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The Hero's Guidebook: Creating Your Own Hero's Journey (Digital Textbook + Reading Guides + Writing Handouts)
Creative English Teacher

The Hero's Guidebook: Creating Your Own Hero's Journey (Digital Textbook + Reading Guides + Writing Handouts)

$17.99

The Hero's Guidebook by Zachary Hamby teaches Joseph Campbell's concept of the Hero's Journey to readers grades 4-8 using example stories like the Harry Potter books, Disney animated films, and video games like Super Mario Bros. Fully illustrated with 40 cartoon illustrations, the text even applies the stages of the Hero's Journey to real-life problems and situations.

This 106-page download includes all of the following:

  • The full text of The Hero's Guidebook broken down into four separate sections
  • Four reading guides (+ keys), which walk students through the details of the book
  • Four writing assignments, which walk students through the process of writing their own hero story

More About the Book

In his famous book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, researcher Joseph Campbell first explained the storytelling pattern of the Hero’s Journey, a structure found in the hero stories of many cultures. Keeping in mind how deeply a culture and its hero stories are connected, it’s surprising that hero stories from distant times and places have so many similarities. That is, until we realize that hero stories reflect our deepest hopes and fears, and the experience of being human is universal. For the first time there is a book that makes the structure of the Hero’s Journey easy-to-understand and entertaining for young readers and writers—fledgling authors with their own stories to tell.

Humorously illustrated with over 40 cartoons by the author, this book takes readers through the stages of the Hero's Journey using examples from books, films, and even video games. Example stories include The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King, Batman, Spider-Man, Super Mario Bros—not to mention popular stories from myth and legend.  Important archetypes like the Hero, the Mentor, the Shadow, the Ally, the Trickster, and the Threshold Guardian appear as well.  Each stage of the Hero’s Journey also features writing tips for aspiring writers and a character education “Your Journey” section, which applies hero-story lessons to real life. This textbook would make an excellent tool when studying growth mindset since it analyzes how heroes are flawed individuals, who must overcome obstacles in order to become stronger and wiser.

Recommended ages: 8-14

Number of pages:  106

From the cover:  Have you ever wondered why people love hero stories so much? This book will tell you the secret reason we find heroes so exciting and inspirational. By using hero stories you already know and love, this guidebook will show you the path that all heroes walk. It will also equip you to write your own hero stories and join the next generation of storytellers! Plus it will give you tips along the way for becoming a hero in real-life as well. Your journey awaits!

If you like this product, check our wide range of creative materials for teaching the Hero's Journey! Click here to see them all!

Design-a-Quest: Use artwork to design your own Hero's Journey

Hero Quest: Create a playable version of the Hero's Journey

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Customer Reviews

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Barbara M. Petr
Students will learn about the Hero's Journey

As an English teacher and Department Chair, I have taught “the hero’s journey” for many years--hoping to help the students realize that, not only are most of the adventure stories they see on screen follow the steps--but to realize that they, themselves, travel the hero’s journey in their own lives.
Zachary Hamby in his new book, The Hero’s Guidebook, has been able to incorporate all of my hopes for my students into one, easy-to-read and understand guidebook. Not only does the book give some excellent examples of modern day heroes, it walks through the “steps” as Joseph Campbell listed them and gives excellent thinking and writing prompts for the students to develop into their own short hero stories. Each step is written in a form which lends itself to easy reading. Towards the end of each chapter, after giving several examples from movies and books, Mr. Hamby juxtaposes it against current choices most probably happening in the students’ lives right now--again, good suggestions about which to write! This section is called, “Your Journey,” and I plan to use it for a “reflection” piece for the students to write about and put into a journal. Other teachers might use this a basis for group or whole-class discussions!
I heartily recommend this book to the ELA teacher looking to explain the Hero’s Journey to children and looking for ideas about which to write--reflection pieces, journaling, short stories--it’s all there! Enjoy!

S
Sarah Chamberlain
An excellent teaching tool for the Hero's Journey

I use several of Zachary Hamby's script story texts in my upper level English classes. The students absolutely love them and it helps to bridge gaps between more difficult versions of the text. So I was very excited to see that The Hero's Guidebook provides students with the structure and support necessary to write their own versions of the monomyth. The book incorporates examples from popular culture to illustrate each of the phases of the Hero's Journey which really helps students to understand what each part is looking for. Each step also gives helpful hints and questions to ask oneself when looking at each stage. It is definitely written more for a middle school audience, but my high school seniors appreciated the simplicity of the breakdown when working to write their own hero stories. I would highly recommend this book to any teacher teaching either the monomyth for analysis or for having students write their own hero stories.