#RWYK Certified Great Read #Review –Loukas and the Game of Chance, Written by Anthony L. Manna & Illustrated by Donald Babisch
Happy Friday RWYK family!
It’s official! Loukas and the Game of Chance by Anthony L. Manna have been named a Reading with Your Kids Certified Great Read!
At Reading with Your Kids, we only recommend the best books to read with your kids based on many hours of reading and research so that you can be sure that each one in our list of RWYK Certified Great Read is fantastic and will be worth your time.
In this haunting story of human struggle, courage, and resilience, Loukas and the Game of Chance, we get to learn so many important life lessons about life, friendship and differentiating between the good and evil. We highly recommend it to parents, teachers, and librarians. We enjoyed reading Loukas and the Game of Chance and we hope you will too.
Read on to learn all about Loukas and the Game of Chance!
Let’s Have A Look At The Book Blurb
Loukas and the Game of Chance Written by Anthony L. Manna & Illustrated by Donald Babisch
While Loukas is playing his flute at the seawall one day, he befriends a mysterious talking, dancing snake that rewards him with fortune and favor. Some years later, tempted by greed and pride, Loukas loses all his riches and his family. He must now set off on a treacherous journey through a frightening forest filled with suspense and strange creatures to find Destiny, her son Ilion, the Sun, and her daughter Luna, the Moon. These celestial guardians will surely allow him to reverse his misfortune, restore his honor, and win back all that he loves and treasures, won’t they?
A reimagined Greek folktale, Loukas and the Game of Chance is illuminated with dramatic and evocative pen and ink drawings that provide an ideal backdrop for the dark intrigue that fills this haunting story of human struggle, courage, and resilience.
Loukas and the Game of Chance will be available on October 1, 2019, on Amazon and wherever the books are sold!
About the Author
Anthony L. Mannas first collaboration with Soula Mitakidou, Mr. Semolina-Semolinus: A Greek Folktale, illustrated by Giselle Potter, was an ALAALSC Notable Book, a Marion Vannett Ridgway Award winner, and a New York Public Library Best Book for Children. Another collaboration of theirs, The Orphan: A Cinderella Story from Greece, illustrated by Giselle Potter, was a Bank Street College of Education Best Book of 2012. They also collaborated on the anthology, Folktales from Greece: A Treasury of Delights. Anthony has worked with children and teens in drama and storytelling; has been an actor, director of children’s theater, vehicle repossessor, and janitor; and has taught in schools and universities in Turkey, Greece, Albania, and the United States. He divides his time between Ohio and Arizona.
For more info on Anthony L. Manna and his book, visit
About the illustrator
Donald Babisch is an artist and art educator focusing primarily on fiber art and mixed media. His work was recently exhibited at the Ashton Gallery in California and at the crooked tree gallery in Michigan. Donald has also taught art at all grade levels in public schools. His articles have appeared in several art education journals And he wrote and illustrated Who Is That peeking In My Windows for beginning readers.
Our Review
Loukas and the Game of Chance, a forthcoming mid-grade/middle school fantasy is written by Anthony L. Manna & illustrated by Donald Babisch. The book is based loosely on two Greek folktales. The story follows the life of a poor fisherman’s son named Loukas, who becomes friends with a magical talking, dancing snake while playing a melodious song on the flute. Delighted with the soulful music, the snake rewards the Loukas’s kindness with an everlasting supply of gold coins because he loves being entertained by the soothing flute music played by Loukas. As their friendship progresses, Loukas names his beloved snake as “Lambros”. Blessed by his friend’s rewards, Loukas continues to live a happy life with his wife Thera, and two children. Some years later, filled with pride and anger, Loukas foolishly loses a bet that takes away all his fortune and the family he adores. Loukas then sets out on a courageous journey to try to alter his fate after he ruins his life. He travels into the depths of the island’s forest to beg for mercy and healing from Destiny, Sun, and Moon.
Along the forest path, Loukas meets magical characters such as Keeper of the Forest – the kind-hearted forest steward, Kallo’s daughters who desire to be blessed with enduring love, Kimon – the terrifying river spirit and the pair of mountains at Meander Pass who seek a change of fate. Will Loukas be able to convince Destiny, sun, and Moon to help him win back his honor and his loving family? “Loukas and the Game of Chance” is about loss, struggle, and the hope of recovery. It’s about the lessons learned Loukas learns from his loss and recovery.
Final Verdict
“Loukas and the Game of Chance” is enthralling enough to read in one afternoon, the characters are fun, the setting is vivid, and the adventure the character embark on is full of surprises and action. We loved that there is an element of mystery to the story, in that the main character finds magical characters along the way which may help him in his quest. Like all great fantasy novels, there is an exploration of good and evil, and it will be nice to witness the growth of the main character as the story continues. An enjoyable read which middle-grade readers will love and young-at-heart adults will also enjoy.
We look forward to more books written by Anthony L. Manna!
Congratulations To Anthony L. Manna For Winning The RWYK Certified Great Read Status
***A big thank you to the author for providing us a free copy of his book through Reading with your Kids certified program. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely our own.
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HOPE YOU HAVE A BLESSED FRIDAY 😆
