BLOG TOUR: A Passion for Elephants by Toni Buzzeo - Review + Top 10 Bucket List!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're welcoming a blog tour courtesy of Penguin Young Readers and starring the latest release from an author who's been around the publishing block a time or two (or twenty).  Aside from being a Caldecott Winner, she's an author who's willing to use her writing skills to bring issues affecting us all to the here and now.  In my past experience with her works, I've enjoyed my time between the pages and she's always been so giving with her time, so when THIS TOUR came around, I knew I wanted in.  A few emails later and one more storybook read, brings us to today's blog tour guest and featured title...

A Passon for Elephants:

The Real Life Adventure of Field Scientist Cynthia Moss

by

Toni Buzzeo

Illustrated by

Holly Berry

9780399187254

Dial Books

About the book...

Cynthia Moss was never afraid of big things. As a kid, she liked to ride through the countryside on her tall horse and visit faraway places, and she especially loved to learn about nature and the world around her. So when Cynthia traveled to Africa and met the world's largest land animal, the African elephant, at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya, she knew she had found her life's work. Cynthia has spent years learning everything she can about elephants and sharing these fascinating creatures with the world and fighting against ivory poachers who kill elephants for their tusks.

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This is the story of one woman who never set out to change the world, but did so nonetheless.  She grew up much the same as you or I, reached her educational goals, and attained a job with a well respected news magazine.  Life was good, until it wasn't.  Her heart wasn't quite settled it seems and upon learning from a friend about the mysteries and beauty of Africa, she simply had to see it for herself.  See it she did but she also settled there in what would be the first step in a lifelong adventure...to save the elephants.

Though a work of fiction, it is grounded in facts, allowing readers young and old the chance to capture the same magic that ensnared Ms. Moss.  We see how her life was and all that it turned out to be, just because she didn't let BIG things stand in her way; in fact, she herself became that "big thing" standing in the way of those that would harm these gentle giants.  It was remarkable to read AND see thanks to the beautiful illustrations throughout.  You really get a feel for the majesty of the setting that drew her like a moth to a flame.  The fact that her short term project turned into a lifelong journey just made her efforts that more consequential.  It truly gives you the feeling that though we are put a space in the stars, we can affect change and help make our world a better place for all, both man and beast.

The statistics are gruesome but the reality is, these larger than life creatures need our help.  The truly sad part?  Part of that assistance is in keeping them out of the hands of others that would do them harm, not just Mother Nature or natural selection.  We're talking poachers; those that would take what is not their's to gain profit, with no regard for who or what they destroy in their paths.  It brings a tear to my eye just thinking about the atrocities they commit but a determination to my heart that with the help of a few, the many shall prosper leading us away from a day without these majestic creatures and into a time when there is room for us all.  For more information on how you can help, feel free to research the topics/places listed.  Meanwhile, let's get a little more personal with our author or the moment, shall we?  A very special guest post with author Toni Buzzeo is heading your way in three...two...one...

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Top 10 Bucket List with Author Toni Buzzeo

(When asked what I wanted to share, I took into mind the subject of the book and seeing as she was never afraid of a BIG adventure, I decided to pose the question to the author.  Here's what came of the interaction...)

1.  I would travel back to Amboseli National Park in Kenya where Cynthia Moss lives and works

with the same families of elephants she has studied for more than four decades. While I have been to Amboseli twice, there will never be a limit to the time I wish I could spend there.

2.  I would fund efforts to save Africa’s elephants who are being poached for ivory at an alarming rate. In March 2015, attendees from 20 countries at the Africa Elephant Summit held in Botswana heard that African elephants could be extinct in the wild within one decade.

3.  We urgently need research into the halt of global warming and I would be an active funder and promoter of that effort. Among other tragedies, global warming may be the cause of the melting of the snow pack on Mount Kilimanjaro that supplies water for all of Amboseli National Park and its elephants.

4.  So far, I have only visited three of the African continent’s 54 countries, Kenya (twice), Ethiopia, and Morocco. With unlimited time and unlimited resources, I would visit the other 53 countries—and return to Kenya to see the elephants of Amboseli once again.

5.  My husband has always said that if he won the lottery, he would build a large, well-stocked and well-staffed library in our little rural Maine town of Buxton. I would gladly be a partner in that endeavor—and name the library after him: The Kenneth M. Cyll Library.

6.  All children deserve a well-staffed and well-stocked school library, so I would ensure that every child around the world had that advantage. And of course, each of those libraries would have multiple copies of each of my 24 children’s books personally autographed by me. 

7.  I would ensure that every aspiring young writer received inspiring writing instruction, perhaps through a mentorship program that linked these young people with published authors in their local communities. Imagine if every child who was drawn to write had a mentor shining a light on the path ahead!

