Get Booked – Celia Straus And Tina Salvesen, Bobo & Iris 040722

Hello and welcome to today's Get Booked for Women's and Men's radio station. I'm Hazel Butterfield and such a huge book fan, so I love doing this show. Get Booked is all about talking to authors, chatting about anything and everything books related, and all the joy, enlightenment, and escape that good books can provide. Now today we are going to be talking about a very sweet series called Bobo and Iris. Now Bobo is an orphaned baby elephant who lives in a sanctuary in Kenya. His new best friend Iris, a wise and whimsical egret, teaches him how to survive and thrive in his new elephant family. This is the first title in the Bobo and Iris series of books intended to explore explore the life skills learned by toddlers and preschoolers, as well as themes of endangered African wildlife. The creators of the Bobo series donate a portion of their royalties to elephant sanctuaries including Elephant Aid International and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The Bobo and Iris series are written by Celia Strauss and Tina Sarveson, who are published by Leschenault Press and the Book Reality Experience, who publish new authors from Australia, the USA, and the UK. You can check out their latest titles at bookreality.com/ourbooks. From crime fiction to science fiction, self-help guides to poetry anthologies, and from teenage dramas to kindergarten adventures, they are always on the lookout for fresh new stories. And yes, they are open for submissions, so please go and check out their website, Leschenault Press and Book Reality. Great stories from great authors. Now on to today's book, Bobo Finds a Friend, book 1 of the Bobo and Irie series. Absolutely delightful book. I've been reading these to my children. There's 1 and 2 so far. The Bobo and Irie series is brought to us by authors Celia Strauss and Tina Salvesen. And first up to chat to us is Tina, who is an established painter, illustrator, and art teacher based in Miami, Florida. Regarded as a master draftsman, she's won many awards in various shows throughout the USA and abroad. Tina's deep affection for her grandchild and young children everywhere inspires her children's books illustrations. She and Celia Strauss collaborate on many books, including the Bobo and Iris series, and as I said, I found them so incredibly endearing. Tina, thank you so much for joining us here on Get Booked for Women's and Men's radio station. How are you today? I'm good, thank you, Hazel. Now, I must say, I really enjoyed these books. I've been reading them to my children and chatting to my friends about them as well. But also, I kind of, I really like messages that are in these books, that sometimes life doesn't have to be as conventional as we're told it should be, and that we can find ways to be happy in just so many weird and wonderful ways. And I assume that's what Bobo and Iris is all about. That's true. One thing about Bobo is that he has his fears like many children do, but we always find a solution for him. And there's always a good ending even to terrible tragedy. So that was one thing, and the other thing is, are we have such, um, love of endangered species, especially elephants, and we really wanted to make that clear that there's, uh, places where these orphaned elephants can go and live and be loved and cared for. And I love it that you actually donate a portion of the profits to Elephant Age, don't you? Yes, and mostly to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya because it is an African elephant. Bobo is an African elephant as opposed to an Indian elephant. I love it that this series is actually teaching people about wildlife as well because it's a great way to engage with children. Yes, I think I agree with you completely. It is, it's a wonderful— it, you know, it— may I ask how old your children are? Yes, you can. One's 15 and the other one is 12. Now they're both huge readers, slightly veering off at the moment, but we're definitely— we used to be that family that would go out for a Sunday lunch and we'd go into the bookshop first. We'd all get a book each, we'd all sit there and just kind of chill and eat at the same time. And I absolutely, I love it. It breaks my heart a little bit that as they get a bit older, they think that they find more interaction on social media. But I think it always comes back around again. Once you've found the love, you never truly lose that love of literature. Don't you agree? I do. And the feel of a book, even though everything's digital, the feel of a book, especially a children's book, is really just a wonderful thing to settle down with. And read with your child, or your grandchild in my case. Yeah, I just think it's a great way to connect, and especially— and this is, this is so powerful— but when my youngest knows that possibly he's had a bit too much technology, and although he'd hate to admit it, if he thinks he's possibly been overloaded, the first thing he does is come to me and reach for a book. That's lovely. It is. I find— I read a lot of children's books anyway. I always have all my life, even as a young woman. And I find them, children's books, extremely comforting in a lot of ways. But it also illuminating how the different