The River Crosser
The first book in the Worldbuilder series, features a young boy troubled by the transitory nature of his life. He grows up in the city of Detroit, struggling to learn to read in the public school system. In the midst of his troubles, He steals from scrap heaps and grocery stores to survive. During this time, the boy comes in contact with a mysterious character known only as The Garbageman, who entrusts him with a cryptic text titled The River Crosser.
Unable to read it, the boy spends the next 10 years deciphering the book.
We follow the stubborn boy as he travels through time and change, building strange devices and attempting to contact the man on the other side of "The River" for answers about his book.
Join me in this outlandish tale through some of the deepest recesses of human imagination.
An easy and relatable read without sacrificing the rewarding qualities of a true challenge! This series will not pull any punches!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
My name is Charles Dorton. I am an author who overcame his dyslexia after many years of tutoring and training both with the help of my school and privately.
I have been working on the book The River Crosser for some time, and as it approaches time to get the book in print and published, I will require funding in order to get the professional quality-controlled product that I know is possible.
I want to have these books made for dyslexic kids who are intermediates/beginners at reading, because when I was growing up there were very few good books for kids like me to read, with handicaps such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and ADHD in mind.
So why should you support me?
To start, there are criminally few other authors attempting to write books with the needs of dyslexic kids in mind; including other dyslexic authors who would be suited to it. This is because a book for dyslexics would be slightly more difficult than is typical to write for kids (due to the complex formats), coupled with low awareness and empathy for the disorder.
Research has shown (From Yale's Dyslexia Research institute) that books written with rhymes, in verse, or with large amounts of poetry are more effective at getting dyslexics and other reading-troubled students to enjoy to read, as well as books with interesting artwork or spacial/shape dynamics.
The problem is that novels of this length and depth, especially for learning-troubled kids are quite the niche market. (though a necessary one, I believe, because books like these might help other learning disabled children as well.)
So, why write for Dyslexics?
Dyslexia is a problem for 17% of the U.S population, and even though there are so many of us, (the most represented in number learning disorder) there is critically low public support.
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According to the same statistics from Yale's center for dyslexia research, 10% of the
population (over 16) and 2-3 children in every classroom has
dyslexia to some
degree. 4% of students are
severely dyslexic.
- Only 24% of parents
believe that
dyslexia gets recognized - across
the whole
education system in the U.S.
- Without support,
individuals may suffer
with problems in
literacy and numeracy
and may suffer long
term damage to their
self esteem because of deficits in their processing differences that they find tricks around, but will always struggle with without the proper strategies.
- It is not compulsory to
learn about dyslexia in
teacher training. 55% of
parents feel that teachers
failed to recognize a
problem in their child’s
development.
So how does the book help dyslexics?
My mission with The River Crosser is to entertain and interest intermediate and beginning readers, while teaching them critical thinking strategies, as well as promoting empathy for dyslexic students who see things a little differently from their peers, because I was one, and I know how hard of a position it is.
When I was growing up the books they gave us were incredibly boring. I remember that for all the pain that reading caused me, it was not worth it to get through a half hour long sentence just to read "The cat jumped over the fence." I needed more complex works to satisfy me. What ended up helping me most were poems by Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, and other verse-inclined writers and authors. Things that I read, and were worth thinking about for a time.
On this theory, I set out to find out if there was something to that idea, and what I found was interesting;
There's a little bonus to the research as well. Books that are easier for dyslexics to read are also easier for non-dyslexics to read, and books that help dyslexics learn to read have been proven to help non-dyslexics learn to read at an even faster rate. What is a crutch to us is rocket boots to you!
So what will the book provide exactly?
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It is written almost entirely in verse, with elements of hip-hop and poetry to keep the readers interested.
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It helps the reader to identify their difference in perspective without damage to their self esteem.
- It provides the dyslexic reader with a sandbox world, with hard limits that get explained thoroughly. It provides philosophical and ethical questions to be answered within the context of the world; a place separate from reality, but close in complexity. What may seem trivial to you, but will be an invaluable tool for dyslexic kids who will grow to rely upon abductive reasoning to get by.
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The books will support and encourage outside of the box thinking that leads to innovation.
- It is as useful for teachers and parents as well as students for learning to empathize with dyslexia, due to the nature of the protagonist's own disorder.
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It teaches kids that there are always alternative paths to acquiring the information they need to keep learning, because dyslexic children must find where a piece of information "fits" on their current model to understand. When teachers they look to for guidance aren't providing it, it is important that dyslexics find alternative means to piece together the image and continue learning.
What I Need & What You Will Get!
The time has come to act. We need a new empire of interesting books to inspire dyslexic kids to read, and building an empire costs money!
I NEED EDITORS.
I NEED OTHER AUTHORS.
I NEED ARTISTS.
I NEED A BOOK PRINTER.
So, What is the money for?
The first $2000 of funding is for printing paperback copies of The River Crosser, publishing fees, ISBN fees, design, and trademarking fees. These should be printed and ready 3 months after the close of the campaign with a high quality binding and artwork, the goal being to be the first product of Tsunami Publishing.
If I raise more than $2500 I'll pay the masterful jazz musician Benito Vena for an ambient soundtrack as well as for mastering the Audiobooks.
The Impact
Help kids around the world with dyslexia learn to love reading.
So what are the risks & challenges?
No matter how much money I raise, I'm going to be finishing and publishing the book. If I get less than the goal, it will take me a bit longer.
Are there Other Ways You Can Help?
Maybe you don't have a dollar. But you can still Pass this along to everyone you know. Share this on forums, social media, share this in guild chat and in ranked games of league of legends. Wherever you can get the word out.
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