bedtimeforbuzzy

Bedtime for Buzzy Author & Illustrator Pay it Forward for Foster Kids

bedtimeforbuzzy

The awesome concept of paying it forward will be employed over the next six weeks thanks to an award winning author and his sibling illustrator as they partner with a local retailer to share the wealth with foster kids across Berrien County.

To share the joy of reading with foster kids throughout their own hometown area of Berrien County, brothers T.J. Hackworth and Sean Baptist, the author and illustrator of the award winning children’s picture book “Bedtime for Buzzy,” have teamed up with downtown St. Joseph bookstore Forever Books to offer a special “Buy One, Give One” promotion running from July 29, 2017 through the end of August.

For each copy of the critically-acclaimed “Bedtime for Buzzy” that is purchased between July 29, 2017 and August 31, 2017 from Forever Books or from www.bedtimeforbuzzy.com, the publisher will donate a copy for the benefit of a foster child to the Berrien County Department of Human Services.

Author T. J. Hackworth says, “We are very happy to announce this small way to encourage reading and introduce a fun story to area foster kids and to publicly recognize the extraordinary contributions that Berrien County foster families make.”

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The promotion will begin at 1pm on Saturday, July 29th with a book signing and reading of “Bedtime for Buzzy” with author T.J. Hackworth at Forever Books in downtown St. Joseph. Any purchases of the storybook at Forever Books or www.bedtimeforbuzzy.com during the event or throughout the month of August will qualify for the promotion.

In addition to helping a foster child by purchasing a copy of the book, local families can also consider becoming a licensed foster home themselves.

Heather Hoffman is Children’s Services Supervisor with the Berrien County Department of Human Services. She tells us, “Here in Berrien County, we have approximately 340 kids in foster care and the majority of those children are placed in our approximately 100 licensed foster homes, so we are always looking for more families that are willing to get licensed.”

In the cleverly-illustrated “Bedtime for Buzzy,” a young boy is playing with his toys and doesn’t want to go to bed, until he imagines his toys coming to life one by one to convince him that going to sleep is the best way to continue his adventures.

Bedtime for Buzzy has been honored with a number of awards, including being named a Distinguished Favorite in the Children’s Fiction category of the 2017 Independent Press Awards, a Finalist in the Preschool Picture Books category in the 2017 National Indie Excellence awards, and as an Honorable Mention in both the “Picture Books, 5 and Younger” and “Best Illustrations” categories of the 2017 Purple Dragonfly Book Awards competition.

These accolades add to the critical acclaim already received by the 28-page, hardcover book, including positive reviews from the Children’s Book Review, Foreword Reviews, Kirkus Reviews and BlueInk Reviews, among many others.

The book is published by Downtown & Brown Ventures and is available for purchase at both Forever Books in St. Joseph’s central business district as well as online at www.bedtimeforbuzzy.com.