THE CALL TO SHAKABAZ

by Amy Wachspress Woza Books

This is a fantasy adventure story for kids in the 9-14 age group which has come to my attention via the Internet and which I gave to an educator who specialises in in reading for this age group to to seek her opinion.

Here is a summary of her comments:

*A very good read along the lines of EREGON, the book by the 15 year old author which was self-published after being turned down by many publishers and which confounded them by going on to be a world-wide best-seller and being made into a movie.

*It keeps the readers attention continuously.

*Nice build up of information as plot widens.

*Obviously, and pleasingly, an opening for a second book, nicely open-ended.

*All three readers I gave it to couldn't put the book down.

*Strong characterisation, vivid descriptions.

*Loved the sense of the climactic battle scene and the "peace marchers".

*Timely for the world right now!

Plot summary-

"Newly orphaned, Doshmisi,Denzel,Maia, and Sunjay discover a carefully guarded secret about their family. Travel with them and their pesky parrot to the distant land of Faracadar, where they must attempt to retrieve the powerful Staff of Shakabar and free the land from the clutches of the malevolent enchanter Sissrath. Their dangerous mission takes them over the ocean, underground, and into the deepest dungeons of the FInal Fortress. Only if they discover how to use their individual gifts can the children fulfill their destiny and the ultimate conforntation with Sissrath."

The book has received widespread favourable review comment in the U.S and a visit to the interesting and informative website www.wozabooks.com is recommended.

Unfortunately the book is not available from New Zealand booksellers. Woza Books is a small Califronian publisher without an agent in New Zealand, so any New Zealanders who are interested will need to buy it online at one of the Internet bookstores such as Amazon or you could put it on order at your local library. If you do this be sure to give the library all the information -title,author, publisher or refer them to my blog which is read by many librarians.

Yesterday I received a newsletter e-mail from the author which I reproduce in part below, it will be of special interest to school teachers:

On my adventure as the author of The Call to Shakabaz, I continue to meet terrific people who are working to make a difference in the world through the promotion of children’s literature. Let me share a few of the wonderful things I have discovered this month. And please send me your stories, jokes, internet treasures, and more.


GREAT RESOURCES


At the Reading the World Conference on Multicultural Children’s Literature at the University of San Francisco last weekend I met Craig Wiesner, co-owner of Reach and Teach, a company that promotes educational and parenting materials that inspire young people to work for a better world. Their toys, games, books, and many other resources and products support efforts to advance peace and social
justice. Check them out at www.reachandteach.com. Lots of great resources for teachers and school librarians!


FROM YOUNG READERS


I spent a wonderful day this month with the sixth-graders at Tierra Linda Middle School in San Carlos, California. I asked the children for suggestions about how to fight an evil enchanter, who will stop at nothing to destroy you, without using violence against him. One boy suggested “What if it turns out that he’s under a magic spell and all he needs is a hug and then he won’t be evil anymore?”
Sometimes I think we should just let children rule the world. No war. Ice cream for supper. Could it get any better?


After I read aloud and talked with the Tierra Linda sixth-graders, one young lady came up to me and said, “I want to be a writer when I grow up.” I asked her, “Do you write?” She replied, “Yes.” So I said, “Then you are already a writer, you don’t have to wait until you grow up.” And then I gave her my standard line, “The only difference between writers and everyone else is that writers write.” A few days later I received an email from her telling me that she went home that night
and started writing a book!


Please encourage your children to email me with their ideas for the sequel to The Call to Shakabaz. I am especially interested in their thoughts about how the Four can ultimately make Faracadar safe from Sissrath without killing him.


Visit www.wozabooks.com for more information.


Amy Wachspress and Ron Reed
WOZA Books
Home of "The Call to Shakabaz"
voice (707) 468-4118
fax (501) 325-6763
P.O. Box 635 Talmage, CA 95481
amy@wozabooks.com
ron@wozabooks.com
URL: www.wozabooks.com


"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." --Groucho Marx