The Hero's Guidebook

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! 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. 

Review by Paige Harp, Coordinator of the Children's and Young Adult Book Review Board of Missouri

Have you ever wondered what makes heroic stories so epic? The Hero’s Guidebook: Creating Your Own Hero’s Journey, written and illustrated by Zachary Hamby, breaks down exactly what ingredients you need to cook up a thrilling heroic tale. Drawing heavily on The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Hamby’s book incorporates examples from modern movies, books, and video games to provide an updated way to introduce youth to Campbell’s famous work; and shows readers how much influence the Hero's Journey still has on today’s society. Each chapter focuses on a different step in the Hero’s Journey, gives examples of recurring tropes from well-known works, and discusses the different ways to approach each heroic archetype or stage of the Hero’s Journey.  The chapters end with prompts that urge the reader to think of more examples of these archetypal story devices; as well as writing tips to encourage the reader to play with these literary elements in their own writing.

The text itself is broken up by the author’s own hand-drawn illustrations in black-and-white cartoon style. To encourage further interest in heroic stories, there is a list of references and recommended hero stories included In the back of the book. Youth who are aspiring writers or enjoy heroic tales may be interested in learning about what connections they can find in their favorite works or their own creations. Educators may find this book extremely useful as the prompts at the end of each chapter would likely lend well to classroom or small group discussions. Recommended.