Monday, December 18, 2006

Review by Bob Spear at "Heartland Reviews"

The following posting was made by Book Reviewer Bob Spear at Heartland Reviews on November 14, 2006. Bob has also suggested that BookSense send the title out as a “recommended read” and he is planning to include it in his Reluctant Reader Catalog in 2007.

Bob’s posting:

Title: The Call to Shakabaz

Author: Amy Wachspress

Publisher and/or Distributor: Woza Books

Publisher Website: www.wozabooks.com

Pages: 272

ISBN: 0-9788350-2-6

Price: $15.50

Publishing Date: January 15, 2007

Reader: Bob Spear

Rating: 5 hearts

This midgrade fantasy is perfect for a young reluctant reader. The book is unusual in that all the characters are people of color—not only African American hues, but other colors as well. Four modern orphans find themselves escorted through a gate into another dimension where they come to take over the roles of their mother and her three siblings as protectors and problem solvers for different people in conflict with an evil wizard. Unique among other fantasy adventure books, they discover only non-violent solutions to the impinging threats.

The author shows the four children, along with their very intelligent parrot, growing and developing into their legacy—becoming what they are intended to become—The Four. We ranked this excellent book five hearts.

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