8.  I’d love the opportunity to study basket weaving under a master basket weaver, perhaps even a Penobscot weaver in my home state of Maine. I’ll never forget the woven basket exhibition at the Abbe Museum at one of my visits. I was completely entranced and transported by the baskets and I would love to learn more.  

9.  If time were no obstacle, I would also love to learn to spin my own yarn. I treasure the hours I spend working with fiber (crocheting is one of my main hobbies) and imagine that the joy would be doubled if the yarn slipping through my fingers were yarn I had spun.

10.  I would have the time and fabric to make a quilt for every child around the world who needed one (and what child doesn’t?). It would be magical to know each child’s favorite animals, colors, and activities and to create quilts that reflected those. For now, I content myself with quilts for my grandchildren.

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About the author...

Toni Buzzeo, a former teacher and media specialist, is now a full-time author with many picture books to her credit, including Adventure Annie Goes to Kindergarten, The Sea Chest, and the Caldecott Honor winner One Cool Friend. She and her husband, Ken, divide their time between Sarasota, Florida, and Buxton, Maine.

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About the illustrator...

Holly Berry is a printmaker and acclaimed illustrator of a number of picture books, including Colorful Dreamer, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor book How Mama Brought the Spring, and the Society of Illustrators Original Art Silver Medalist book The Impudent Rooster.  She received her BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and now lives in Waldoboro, Maine.

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Special thanks to Rachel at Penguin Young Readers for the chance to bring this blog tour to you as well as the copy for review.  My thanks as well to the author for sharing her time and piece of herself once again.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, the illustrator, the publisher, or the cause itself, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title just celebrated its BOOK BIRTHDAY this past Tuesday, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time...happy reading!

BLOG TOUR: My Bibi Always Remembers by Toni Buzzeo

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.  Today's we're saying HELLO to September with a special blog tour indeed.  It's ushering in a holiday at the occurs at the end of the week a tad early with a pre-book birthday celebration and a little something extra.  Curious?  Great!  Just what I like to hear.  ^_^

The holiday I'm referring to is GRANDPARENT'S DAY (September 7th).  For those of you lucky enough to have extended family, be sure to take a moment to thank them for all they have done and still do because trust me....if they are in your lives, you are blessed indeed.  I myself never had the chance to meet my grandparents as they had all passed away before I was born but don't cry for me Argentina, Mom made sure to make all our memories as special as they could be....or as Stich would say, "small and broken but still family".  Ohana indeed.  *ahem*  Anywho, back to today's featured title and blog tour guest....

My Bibi Always Remembers

by

Toni Buzzeo

Illustrated by

Mike Wohnoutka

Disney Publishing Worldwide

9781423183853

About the book....

Little Tembo, a baby elephant, is thirsty and her herd cannot find any water. But Bibi, the matriarch, "remembers the way to wet." As Bibi leads them across the parched savannah, Tembo happily follows, every now and then getting distracted by her own memories of games she loves to play. With touching family moments interspersed between Tembo's playful actions, this tribute to grandmothers will make a perfect read-aloud.

AMAZON    |   BARNES & NOBLE   |   INDIEBOUND

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The author's creativity and love of storytelling shines through once again as we explore another tale of family love and connections thanks to our animal friends.  This time around, it's a herd of elephants and a precocious little baby named Tembo.  Like all kiddos, Tembo thinks nothing of running off with a daydream even though the family is on a quest for water.  Time and again she strays from the pack only to find herself lost or disoriented and needing assistance.  She calls, she's answered, and their journey resumes once again.  After what seems like forever, Tembo worries they'll never find the water they seek....but the family knows to trust Bibi, the grandmother of the group if you will, and very soon her wisdom is shown once again.  Tembo learns the value of his elders beyond the comfort and care they give, while creating new memories to pass along to the next generation.

While I admit to having a hard time with the flow of the story as the text didn't work as lyrically as I'd expected, overall the emotions behind the words were clear.  Family is there for family and each generation is valuable.  There is nothing they wouldn't do for each other, no distance they wouldn't travel, nor excursion undertake.  We share wisdom through the ages and grow from the experiences we have.  

I can easily see this being a grandparent-and-me read but it would work just as well in a group setting where the sounds and steps could be acted out more dramatically.  When one takes the story and combines it with the illustratations though, that's where the full effect is truly felt.  You can see Tembo's enthusiasm for life.  You can feel how the herd cares for each other through each page of their journey.  The color pallette used reflects the African landscape well with all the earthy tones while still allowing us to glimpse a rainbow of colors through the night sky with a setting sun or under the shade of a tree with little Tembo.  All in all, the marry together to form a bookish union worth your attention.

