Calling Reebo home to planet Carowak

A longtime goal was accomplished by Woodmere resident and teacher Dennis Kantor, when his children’s book, “Calling From Carowak” was published last December.

The book follows Reebo, an 8-year-old alien boy who’s sending messages to Earth from Carowak, his home planet. After Reebo’s father died in a war his grandparents moved in with him, his mother, little sister, cousin and aunt. He feels neglected and runs away, but realizes how much his family cares about him after they come rescue him.

“I wanted to show kids that these issues are universal,” said Kantor, the English chair at Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway. He believes that by showing an alien in similar situations as a child who might read the book could be faced with, the story would resonate.

Kantor taught in public schools for 34 years before his current position at Yeshiva Darchei Torah, which he has held since 1996. He has also taught art and majored in that discipline at Hunter College, and illustrated the book as well as writing it. He also earned a master’s degree in education.

Michelle Snyder, Kantor’s agent at White Knight Studio, began working with him about a year and a half ago. Using aliens as characters is part of what caught her eye when he was referred to her. “I thought the story would appeal to young boys, which is an audience that isn’t often targeted,” she said.

Snyder was a newbie to the project as Kantor said he really started the story more than 20 years ago. His daughter, Michelle Silbiger recalled that, “He’s been working on it since I was a kid, so it’s really nice to see this come to fruition.”

His plans for “Calling From Carowak” were put on hold when his wife, Anna became ill in 2004 and died in September of 2006. It wasn’t until around two years ago that he came across his outline in his garage and decided to finish what he had started years ago.

“Calling from Carowak” received rave reviews from both Snyder’s three children and Kantor’s grandson, Michelle’s son Craig. At 11, Craig is already showing signs of being an author himself, writing short stories for his friends at school. “He’s taking after my father,” Silbiger said.

For his next book Kantor is looking to collaborate with Craig. Though it’s still very much in the planning stages the concept is something that Snyder said she had never read before. Craig will write one page of the story, and on the next one Kantor will edit his work showing any changes that he makes.

It’s an idea that Kantor had one day while just talking with Craig. “I think this will help kids understand that writing is a process, it goes through corrections,” Snyder said.

Being an English teacher, Kantor said he wanted to keep kids from getting discouraged and turned off writing, and wants to show them that writing doesn’t happen to be perfect the first time.

While his next book might be some time off you can find “Calling From Carowak” on Amazon.com.