authors and illustrators kind of represent a problem or solve a problem for a child. Yes, and I think there's a lot of books, especially emerging over the last couple of years, that are really helping children to identify how different we all can be. Mental health is, is becoming an issue for absolutely everybody, not a particular age or gender, it's everybody. And the more we understand each other, which is predominantly but done through sharing and literature in all of its many different forms, The kinder we can all be if we don't just think that people are being rude to us or whatnot. It's understanding what's possibly going on under the surface. Again, a bit like with the Bobo and Ira series, and there's so many other ones that I've come across that help people to understand the complexities of life, but sometimes in ways that we can all understand. Yes, I agree with you completely. You know, Iris becomes, for the books, Iris becomes his friend and confidante. A little like Charlotte's Web, when Charlotte becomes the spider, becomes the confidante for Wilbur the pig. We wanted her to be kind of philosophical, kind of the one he goes to just to reassure himself that everything's going to be okay. But Iris is still very zany. But that's what we want, isn't it? Yeah, I think so. She's, she's not just this solid person. She's a, you know, personality. In the second book, I drew her just— she's just crazy. She's just very zany. She's always got, you know, like one leg up in the air. She's always being blown backwards by, by the wind and things. But we all need a little bit of crazy in our life. Can you imagine if we were all the same and all calm and collected? Oh, well, that won't happen, that's for sure. What I do like, I mean, the, the Bobo and Iris series, the way I see it, it's, um, it's a way of getting children to understand the— how to deal with life's curveballs. You know, there's, there's so much pressure put on children to have a supposed conventional upbringing which just doesn't happen, and it's kind of leading children and ourselves to feel like we're let down. And I think the more we understand the beauty in something unconventional, the happier we'll all be. I mean, there are, there are people out there that you know, you can't always rely on a parent or both parents, but you can sometimes find, you know, that you get what you need to be who you want to be in a good friendship or through communicating with a pet or through reading. And there's so many different ways that we can find to make ourselves feel whole and happy. Yes, I agree. I, you know, life is not easy. And especially now, it seems to be even more difficult for so many reasons, including COVID and what's happening in the Ukraine. And children are growing up in a whole different way. Their brains are working in a whole different way than before, mainly due to technology and the fact that the world is whirling faster. Isn't it just? I wish it would just— we just need a little bit of a pause, don't we? How often do you hear your— have you got just one grandchild? I just have one, yes. And how old is your grandchild? She is 3. 3. So you still have that beautiful kind of attitude where everything's incredible, and whereas I'm at that stage where my children seem to not understand how they should ever be allowed to be bored. Well, I think bored is the wrong word. How, however, to understand how to be just quiet. Yes, or not constantly stimulated by something. Yes. Well, I've been a meditator for 30— oh God, too many years to even mention. And I always find that, that moment of meditation, just if it's only 10 minutes a day really kind of almost resets your thinking and it makes you stop. Yes, I do very similar. I do it for myself and I get my children to do it sometimes without them even knowing. And I kind of call it the Ctrl+Alt+Delete where, you know, if I'm not wanting them to know that I'm getting them to read, you know, I get them to start baking something, or I supposedly find a recipe on TikTok, and they'll say, hey, Mum, can you help us do this? I'm like, no, find a recipe and read it. And then before they know it, they're reading things and they're reading ingredients and they're doing, you know, and they're actually actively doing something away from technology, and it completely resets them. It's— the difference is unbelievable. But myself, you know, if I feel that I work with technology a lot, if I'm not I'm recording a show, I'm doing a show live, I'm writing blogs. I quite often get books sent to me electronically. I do prefer them in hardback, hard copy. And I sometimes know that it's affecting me. And that's when you'll see me cooking about 6 different dishes in the kitchen because I need to engage. And I love it. And it is, it's a control old belief. You know, it's so funny because Cooking is a meditative experience, putting together ingredients, not thinking about anything else except engaging in that one task. Well, I do multitask. I try and drink wine at the same time. Ah, yes. I mean, really, Tina, is it really cooking unless you've got a glass of wine in your hand? No. No, it really can't— you can't define cooking without wine. I agree. Well, and sometimes I'll even have an audiobook on in the background. Imagine