George Takei recommends a new LGBTI children’s book

George Takei has a new recommendation for all you readers out there, no matter the age: The Soulfire Chronicles.

From author Chaz Harris (of the Promised Land tales), Soulfire is a new fantasy series aimed at young readers and representing the real diversity of youth around the world.

‘When I was growing up, there were no stories with LGBTQ protagonists going on quests, saving the world, falling in love or living happily ever after,’ Harris wrote on the book’s Kickstarter page, which is a couple thousand dollars away from its goal.

‘Those are the kind of stories I desperately needed in the 1990s, and two decades later they’re still sorely lacking on bookshelves for young readers now.’

A ringing endorsement from George Takei

Openly gay actor Takei posted about the book on Facebook.

‘Representation matters and queer kids need heroes, too,’ he wrote.

‘The author of this new fantasy novel is giving young readers the kind of heroes many of us needed when we were growing up. The Soulfire Chronicles seems destined to become a classic.’

What is Soulfire about?

‘On the eve of George Grimes’s thirteenth birthday, a man with a forked beard and a crooked nose clambers out of the Grandfather clock in the upstairs hallway. The man claims to be from Mythika – a world that George thought only existed in his Grandad’s tall tales,’ the synopsis begins on Kickstater.

The story’s antagonist is Lord Helwrath, ‘once a boy who lost his imagination’, and who now murders artists.

When George enters the world of Mythika, he joins with a group of artists to stop the evil Lord Helwrath.

Harris said it was always his intention to put artists front and center.

‘In bringing the world of Mythika to life, I wanted to create a fantasy world and a magic system based on creativity itself,’ he explained. ‘I wanted to highlight the importance of artists and creativity for young people, and their role in keeping imagination alive. I also wanted to explore why it could be dangerous thing to lose.’

The Kickstarter ends on Friday, with the book expected to be published in October.

See also

Children deserve more LGBTI stories – like Maiden and Princess, a new lesbian fairy tale

Trans fairy tale becomes most funded LGBTI children’s book on Kickstarter

I couldn’t see LGBTI families normalized in children’s books so I made one