Action-filled Children’s Fantasy Featuring Black Characters and Positive Message Awarded Best Juvenile Fiction 2008 by BAIPA

Ukiah, CA, April 07, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The Call to Shakabaz by Amy Wachspress has received a Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA) 2008 Award for Best Juvenile Fiction. The book was also honored as a Finalist for Best Interior Book Design. In The Call to Shakabaz, the recently orphaned Goodacre children travel with their pesky parrot to the distant land of Faracadar on a quest to retrieve the powerful Staff of Shakabaz from the evil enchanter Sissrath. When the young protagonists discover that violence is foredoomed to fail against Sissrath, they must use their wits and imagination to defeat him. A terrific family read-aloud with cross-generational appeal, this book demonstrates the fundamental principles of nonviolence as practiced by Dr. King within the context of a real page-turner that has the reader hooked right through to the unexpected, magical climax.

Winner of three national and two regional awards (including Children’s Fiction Finalist USA Book News Best Books 2007), the book is a five-star favorite on Amazon. Stephanie Vela, children’s books manager at Black Oak Books in Berkeley, California, reports that the book was one of her top 10 children’s books sold this spring. Reviewers promise that if you like the Narnia books and Harry Potter, you’ll love The Call to Shakabaz.

Author Amy Wachspress has combined a passion for children’s fantasy stories and a heartfelt belief in the power of nonviolence with a love of African American culture to create a rip-roaring ride with magic, depth, and soul for readers of all ages.

The Call to Shakabaz
By Amy Wachspress
$15.50 US
ISBN 978-0-9788350-2-6
6" X 9" 272 pages Trade Paperback
Available at bookstores and through online booksellers, Baker & Taylor, Follett Library Services, Reach & Teach, and Woza Books

Contact: Amy Wachspress (707) 468-4118 amy@wozabooks.com
Media kits and review copies available upon request. URL: www.wozabooks.com

Look for the audio book of The Call to Shakabaz to be available in May 2008 through Legacy Audio Books, Inc. (visit www.legacyaudiobooks.com)

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