GameTale

Are you a parent to a several years old?

Do you want to teach the little kid to like books, while all she or he wants is games?

There is now a way to have both!

Sure, there are a lot of gamebooks, but they are targeted to teenagers. I will tell now of one that was written for children between three and nine years.

It is the tale of Gremmy – the little gremlin who goes to a big adventure. Who will climb The Big Mountain, or maybe will travel down The Deep River. Will venture into The Enchanted Forest, unless you would go with it inside The Dark Cave. Who will meet magical creatures and will face ingenious choices…

It is a tale you can read to your kids. Lead them through a kingdom of magic and wonder, meet them with its inhabitants and have them make their choices and see their funny and witty results. Nurture their curiosity and imagination, while also teaching them wise and important things.

The author – Nikola Raykov – is the youngest writer ever to win the most prestigious award for children’s literature in Bulgaria. The number of copies in Bulgarian that have been sold is higher than the typical for a book by Stephen King or Paulo Coelho! Since some time, it has been published also in Russian, Italian and Latvian. And now you can have the English translation.

Most gamebooks will have few illustrations, typically black-and-white ones. GameTale is full of excellent true color ones, as a book for children must be. And it provides not only entertainment, but also value.

Don’t you believe it? Take a look yourself – the entire book is available freely on the author’s website, even before it is printed – to read and play it, to download and enjoy it. Like all of its translations and the Bulgarian original. Yes, all these sales were done while the book has been available to everybody. The ability of the readers to see what they are buying has been its best advertisement.

Here is what the writer says:

“I believe it would be cruel if children weren’t able to enjoy my books because their parents could not afford them, and children’s authors should not be cruel. They should be gentle, caring and loving. The values we write about should not be just words on paper. We should be the living and breathing examples of those values, because what we write HAS to be true. Every good author will tell you that you cannot lie to your readers (or little listeners). They will catch you in a second. When you read a book, you can actually feel if the author is being honest about his or her inner self.”

“I DO believe that people are inherently good. If you have poured your heart into something, if you have tried your best, people will feel that and give you their unconditional support. There is no need to hide your work: people are not thieves! If you share, they will care, they will follow you, they will nag you about when your next book comes out, and yes, they will gladly support you because they will know that their children’s favorite author actually believes in the values he’s writing about. The same things they believe in – friendship, love and freedom!”

Nikola started a campaign on Kickstarter. Its goal is to fund the printing of 1000 copies of the book in English. And you do get for your donations things your kid will love!

Years ago, when I read this book, I felt like a kid. And now envy you a little for the joy that you will get from it. 🙂 Do give it a try. There is nothing to lose, and a lot to win!

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