The Chosen Children
by
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“Coming ready or not,” Adam shouted having counted to fifty. Hide and seek was fun at Grandpa’s, with so many places to hide. As well as the rooms in the house there were sheds on the property and they were full of things to hide behind. Grandpa had travelled much in his life and had collected a lot of stuff. Adam searched the house without finding his cousins Louise or Jess, so he moved on to the garage. As he crept in quietly he heard a giveaway whisper coming from behind an old cabinet filled with books. He sneaked up to the cabinet and loudly yelled “Gotcha!” The girls squealed in fright and then giggled in delight. “Hey look what we found behind the cabinet,” Louise said excitedly waving an old yellowed piece of paper towards Adam. “What is it?” Adam asked curiously. “It’s a treasure map,” blurted Jess, the youngest of the three, unable to contain herself. “How do you know it’s a treasure map?” Adam responded sceptically. “See it says so there in the middle of the map,” Jess replied. “It can’t be real,” Adam said as he studied the paper carefully. It appeared to be a hand drawn map of an island with a number of geographical features and there actually was an x marked in the middle of the map with the word ‘treasure’. The words “Tapu Island” were written at the top. “Where did you find it? Was it in a book or something?” “No it was just on its own, poked into that little slot behind the cabinet,” Louise replied. “What do you reckon Adam?”
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About the Book
Three children find a treasure map in their Grandpa’s shed and he tells them the story of how he came by it. It was from a time when he was a boy in the early 1960s. The story follows the adventures of seven children who are together over the summer holidays on a farm. While out fishing their boat is blown ashore onto a “forbidden island”. They meet a fascinating old man on the island who claims to be a survivor from an ancient civilisation that had discovered a youth potion that enabled him to live for thousands of years. He tells the children that they were all once citizens of this ancient land in previous lives and that they had been chosen to seek for certain “moral truths” about themselves. Once each child has discovered their own “truth” they would be able to find the treasure that existed on the island. The old man warns them that there is another survivor living on the island who is an evil wizard and strongly advises the children to avoid him. The story then follows the children’s’ quests for their moral truths which are encountered during the various adventures they have on the farm and in subsequent visits to the island. The adventures include horse riding, shooting, swimming, playing in an old “haunted house” and many other activities that country children engaged in before the age of television, computer games and smart phones. They encounter the evil wizard on a later visit to the island and become embroiled in a struggle of good versus evil.
About the Author
Tony Hassall has written a trilogy of books for adults which are adventure stories that search for life’s meaning and bridge the gap between science and religion. He has a Master of Science degree, a Commerce degree and has widely traveled and studied science, philosophy and religion.