Loukas and the Game of Chance

Loukas and the Game of Chance
74 Pages
ISBN 978-1-68401-433-0

Sooner or later, we all make mistakes, fail, and experience tough times, but we all can find  the courage to face our struggles, persevere, survive, and turn our life around. This is the lesson Loukas learns in my 16,355-word middle grade/middle school story. A reimagined Greek folktale, Loukas and the Game of Chance is the story of  a flute-playing boy who befriends a magical talking, dancing snake. The snake bestows fortune and favor upon Loukas, but some years later, tempted by greed and pride, Loukas loses all his riches and even his family. He now must embark on a treacherous journey filled with suspense and intrigue to find Destiny, the Sun, and the Moon. They’ll surely allow him to reverse his misfortune, restore his honor, and win back all that he loves and treasures, won’t they?

The story is illuminated by ten pen and ink drawings.

Anthony L. Manna

About Anthony L. Manna (Akron, Ohio Author)

Anthony L. Manna

Anthony L. Manna’s first collaboration with Soula Mitakidou, Mr. Semolina-Semolinus: A Greek Folktale, illustrated by Giselle Potter, was an ALA-ALSC 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, storytelling, and writing has been an actor, a director of children’s theater, a vehicle repossessor, and a janitor, and has taught in schools and universities in Turkey, Greece, Albania, and the United States. He divides his time between Ohio and Arizona.

His most recent book is "Loukas and the Game of Chance," an illustrated fantasy for kids ages 9 & up, about loss, separation, struggle, and a journey through an enchanted forest to seek restoration. Selected a 2019 Book Excellence Award Finalist.