that. But that's what we do, we multitask, isn't it? Yeah, I listen to audiobooks too. I love them. I really am a big fan of them. Yes, me too. I think I love it that— and this is something I really do stress here on Get Booked because there are many people out there that just say, I don't like reading, or I can't concentrate I can't concentrate on a book. But you know what? Most books, even from emerging authors, indie authors, you can get on audiobook these days. There are so many different ways. And, you know, if some people don't like to read because they find the text too small, but if you get it on Kindle, you can increase the size. It's so much more accessible than what it used to be when it was all the same tiny text and the same sort of font. Format. Um, and I love that. I think I find it fantastic that something that's been around for hundreds of years, thousands of years, is evolving. Yes, I agree with you. I agree with you completely. I multitask myself. I can't do one thing, and my children are like that. I think we're all on the spectrum. Some of the best people are. I agree there. I agree there. Most creative people are in some way, shape, or form, you know. Not— I'm not— it's— you can't really be creative without being a little, uh, you have to think differently, your brain has to work differently. Yeah, I think it takes all sorts, doesn't it? Yes, of course, of course, you're absolutely right, takes all sorts. Now what I'm quite interested in, um, so obviously I assume you've always been a fan of reading. I have, yes. So how do you find the books that you read your children compare with the books you're currently reading with your grandchild? I don't, I don't see what you mean. So I know that there's the books that I read when I was younger, and I mean they're iconic, but they're not the things that are interesting to my children so much. The children's books have evolved. I mean I suppose you have here in the UK, well everywhere, um, you had Roald Dahl back when I was a child and now you've got David Walliams and that's definitely a slightly different style. Um, it is, you're— well, I think technology and, uh, has really influenced it and, and the whole idea of, uh, more acceptance in the community for different sorts of, uh, people, different sexes, people who want— are transgender I think that makes a big difference in how our books are slanted. And, you know, I mean, Bobo really deals with a hard reality. And it— I don't know if that kind of book would have been accepted 25 years ago. I think possibly not because we— I think some of the reasons that there are such mental health issues are because people aren't talking about their issues. And it was kind of just not the done thing. I remember going into a shop 20 years ago and you'd be embarrassed if you were seen in the self-help section. These days you're taking Instagram pictures in the self-help area going, "Look at me, look what I'm all about." And things do evolve. So I think, yeah, it's the content, isn't it? The how things are approached and how we're learning that we need to open up to be able to, well, maintain good mental health and mental well-being and understand ourselves. Well, I, I, you know, I go back to an age-old philosophy of meditation. No matter what goes wrong, if you meditate are better. And that's, that's, that's old stuff. That's not new by any means, you know. Well, it's thousands of years old, isn't it? It's, it dates back quite some time. Oh, a long time. Yes. I think a lot of people kind of think, um, what, the sandwich generation, where we try and pack so much in. And although many people think that they know that meditation will help. They don't think they have the time. But meditation isn't always— it doesn't always have to be done in the same way. No, absolutely not. You're absolutely right, it doesn't. And, and the point is, is not a repetitive experience over and over again is a, is a sort of meditation. It isn't the fact that you have to sit in a lotus position in a room, dark, with a candle and meditate. I mean, I meditate as I draw. I meditate as I sit quietly. Or replanting does it for me. You know, sometimes I will kind of get all my plants together and just recreate different arrangements. And really bizarrely, and I only realized this about 2 days ago, is that when I've been going for my dog walks and my runs, I've been selecting not to put my earphones in and listen to an audiobook or to listen to music because I wanted silence. And then I suddenly realized I've just been meditating, really. I've just been kind of going off in a zone. And you can't go off in a zone if you're engaging with a book or engaging with music. You're absolutely right. And that's— and I suddenly went, oh, I have been doing that. That's great. Well done, me. Yes, no, it's true. It's the idea of meditation is, is, you know, the concept of meditation doesn't have to be that idea that we all have to, you know, sit on the ground and, you know, close our eyes. A lot of it is just being in that different place. Find your own way. Do you think in becoming series and maybe book 3 or 4, do you think Bobo and Iris are going to start meditating? No, I don't think so. I don't think Bobo and Iris are going to meditate. I