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Now, this being a blog tour, I had the chance to select what type of post I was going to host.  Of course, I HAD to do a review, but I also opted to play "let's-get-to-know" with the author AND illustrator.  That's right!  Both parties were given the chance to share with me their FAVORITE MEMORY of their grandparents and I must say, I was touched that they both wished to paticipate,  Without further adieu....let's see what they had to say!

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Author Toni Buzzeo

I was an amazingly lucky little girl! For the first two years of my life, my parents and I lived with my maternal grandparents. Then, for the next four years, we lived only five miles apart. Because my parents were young (20 and 21), they were happy for me to have grandparents at hand to care for me, so I spent loads of time with Grandma Mae and Grandpa Don in their red brick house on Rosalie Street in Dearborn, Michigan.

My sweetest memories are of walking and reading with Grandma Mae.  The two of us went for long walks around her neighborhood, holding hands and talking for miles about anything I wanted to discuss--often our plans for what we’d do next, pick blackcap raspberries in the yard, harvest the Italian plums outside the bedroom window, roll out sugar cookie dough.

Decades later, I remember the feel of my hand in hers, cool wind ruffling my hair, and the joy of walking with an adult who gave me one hundred percent of her attention and unconditional love. Every time we approached a barrier that required walking single-file or letting go of hands, we made sure to say, “Bread and Butter” as we dropped and then resumed linking hands. Such small rituals are what safety and security are made of for little children. And it’s a testament to the strength of that particular ritual that I remember it so clearly more than half a century later!

After a walk, or on any whim, we’d cuddle up with a book. Both my mother and my grandmother were inveterate readers who took me to the library from the time I was very small. Not only did Grandma Mae model the joys of being a reader herself, but she read to me often. I’m not sure why The Poky Little Puppy is a book I especially remember sharing with her (perhaps because I didn’t have a dog at home, though Ginger was always nearby at Grandma’s house), but it was one among many that we read and discussed together. I especially love this photograph because it captures the joy of our shared reading and tells me that Grandma Mae knew that sharing a book is more than reading aloud. Talking about what is happening in the story and why is the key to children connecting with the characters and the theme!

I have brought all of the love and good feelings I experienced in my early relationship with Grandma Mae to my latest book, My Bibi Always Remembers. Bibi (Swahili for grandmother) is just the sort of grandmother my grandma was. She’s also the kind of Nonna I am trying to be to my own little grandbaby, Camden James—wise, responsive, and with a love as wide as the starry sky.

About the Author:

Toni Buzzeo is a new grandmother as well as children's book author, reviewer, and retired school library media specialist. Her most recent books include Just Like My Papa, and Stay Close to Mama, and she won a Caldecott Honor for the New York Times best-selling picture book One Cool Friend. She divides her time between a colonial farmhouse in Buxton, Maine, and a home near the ocean in Sarasota, Florida.

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Illustrator Mike Wohnoutka

I feel very fortunate to have had so much time with two sets of grandparents growing up.

Every Sunday after church our family would drive 45 minutes to Olivia, Minnesota to visit my grandparents.  My dad’s parents and my mom’s parents lived only three blocks from each other.

My Grandma Wohnoutka was a wonderful cook and the house always smelled like fresh baked kolache (a Czech pastry). She would always have food in front of you. We would spend the day playing cards, usually a game called 31.  My grandma was quietly competitive and did not like to lose. If my cousins were there the kids would be outside playing football. I remember Grandma Wohnoutka as humble, quiet, and caring.

My Grandma Malecek’s house did not smell as good and eating was not the reason to go there.  Her house would be filled with smoke from my uncles, who would complain and spit chewing tobacco, but also were really fun.  This was the creative side of my family.  My uncles would show us magic tricks and teach us jokes. No one here had the patience to play a card game with kids, but the house was always filled with energy.  I remember my Grandma Malecek as kind, creative and resourceful.

“My Bibi Always Remembers” is dedicated to my Grandma Wohnoutka and Grandma Malecek.  My daughter, Olivia, is named after the town my grandparents lived in.

About the Illustrator...

Author with Grandma

Mike Wohnoutka grew up in Spicer, Minnesota and graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a B.F.A. in illustration. He has published books with Random House, Dutton, Clarion, and Holiday House. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two children.

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Special thanks to Cassie at Disney Publishing Worldwide for the review copy as well as the chance to bring this tour to you and to both the author and illustrator for taking the time to answer the posed question so deepty..  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title as well as their growing catalog, be sure to stop by their official site.  This title is set for release TOMORROW, so be on the look out for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.  Now don't forget, this IS a blog tour so be sure to check in at the other stops along the way...such as yesterday's stop at Book Rock Betty and tomorrow's at As They Grow Up.

Until next time...happy reading!