You can purchase your copy of A Rook and a Chariot on: Archway, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target and Good Reads.
A Rook and a Chariot is a fictional children's book for ages 10 - 14 written by Robbie Hoffman. A story of a boy that's untimely passing during the hardships of adolescents. When young Rue passes on he gets to meet God and God asks him to join him in a game of chess. The two go through the process of helping each other better understand life and meaning.
The story is a philosophical & psychological weave, written to help children understand and accept the passing of loved ones and to help them process the hardships they encounter.
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Sample Chapter
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Chapter 1
Goo-Goofs Pond
Rue sits in the northernmost corner of the house, reminiscing about his recent attempts to perfect his famous belly flop at Goo-Goofs Pond. He blinks twice: once for delight at his sudden urge for another swim and once at the thought that his best friend, Tabbie, will mirror him. To his surprise, his adventurous thoughts dissipate, his face grows blank, and the only thing in front of him appears to be heaven’s glory. Beautiful shades of white are woven through transcendent levels of light. He can’t look away from the beauty in colors stretched across a vast, hollow space.
Awestruck, he sees an eruption of butterflies bursting into the heavenly light from the crevasses of the clouds.
“Wow, this must be heaven! So this is what it’s like. I didn’t know it would be this beautiful.” His need for reassurance surpasses the fluttering rise of all emotional baggage, grief, despair, and past episodes fraught with desires one way or the other.
Entering heaven and looking around the endless hollow levels of clouds and glimmering butterflies, Rue calls out, “Hello? … Hello? … Am I in heaven? … Anyone?”
Attentive and confused but still reassuring himself, Rue calls out for Tabbie. “Tabbie? Tabs?”
Exploring farther, he trips on what he presumes to be a cloud. One can trip in heaven? “Pickles!” In his excitement Rue calls out his past friend’s name.
"Pickles—hey there, boy!” While Rue tries to pet him, Pickles leads the way through heaven.
Lurking off in the distance as he approaches the kingdom, Rue notices a woman approaching him. He says, “I wonder if I’ll meet God.”
“Rue! Pickles has never been so excited!” says the woman.
“Lord?” Rue asks.
“No, silly, I’m your guardian angel, Saint Platium. And yes, you’re in heaven.”
“I never dreamed it would be so—”
“Beautiful?” says Saint Platium with a slight giggle.
“Pickles wasn’t alone, was he? I mean—”
“Did he make friends? Don’t worry, Rue. Pickles had a wonderful time while waiting for your arrival.”
As Rue’s sigh of relief withers away, a crowd of puppies pile in around him. They are unfamiliar to Rue yet lend an air of comfort to their surroundings.
“Who’s that boy?”
“Bella’s her name.”
“Bella, the Scottish terrier? How lovely to see you, Bella. This is—”
“Rue!” Bella blurts out, “Pickles has missed you so much!”
Giggling under her breath, Saint Platium says, “I’m sorry to say, Rue, it might take a little time to meet him.”
“You mean ….”
“To meet the Lord, that is.” Her amusement has her tumbling her words. “A couple of boys were causing trouble.”
“That happens up here too?”
“How did you ever think it wouldn’t happen here? We’re only human, Rue. Don’t worry, they’re not in too much trouble. He’ll be with you soon.”
“Do dogs get married in heaven?”
“Of course, if they’d like to. Yesterday two giraffes got married.”
“Wow! Giraffes get married?”
Strolling together in heaven a short distance ahead, two young characters have an uneasy posture to them. A powerful force seems to lean down on them with a scolding demeanor. One of the boys reacts to seeing Pickles and yells out in excitement, “Pickles!”
The scolding force turns out to be the Lord. He screams fiercely, “Don’t Pickles me!”
As Pickles is jumping on his leg in excitement, Rue and Saint Platium can hardly hide their amusement at the entire scene. Never meaning to offend the Lord, Saint Platium shields her laughter by twisting slightly away.
The powerful force looks toward Rue as the two boys duck under the fire and scoot out from under the Lord’s view.
Overwhelmed and now in hysterics, Rue tries to accept what he has seen so far. He manages to ask, “My Lord, how is it that I’ve passed?”
The Lord moves his shoulders and torso to a passive drop and leans in on Rue’s broken-down moment. Before he can lend any comfort, more words abruptly fall from Rue’s lips. “I’d love to see your archives.”
“Hmm … archives?”
“Yes, your process of creating life … and, um, what the world could have been like.”
