Zertelo and the Treasure of Swamp Island

by D. S. Arnauld

Overview

When the animals of the Forest hear a Prophesy that the treasure of Swamp Island will bring great changes to their lives, Zertelo, Tloss and Gmella are sent north to a new land filled with otters, rivers, islands and ancient ruins.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013120181
Publisher:	D. S. Arnauld
Publication date:	08/12/2011
Series:	Zertelo , #3
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	139 KB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Daniel Scott Arnauld is a writer, artist and educator. He lives in Dallas, Texas.
Arnauld was inspired to write children's books like the ones he had loved growing up. At the age of ten he began reading The Chronicles of Narnia and by the age of twelve had read The Hobbit. The idea for his own series of young adult novels came when he bought a potted plant and a small lizard hitchhiked to his home along with it. Arnauld began seeing the lizard in various places around his home, and particularly on a bookshelf in his office. Imagining the adventures the small creature could have in a mythological setting, Arnauld created not only a character but an entire animal society like that of King Arthur and his Knights.

In 2006 the first book Zertelo and Quest for CastleOak was released. The novel is similar in reading level and theme to The Chronicles of Narnia. In it the lizard Zertelo's stripe grows bright blue. He learns from an owl that lizards with blue stripes have the potential to become a Knight of the Forest. First Zertelo must pass the test: The Test of Mind, The Test of Heart and The Test of Spirit. The novel is influenced by the author's Christian background, but not as overtly as are Christian apologist C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. The moral bases of the story actually goes back to ancient Greek philosophical teaching about the Seven Virtues. The first four: patience, courage, wisdom and justice are cardinal virtues, while the last three: belief, hope and love are spiritual virtues. The major theme of the first novel is choice, with virtue and chivalry being motifs and the blue stripe and sword acting as symbols of the choice and virtue in the story.

The second Zertelo book followed in 2008. The story takes place one year after the close of the previous novel. In it a Wrath-Knight, a lizard with a red stripe, comes to warn the animals of the Forest of a dangerous wizard from the Desert. Zertelo and his friends set out to a distant land, full of new animals and landscapes. The major theme of this second novel is pride, as Zertelo travels with the Wrath-Knight he learns of the dangers of becoming too concerned with fame. Wrath-Knights are fallen Knights who no longer serve society. The story is also partly inspired by the second book of the Bible, The Exodus.

The third book in the Zertelo series has not been released yet. Arnauld says it will involve the same characters in the previous books going