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evil enchanter commands the most powerful device in the land, and the
use of violence to defeat him is foredoomed to failure. Can four
children light the way for good to prevail?
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The Call to Shakabaz,
by Amy Wachspress, is a children’s fantasy adventure of a different color,
many different colors in fact. The book is set in an African American
cultural context and all the characters in the book are Black, or Black
mixed in with other vibrant hues. There are almost no books for children
and young adults in the fantasy adventure genre with any Black characters,
let alone a whole book featuring them. The book is also unusual in that it
does not depend on the typical Anglo-Saxon imagery to make it magical and
it does not rely on a gory violent battle scene to resolve the central
conflict. Instead, the book demonstrates the fundamental principles of
nonviolence as practiced by Dr. King and Gandhi.
Launched on King Day, 2007 to a
standing-room-only crowd at Mendocino Book Company in Ukiah, California, the
book won an iParenting Media Award within two weeks of its release and it
has been honored as a Finalist for the 2007 Indie Excellence Book Awards in
the Children's Fiction Category. The author has been featured in interviews
on The Bev Smith Show (syndicated to radio stations nationwide) and Just One
More Book (an Ontario-based children’s books website). Bob Spear at
Heartland Reviews has identified the book as a recommended title for
reluctant readers because it is high interest, and he nominated it for a
BookSense Pick. It is also recommended by enthusiastic reviewers at Teens
Read Too, Midwest Book Review, and Reader Views. Cheshire Bookshop owner
Linda Rosengarten in Fort Bragg, California writes: “The Call to
Shakabaz is one of those rare books with cross-generational appeal.
Readers of all ages will not be able to put this novel down, right through
to the unexpected, magical climax. The Call to Shakabaz provides a
completely satisfying read, with a refreshing approach to the fantasy
genre.” Stephanie Velas at Black Oak Books in Berkeley, California reports
that The Call to Shakabaz was one of the top 10 children's books sold
at the store this spring.
Wachspress sidesteps many of the usual
conventions and offers original resolutions to a variety of sticky
situations. When the recently orphaned Goodacre children are
transported to the land of Faracadar, they must discover and develop their
special gifts and talents, which require that they exercise ingenuity,
creativity, and compassion. Fourteen-year-old Doshmisi and her younger
siblings Denzel, Maia, and Sonjay are given the task of retrieving the
powerful Staff of Shakabaz from the evil enchanter Sissrath. They travel
through a colorful landscape with their Faracadaran guide and their Aunt
Alice’s clever, pesky, and often hilarious parrot, Bayard Rustin. The
adventurers must contend with many obstacles and foes, including a giant sea
serpent spewing green goo, skeeter birds with uncanny eyesight, the
smelliest man in the land (named Compost), the deadly mountain geebachings
(who cause their victims to laugh themselves to death), as well as Sissrath
himself and his minions (who shoot deadly poison darts at their enemies).
Assistance is provided to them along the way by the griot, the high chief
and his clever daughter, talking whales, ancient trees, drummers, inventors,
butterflies, wolves, tigers, and the peculiar sprites who live underground
in the hills.
The book offers a refreshingly different
perspective on adventuring in make-believe lands and challenges young
readers to reconsider the nature of violence and how we resolve conflict.
When the last page turns and the dust clears, this book will inspire readers
to think and think again. For more information visit
www.wozabooks.com.
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