Book sets out to encourage young readers to dream

THE BOOK Shaka and Mazi, which is based on the idea of achieving your goals, aims to encourage readers to believe in the impossible. It takes them on a journey through the friendship between Shaka and Mazi.

Author Zulaikhah Agoro said she wanted to write a book that spoke of imagination and the joy it can bring.

She illustrated this joy through Shaka and his special friend Mazi, who no one else can see, but him.

“When I was thinking about the idea for this book, I instantly knew that I wanted to write something that would encourage children to dream, a story that would remind them that it is okay to see what others cannot see, to believe in something that only exists in your head.

“I created Mazi to represent the impossible, the invisible, the unrealistic pipe dream that people tell you not to believe in.

“Sooner or later, just like Shaka eventually found a ‘real’ friend in Matty, those dreams do come into being. That’s what inspired the story,” said Agoro.

She added the main theme of the book was to address the notion that using your imagination is bad.

“I wanted to tell the kids,

‘Hey, it’s okay. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you and there are no limits to what you can see in your head because, using myself as an example, I have always dreamt of being an author, and here I am doing an interview about my book.’”

Most people don’t give themselves permission to have faith or hold on to hope.

“When I was younger, I read many stories that I only thought were fun at the time, but adulthood has gifted me with another level of understanding of those messages.

“Unintentionally, I ended up creating a similar dynamic with Shaka and Mazi, and I am very grateful that Book Dash gave me the creative licence to achieve that. Shaka’s parents represent that environment for me, a sense of familiar community, so to speak,” said Agoro.

AUTHOR Zulaikhah Agoro says she wanted to write a book about imagination and the joy it can bring.