Sword of Darrow - A Book For Fantasy Lovers and Dyslexic Readers

Apr 20, 2011
Christine Pollock

Book for Dyslexic Readrs - Used With Permission From Hal Malchow

Can you be a hero when you can't even read? You can in "The Sword of Darrow," a fantasy novel written by a dyslexic boy and his father.

When Alex Malchow still wasn't reading by the third grade due to his struggles with dyslexia, his father read to him. Great stories such as Robinson Crusoe, To Kill a Mockingbird and Eragon inspired the boy. In 2002, Hal read his son The Hobbit and this became his favorite book of all. When they finished, Alex came to Hal and said, “Papa...Let’s write a book.” In this email interview, Hal talks about their experience.

Sword of Darrow

In Sword of Darrow from BenBella Books [2011, ISBN 1935618474], peace-loving Sonnencrest needs rescuers when the country is conquered by an evil goblin empire. It's up to a pair of unlikely heroes to save the country, but each has a problem. Young Princess Babette cannot read since words dance in front of her, and she can’t get them to stay still enough to put them in order. Darrow is weak and small, and he walks with a limp. Can they find courage and strength enough to save the kingdom?

Suite 101: Please tell us a bit about Princess Babette and Darrow. Where did you get the ideas for them? How did the characters surprise you as you started writing them?

HM: Alex was an eight-year-old boy (when we started writing). When he brought me characters, he brought Darrow, Hugga Hugga, Timwee, Asterux, Zindown and Scodo. But no girls. So I told him he had to have a girl, and I added the princess. I think Alex just pulled an assortment of fantasy characters. A human, a minotaur, a dwarf. Scodo we worked on a little. He is clearly the most surprising character. At first, his only attribute was that he had inhuman strength and was a mighty warrior. But as we wrote the book we made him shy and in the end he becomes the character with the deepest reservoir of kindness and humanity. The idea that the person who has suffered the most can love the most is a strong concept. It adds a lot to the book.

Benefits to Readers With Dyslexia

Suite 101: Please tell me a bit about the special hardcover version. Specifically, what will we find in the formatting, and how will it benefit readers with dyslexia?

HM: The hardcover version is formatted to be easier to read for kids with dyslexia. I am told that the formatting we used will also help kids with ADD and ADHD for whom an uncluttered page is easier to digest. We did some testing at the Lab School. We tried a lot of stuff but what worked was simple.

Plain type (Arial) - The more elaborate the type the harder it is for a dyslexic kid to read. Riordan’s character in The Lightning Thief comments on this problem.
Bigger type
More spacing - I knew that would work because I watched Alex frequently skip lines of type when he was learning to read.
Phrase-based formatting - A new technique developed not for dyslexic readers but for all readers. This formatting is based upon scientific studies of reading. When we read, we read not one word at a time but in clumps of two or three words. Phrase-based formatting uses the spacing on the line to clump related words together into groups of two or three words. Between those groups there is more space. The technique is helping the reader by skipping a step in the mental process. It is most helpful for struggling readers. I assume that includes readers with learning differences. Actually, both editions will use this formatting. There is a company in England that formats books for kids with learning differences using bigger type and more spacing. But I think our book will be the first to add the phrase-based formatting. Benefits of Fantasy Fiction for Fun Suite 101: What do you hope readers will get out of this book? HM: Well, I don’t believe in preachy books so the first thing I hope these kids get out of the book is a great story and a good time. But there are life lessons in The Sword of Darrow and I know that from reading what 2,000 kids had to say about the book. They said the book tells them that you don’t have to be big or strong to succeed. It tells them that you can do anything if you have the courage to believe in what is possible. There is a saying I love. “He who leaps from the sky may fall, it’s true. But he may also fly.” I hope my book helps kids make up their minds to fly. Because in our world, without the courage to take that leap, almost no progress is possible. There were also many comments about the importance of understanding, loving and forgiving your enemies. I am not a religious person but I believe that in the New Testament there is a beautiful guide for human behavior. Ghandi studied all the religions but his work and teaching arose primarily from the New Testament. To show kids that there can be heroism and magic in forgiveness is a beautiful thing. Sequel for Sword of Darrow Suite 101: What are you working on now? HM: I have a sequel I am working on. It is called Twins. It centers on the young adults, Fenn and Aster, who are the twin son and daughter of Babette and Scodo. Like most twins they are very close and can, even at great distances, feel what the other is feeling. But they also have one additional power. Each day, they have the ability to communicate one word to the other, unspoken and at any distance. They pass these words every day, unbeknownst to anyone else.