Zartana is a beautifully imagined and crafted interactive storybook adventure created by Tara Platt with a small group of international artists. I’ve been excited to see this campaign kick-off ever since she told me about it at DragonCon last month.
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Tara Platt, known for her world building, storytelling, and acting, has created a wonderful interactive book about Zartana, a young Romani girl. The book takes the form of Zartana’s journal with many beautiful hand written pages along with plenty of gorgeous art from artists around the world–Peter Johnston (U.K.), Francesca Baerald (Italy), and Blake Bradley, Maisie Yang, Kristin Lyman and Candace Platt (across the U.S.)
Not only is the book beautiful with great characters and a great story, but there is a ton of interactive fun for readers. There are actual illustrated recipes that can be pulled from the book. There are removable tarot cards, maps, instructionals (like how to make and fire a bow or how to make perfume) and more that all allow your children to explore their own world while enjoying Zartana’s.
An interactive book like Zartana will be a treasure in your collection forever and not something that could ever be replaced with an electronic version. If you love the tangibility of a book coupled with the fun and creativity that the interactive adventure will bring, you need to check out Platt’s campaign. This book will inspire and occupy your child’s mind quite unlike any other.
Platt also had a Google Hangout book launch party last night. The video from the hangout is available on YouTube. Platt was joined by her husband Yuri Lowenthal, and they did a really fun, heart-felt Q&A. If you want to get an even better picture of the love and enthusiasm Platt has put into Zartana (or for how much you can tell they love each other) I highly recommend watching the video as well.
It’s also important to note that because Platt is so invested in this book, she’s already funded a large portion of its creation. All of the artwork and writing is already complete. And the book will be printed regardless of how much money the campaign raises, only the size of the print run will be impacted by the campaign. Getting in on the campaign for only $30 will get you a limited run, hand-finished. numbered and signed edition of Zartana.