think that's not— maybe, maybe eventually. We have a lot of books in our repertoire. We've got the next one is about sharing. Oh, nice. So we're going to— Bobo is going to learn to share. Right. And Bobo is going to meet a grandmother, a matriarch, because the elephant community is a matriarchal society. And he's going to have many, you know, he, we have one Bobo and the mouse because everyone thinks that elephants are afraid of mice. They're not, and they're not afraid of mice. So It'll be about what elephants really are afraid of and about fear and, you know, what your fears really are and are they realistic kind of thing. So we have a few that we're working on right now. I like the idea of kind of addressing our fears because children sometimes get carried away— actually, do you know what, scrap that. Adults get carried away with their fears sometimes and until they talk about them and break them down sometimes they realize that those fears are completely null and void. So I like that, that we're empowering children with the tools to, to get by in life. Hopefully, hopefully we are. I, uh, we really try. I mean, you know, children are so wonderful. They're so wonderful. I just— most of the time. I just read Bobo and Iris. I, to my old school here in Florida where I went to school as a child, and I went back, they invited me back to read Bobo Iris to the school, different, different classes, you know. Each class was, was a day of reading at the school, so they had all these different books and people were reading and looking, and I was reading Bobo. They would, they would ship in different classes and I would read the book again. Oh, I love that. Did you do this solo or did you have Celia with you? No, I did it solo. I did it solo. I would like to find out how you and Celia came together to collaborate. Well, Celia and I have been friends for, uh, over 40 years. Oh wow! We met, well, through our husbands. Right. They were friends, and then her husband started dating Celia, and it was instant love. Oh, for the both of us. And I'm a godfather— godmother of one of her children. And I, um, you know, we've just been in and out of each other's lives over a long, long period. And I love it then that you found some way to kind of come together and mix both your creative resources together and create something that first of all gives you time together, but something that you can share with your families. Yes, and you know, I think it was COVID that really started because we were both confined in our houses and we started thinking, what can we do? How do we do this? And Celia has grandchildren too, almost the same age as mine, my one. So we were thinking about our grandchildren and maybe doing a children's book. And I think it started that way. I'm not sure we would have done it. Oh, we might have done it because we talked about children's books over the years. She had one about a dolphin and a boy, which we never did. And, you know, over the years we kind of moved in and out of this idea. I think COVID did kind of serve for quite a few of us as a bit of a kick up the bottom to kind of get something off the ground. It gave us the time to reflect and think about what's important. And, you know, if not now, when? I agree completely. And the other thing it did for me is I start— I'm also an artist besides an illustrator. I have a website and I have my own series of works that I've been doing over the years. And, um, it led me to a whole new series of paintings that I'm quite excited about now that I have not, uh, put on my website yet, but has, has led me to contemplate a lot more things than I think I would have if I hadn't been confined. I just want to quickly remind our listeners that they can find out more about you at tinasalveson.com. Details of which are going to be up on my Twitter as well, so people can always find you. Now, something that I've mentioned before on the show, but I do know over in the States you're quite big on baby showers, aren't you? Baby showers? Yeah. No. Oh, see, we— so we thought baby showers were something that were huge in the States, which have started to come over here, and, you know, just before someone's about to give birth. I have these, um— Oh, they do? You're absolutely— you mean Americans? Yes. Oh yes, I thought you meant me personally. I'm not going on baby showers. No, just you, and you've influenced the UK. That's funny. Um, so there was this fantastic idea. My friend had a baby shower and somebody gave me this idea, and I was I was to plan it and I had to put this idea into action. And it's the sweetest thing ever. And it was the first time I'd ever heard of it. And instead of presents, people could buy presents if they wanted, but for everybody that attended to bring a copy of their favorite book as a child to start forming this unborn baby's bookshelf. Oh, how nice! What a beautiful idea. Yes, and so you sit there, you know, as you start reading to your children, and you know, you're still reading them bedtime stories, so at least up until 10, it's like, well, this is your favourite Auntie Tricia's book that she read when she was a baby, and this is your grandma's favourite book, and this is Zoe's, and da da da da da da da, and it brings a kind of familiarity to it, and