“Speaking of process, Rue, I am very fond of your chess strategies.”
“Chess? You play with diligence, no?”
“How about a game of chess, Rue? We can discuss the possibility of viewing my archives over chess.”
“Chess with you? The Supreme Being? The Lord? The Lord of creation?
Goo-Goofs Pond
Rue sits in the northernmost corner of the house, reminiscing about his recent attempts to perfect his famous belly flop at Goo-Goofs Pond. He blinks twice: once for delight at his sudden urge for another swim and once at the thought that his best friend, Tabbie, will mirror him. To his surprise, his adventurous thoughts dissipate, his face grows blank, and the only thing in front of him appears to be heaven’s glory. Beautiful shades of white are woven through transcendent levels of light. He can’t look away from the beauty in colors stretched across a vast, hollow space.
Awestruck, he sees an eruption of butterflies bursting into the heavenly light from the crevasses of the clouds.
“Wow, this must be heaven! So this is what it’s like. I didn’t know it would be this beautiful.” His need for reassurance surpasses the fluttering rise of all emotional baggage, grief, despair, and past episodes fraught with desires one way or the other.
Entering heaven and looking around the endless hollow levels of clouds and glimmering butterflies, Rue calls out, “Hello? … Hello? … Am I in heaven? … Anyone?”
Attentive and confused but still reassuring himself, Rue calls out for Tabbie. “Tabbie? Tabs?”
Exploring farther, he trips on what he presumes to be a cloud. One can trip in heaven? “Pickles!” In his excitement Rue calls out his past friend’s name.
"Pickles—hey there, boy!” While Rue tries to pet him, Pickles leads the way through heaven.
Lurking off in the distance as he approaches the kingdom, Rue notices a woman approaching him. He says, “I wonder if I’ll meet God.”
“Rue! Pickles has never been so excited!” says the woman.
“Lord?” Rue asks.
“No, silly, I’m your guardian angel, Saint Platium. And yes, you’re in heaven.”
“I never dreamed it would be so—”
“Beautiful?” says Saint Platium with a slight giggle.
“Pickles wasn’t alone, was he? I mean—”
“Did he make friends? Don’t worry, Rue. Pickles had a wonderful time while waiting for your arrival.”
As Rue’s sigh of relief withers away, a crowd of puppies pile in around him. They are unfamiliar to Rue yet lend an air of comfort to their surroundings.
“Who’s that boy?”
“Bella’s her name.”
“Bella, the Scottish terrier? How lovely to see you, Bella. This is—”
“Rue!” Bella blurts out, “Pickles has missed you so much!”
Giggling under her breath, Saint Platium says, “I’m sorry to say, Rue, it might take a little time to meet him.”
“You mean ….”
“To meet the Lord, that is.” Her amusement has her tumbling her words. “A couple of boys were causing trouble.”
“That happens up here too?”
“How did you ever think it wouldn’t happen here? We’re only human, Rue. Don’t worry, they’re not in too much trouble. He’ll be with you soon.”
“Do dogs get married in heaven?”
“Of course, if they’d like to. Yesterday two giraffes got married.”
“Wow! Giraffes get married?”
Strolling together in heaven a short distance ahead, two young characters have an uneasy posture to them. A powerful force seems to lean down on them with a scolding demeanor. One of the boys reacts to seeing Pickles and yells out in excitement, “Pickles!”
The scolding force turns out to be the Lord. He screams fiercely, “Don’t Pickles me!”
As Pickles is jumping on his leg in excitement, Rue and Saint Platium can hardly hide their amusement at the entire scene. Never meaning to offend the Lord, Saint Platium shields her laughter by twisting slightly away.
The powerful force looks toward Rue as the two boys duck under the fire and scoot out from under the Lord’s view.
Overwhelmed and now in hysterics, Rue tries to accept what he has seen so far. He manages to ask, “My Lord, how is it that I’ve passed?”
The Lord moves his shoulders and torso to a passive drop and leans in on Rue’s broken-down moment. Before he can lend any comfort, more words abruptly fall from Rue’s lips. “I’d love to see your archives.”
“Hmm … archives?”
“Yes, your process of creating life … and, um, what the world could have been like.”
“Speaking of process, Rue, I am very fond of your chess strategies.”
“Chess? You play with diligence, no?”
“How about a game of chess, Rue? We can discuss the possibility of viewing my archives over chess.”
“Chess with you? The Supreme Being? The Lord? The Lord of creation?
Copy Right Robbie Hoffman 2017
Seada Fine Art
