The Call to Shakabaz (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"I missed three bus stops because I was so engrossed in reading this book. The Call to Shakabaz is something special." -- Stephanie Vela, Children's Books Section Manager, Black Oak Books, Berkeley, California

"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." -- Linda Rosengarten, owner of Cheshire Books, Fort Bragg, California

"First and foremost, The Call to Shakabaz is a highly readable, entertaining fantasy that anyone can enjoy. But beyond that, it fills some important holes in fantasy literature. The four children are African-American and many aspects of African-American culture are integrated into the story. It's about time that a good fantasy came along featuring characters that African-American children can identify with. -- Sheila Ruth, Wands and Worlds

"The Call to Shakabaz is a children's book that is important for everyone to know about. I suggest you buy it and read it together with the whole family." -- Bev Smith, nationally syndicated talk radio host

"This is a book about finding personal strength, in all different forms, and appreciating the talents of others, and the strength in uniting different people, and so much more! I want to buy a copy for everyone I know, regardless of age, race, or sex. It's part fantasy, part history lesson, part real life--I can't even describe it!" -- Carrie Spellman, Teens Read Too

"This midgrade fantasy is perfect for a young reluctant reader. We ranked this excellent book five hearts." -- Bob Spear, Heartland Reviews, November 14, 2006

The Call to Shakabaz is an award-winning Finalist in the children's fiction category of the USA Book News Best Books 2007 book awards. It has also been honored with an iParenting Media Award and Indie Excellence Book Award recognition. -- USA Book News 2007

Product Description

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.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Woza Books; 1 edition (January 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978835026
• ISBN-13: 978-0978835026
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #214,592 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy, Beg for, Borrow, or Just Plain STEAL This Book!, November 28, 2006

By	Calvin H. Johnson (Ukiah, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I began reading fantasy and science fiction when I was in the 4th Grade. By the time my one year of college came, I was really ready for more interesting adult fare. I picked up The Lord of the Rings in 1973, and have read it every year since that time. All in all, I am a big fan of these genres. But there was always one vexation, which, while slight in my youth, has become more vexing as time passed. That vexation is that, in most all of the fantasy and speculative fiction, very few are about or contain characters who are, people of color. That is to say, people of color besides white people.

I know that white folks will think this sounds strange, but think about it for a minute. One of the reasons Amy Wachspress' book works for me is that, being Black, I finally found a story that had people in it who actually look and talk like me. That is very cool. Beyond that, because Wachspress doesn't make a big deal of the characters' ethnicity, the book is a whacking good read, with lots of action and character development. It also uses the language beautifully, with characters using their own patois as they would in normal speech, but also with discriptions that are at once haunting and appropriate. Although I'm 51 years old, I never tire of going on a great adventure. This is one book I'm really proud to put my bookplate on. I am looking forward to reading it to my wife, and (in about a thousand years, should my son ever get around to having some) my grandchildren. Children and adults, I think, will really love this book. If you liked Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, you will really love Shakabaz! Way to go, Amy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!!, March 20, 2007

By	Eleanor Cohen "Grandma of the Book" (Santa Rosa, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was just going to quickly review the book for my grandchildren - instead, I got hooked! A well-written fantasy, with stress on positive values, and a plot with enough twists and turns to keep you interested. It is "Harry Potter Light," but well worth reading. Chapterized for good bedtime reading to children 6 and up. Pre-teens can easily read it themselves.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 30, 2007

By	TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

Doshmisi, Denzel, Maia, and Sonjay always thought Aunt Alice's Manzanita Ranch was a great place to visit, but they never thought they would have to live there. But when their mother died unexpectedly, that's where they moved to. It hasn't been very long since then, and the kids are bored stiff. It's a good thing they have the family Midsummer party to look forward to. Although without their mom, or even the cousins who are inexplicably absent, even that might not be much fun.

What starts out as a rather dull, depressing day gets a lot more interesting with a strange lesson in family history. It turns out that the two brothers and two sisters are "The Four." Descendants of a line of four brothers and sisters who can pass through their own dimension and into Faracadar. With their mother gone, the time of their mother and aunt and uncles have passed. It is up to the new Four now.

But what is "it"? Trust me, they want to know as much as you do. Unfortunately, one of the rules is that they don't get to know much the first time around. All they know is that they have to get the Staff of Shakabaz away from a guy named Sissrath. Who that is, how they do it, why they have to, and even what Faracadar is, they'll have to figure out for themselves. They'll have to work together, learning what each of their strengths are and how to use them, and maybe they'll be able to pull it all off.

THE CALL TO SHAKABAZ is richly imagined and incredibly detailed, both land and story. At first it's a bit like a modern version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia). But by the end of the tale you realize it's so much deeper than that. This is a book about finding personal strength, in all different forms, and appreciating the talents of others, and the strength in uniting different people, and so much more! I want to buy a copy for everyone I know, regardless of age, race, or sex. It's part fantasy, part history lesson, part real life -- I can't even describe it! But, it's beautiful, and it's kind of a picture of what I'd like to see our world look like. Although maybe without the greenish sun -- that might be a little weird.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman