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The Canadian Champion, Friday, November 10, 2006 - B1 Shaman's Dreamstone takes kids on adventure Eirsii-time childrený author penned preteen tale while on matexnily leavefrom teaching By Stephanie Thiessen CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF hen grade six student Ryan Evans is given pendant as a gift froin his dead grandfather, a native Shaman, a mystery begins to unravel before his very eyes. Along with the pendant comes a cryptic letter telling the boy to keep it close to him when he sleeps. Following the directions, Ryan finds himself thrown into a strange dream world where he holds the key to defeating a legion of evil spirits. The Shamans Dreamstone is a fan- tastical adventure woven by Milton res- ident - and now author - Jessica Jakab Price, orJj. Price as is written on the book. It's a 140-page coming of age story aimed at youths nine to 12 years old. "Its about a boy who goes on an adventure with two friends," Price explained. "They learn something about themselves they didn't know they were capable of achieving.," Knows what kids enjoy As a high school teacher in1 Mississauga, Price said she bas learned 1 what kids like to read, and wrote with that in mind.- She also included in the tale bits and5 pieces of the grade six curriculum, including its exploration of Native cul- ture. In the book, the characters use their grade 5 studies of Egypt and hiero- glyphics to solve part of the mystery. I want them to see what they learn in school bas value," Price said. The highest praise her book could receive is the attention of a child, she said. A neighbour who's a grade 6 teacher bas been reading The Shaman's Dreamstone aloud to her class, and the students are enjoying it, Price said. "To have a kid say they enjoy my book is all the success I could want," she said. Fantasy is a genre Price said she's always enjoyed, so it was easy to decide thats what she wanted to wnte. And with the popularity of movies such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, she felt confident kids would enjoy it. "Our lives can be so mundane. I like for a book to take me away to another place," she said. These days, its beyond difficult to get published, Price said, so after a few rejections she decided to take a differ- ent route and looked into self publish- ing. She found one such company called iUniverse, which falls some- where in between the two types of pub- lishing companies. Getting exposure One perk of iUniverse was that her book would get exposure, being sold at a Chapters location for at least eight weeks, as well as on-line at www.chap- ters.ca. Itîl also be available at Coles at Milton Mall. Although she bas big hopes for her book, Price echoed the sentiments her husband, Jeff, expressed when she first set out. "if nothing else, its a great keepsake for our daughter," she said. Price bas come full circle now that she's scheduled for a book signing at Mastermind Educational Toy Store November 18; she used to work there as a university student, sometimes watching authors do signings. Now she's one of them. The store is located at 4099 Erin Mills Pkwy. in Mississauga, and the signing will take place from 11 a.m. to i p.m. Price polished up The Shaman's Dreamstone while on maternity leave with her 19-month-old daughter, Abby. She said she's looking forward to the day Abby reads her book. She may be young, but Abby is already learning to love books, thanks to the many stories read to her by her parents. Its something Price said is very important. "Kids who read have a much easier ime in everything," Price said. "I think its really critical that all kids are read to nd are given the opportunity to read to 'ou." Stephanie Thiessen can be reached at NEWLY PUBLSHED: Jessica Jakab Prke holds a copy sthiessen@miltoncanadianchampion.com. Dreamstone'e GRAHAM PAINE /CANADIAN CHAMPION of her recently released book 'The Shamans ARTS i BL"Çý-l j-rT r."Mm7'ýr