Ukiah, CA (BlackNews.com) - What if young people across the country, from various backgrounds, were reading and having a ball with a fantasy adventure built on African American family values that features Black characters? Do you know any children who have been waiting for this kind of read? The wait is over. The Call to Shakabaz, just out from Woza Books, does not rely on traditional medieval Anglo-Saxon archetypes and imagery to make it magical. All the characters in this book are Black (often mixed with other vibrant hues).
Most of the best African American juvenile fiction is not fantasy, instead relating historically accurate stories of a realistic nature. But young people growing up in the Harry Potter Era also love a juicy fantasy adventure. Here is a book set in an African American cultural context that offers a refreshingly different slant on adventuring in make-believe lands.
An African American reader posting on Amazon writes: "I finally found a [fantasy] story that had people in it who actually look and talk like me." And a librarian notes: "How many children's fantasy/adventure stories feature main characters who are not white? I don't think I fully realized the extent of this omission until reading The Call to Shakabaz."
The Call to Shakabaz utilizes the classic African motif of little creatures finding a clever way to overcome the mighty and it builds on the bedrock of "what goes around comes around" by emphasizing the values of compassion and respect for others. The wise woman is called the "griot," the natural environment provides necessary answers when approached with care, and music solves more than one problem. In fact, music and drumming might qualify as a character in this book. Donnell Alexander once defined "cool" as follows: "Cool is all about trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents." That's exactly what the heroes and heroines do in the pages of The Call to Shakabaz.
Author Amy Wachspress sidesteps many conventions and offers instead original resolutions to sticky situations. Furthermore, no gory battle scene resolves the central conflict. In their quest to retrieve the powerful Staff of Shakabaz from the malevolent enchanter Sissrath, the young protagonists Doshmisi, Denzel, Maia, and Sonjay, with their pesky parrot Bayard Rustin, outsmart or transform their enemies rather than killing them; and, in a tribute to Dr. King's legacy, the climactic battle scene demonstrates the fundamental principles of nonviolence and satyagraha as practiced by Dr. King and Gandhi.
The book is a sizzling fun ride for the whole family to boot (great read-aloud). When the final page turns and the dust clears, The Call to Shakabaz inspires readers to think deeply about how to apply African American cultural values to the challenging task of making the lasting earthly peace on which our survival depends. Visit the Woza Books website: www.wozabooks.com
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