals of some kind. I thought the idea of Jane and Tarzan opening up a school for children like this was very clever because it allows you to look at a theme throughout folklore - the "feral" child. It's interesting that so many children in both modern and ancient myths were abandoned and raised by anthropomorphic animals of some kind. This story was a silly way of drawing similar myths from across history together, which I found engaging.

"Peter Pan: Revisited"

https://sites.google.com/view/realpeterpan/home?authuser=0

A shot from the National Tour of Peter Pan in 2013. 
https://mdtheatreguide.com/2013/03/theatre-review-cathy-rigby-is-peter-pan/

This story was probably my favorite out of all the ones I read. I have a soft spot in my heart for all Peter Pan related stories. Peter Pan is the first movie I remember watching as a kid. I loved it so much my grandparents took me to see the stage adaptation. I was only about 6 years old, but I remember at the end of the play the actor (actress - come to find out) who plays Peter flies out over the audience and sprinkles pixie dust on the first few rows. It was magical! This story, however, paints Peter in a different light. It imagines an exclusive tell-all interview with Captain James Hook, who retells the classic story of Neverland with a much more sinister view of Peter. In this version, Captain Hook is the one attempting to protect the eternal innocence of Neverland from the manipulation and power-lust of the young Peter. I enjoyed this story because it was dealing with one of my favorite myths and folktales, but also because I thought it was well-written. It is a really fun concept to imagine the villain getting to tell their own story, and this blogpost explored that very well.