THE BOOKANEER
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.
CELEBRATING THE 50TH BIRTHDAY OF THE CAT IN THE HAT
READ ON to support childhood literacy!!!
For every Cat in the Hat Birthday Card received by mail or online, Random House Children's Books will donate one book to First Book (up to 1,000,000 books). Official Cat in the Hat Birthday Cards can be found in the first printing of The Cat in the Hat Party Edition (on sale 1/9/2007), at participating retailers hosting an NEA Read Across America Event, or online at www.catinthehat.com. Hand-made cards will be accepted and need to include each child's name, age and state information on the card. Mail cards to The Cat in the Hat / PO Box 6891 / Stacy, MN 55078-9934. Birthday Cards must be received by Random House between January 9, 2007 and May 1, 2007 at midnight. Random House will continue to receive birthday cards until midnight December 30, 2007—but only those received by May 1, 2007 will be included towards a First Book donation. Here is the weblink for the details: http://www.seussville.com/CITH_50th/rules.html#little
NEWS ABOUT THE CALL TO SHAKABAZ
Please check the Author Events page on the Woza Books website for listings of author events coming up in the next few months. I will be at Books Inc. in San Francisco, Black Oak Books in Berkeley, Book Passage in Corte Madera, and more. I am pasting below a press release about my upcoming interview on The Bev Smith Show on Thursday March 1st at about 8:30 PM EST. Bev Smith is amazing and I am really looking forward to talking with her on the show. I hope you will tune in. To listen to the show live use the following link to WAOK in Atlanta: http://waok.com/pages/14530.php?
The Call to Shakabaz Author Amy Wachspress to Be
Interviewed by Bev Smith, the Queen of Black Talk Radio
On March 1, 2007, award-winning radio talk show host Bev Smith will interview author Amy Wachspress about her new children’s fantasy adventure The Call to Shakabaz, which is set in an African American cultural context and features Black characters. Broadcast out of Pittsburgh weekdays from 7 to 10 PM (EST) and syndicated nationwide to radio stations with a large African American listener base, Bev Smith has a reputation for tackling tough issues.
The Call to Shakabaz (which recently won an iParenting Media Award) 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. For those looking for the prefect book while waiting for that final Harry Potter fantasy, The Call to Shakabaz provides a completely satisfying read, with a refreshing approach to the fantasy genre.
According to Ms. Wachspress, “The opposite of violence is imagination. Violence occurs when we lack the creativity to come up with a solution to a problem or conflict.” Consequently, her young protagonists in The Call to Shakabaz, along with their pesky parrot, outsmart or transform their enemies rather than using violence to vanquish them.
Amy Wachspress has a master’s degree in English Language and Literature. This is her first novel. For more about the book visit the Woza Books website: www.wozabooks.com. For more about Bev Smith (and to listen to the show live at 8:30PM EST on March 1st) use the following link to WAOK in Atlanta: http://waok.com/pages/14530.php?
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In the future, I hope The Bookaneer will become an actual newsletter, but for now it’s just a message sent from me to you once a month. If you do not want to remain on my list for The Bookaneer, please send me an email at this address and put in it the exact email address I used to send The Bookaneer to you. I will remove you from the list. I don’t want to be spamming anyone!
The Bookaneer is produced by Amy Wachspress. Feel free to reuse any part of this e-zine, but give credit either to Amy or to the original source for all material used. Visit www.wozabooks.com for more information.
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