I just think what a fantastic way to curate a book collection for your child by it basically consisting of all your favourite people, all your closest people's favourite books? Oh, I think it's a wonderful idea. You know, you could even do it for a birthday party too. Yes, yeah, completely. And I'm surprised, it seems like a really simple idea and yet I'd never heard of it before. And since then, when I go around to my friend's house and I see all these books, it's just, it's so nostalgic and it's brilliant. And some of our best times in our childhood are when we're reading. It's when we're learning to read, which is so important. It's when we're getting completely undivided attention from our parents or from our teachers, and it's just— I think it's so magical. Yes, I agree. I agree, it is. And it's just a wonderful way to enhance and nurture, you know, a child. Yes, completely. I do, we have like International Book Day vouchers that are given out at schools over here in the UK, and I do remember my son coming home one day when all the kids kind of came out of school and they've thrown them all on the floor, not interested because they wanted to get home and play, I don't know, Grand Theft Auto or something like that. My son picked up all the vouchers, went straight to Waterstones, the local bookshop, and he came home with about 8 books and sat there and read them for ages, and I was just thinking, "Oh, I like you." I thought it was so resourceful that he just decided, "Well, if you don't want your vouchers, I'll take them." But that's just how we roll. So this is— Get Booked is on a women's and men's radio station. We're all about mental well-being, and I think books have such an important part to play, whether it's us writing books, whether it's as learning to share, write, whether that writing is to go anywhere else, but also just learning about other people through fiction and non-fiction. And the wellbeing elements are so important. Something I ask all of my guests on Get Booked are for 3 top tips on how you achieve a good level of mental wellbeing. Well, obviously, you know, one is meditation. Yes. The next one is to find beauty and dwell on beauty. The third is to have some sort of conviction or philosophy on— I won't say religion, but I will say an idea of the Divine. Let's put it that way. An idea of a Divine Being. A belief system. A belief system of some sort. So is that— pardon me, is that to ground you, would you say? It's to ground you, but it's also just to give you a, a faith. A faith is important. A faith in something. Yeah, well, I definitely— that's fantastic. And it rolls into the whole idea of meditation and the whole idea of beauty Because beauty inspires you in a way that, um, lifts your heart. And beauty can be found in so many different areas. Oh my God, an avocado is beautiful, you know. There are just so many things that are just beautiful. A strawberry. I, you know, I look around this room and I've got paintings everywhere, and, and, but I look at my brushes. My brushes are beautiful. There's just a lot. There's a lot anywhere. You can go on the internet, if you know, and find beauty instead of— to look for beauty in any shape, way, or form. I absolutely love that. Find what completely inspires you and brings you joy. Exactly. Yeah, brilliant. I love it. Joy. That's a wonderful word, isn't it? Just— yes. Um, now something else I'd like to ask people on this show, and guests come up with the most interesting answers. There are no right or wrong answers, but it's who in the public eye at the moment do you think is inspiring? Oh gosh, public eye. I'm not big on public eye. Seriously, seriously, I, I really try to stay away from the public eye. I'm a bad candidate for that question. Do you know what though, sometimes they don't have to be in the public eye. It can be a concept. I mean, I've had people in the past say that it's their neighbor who's always got, you know, a sunny position. They've always got something nice to say, and it just really lifts them. And we can find inspiration in people all over the place. And I agree with you there. I, I have a friend in Israel who's, uh, you know, always— they're always under attack. She just takes these bombs as though it were just another part of life. She's always upbeat. She is always thinking of— she's always being creative. Anyone like that I admire. Someone who's always creative. Pardon me? A positive mentality. Yes, but also creative. I really admire people who create things on a daily basis if they can. Well, that's what you're doing with the Bobo and Iris series, and I must say that they're ridiculously sweet and endearing, and I, I love the messages that are coming through from Bobo and Iris. And I'm looking forward to seeing the many topics that I'm sure you're going to bring to us. And just to point out to our listeners again that you can go and find out more at tinasalberson.com. Go and check out the Bobo and Iris series. You can also check them out at bookreality.com. Hazel, that's my private not my private but my personal website. The illustrator website is zoe-rose.us. Ah, okay. So our listeners, can they go to both? What do you put on your private? But they're going to get a very— they're not going to get illustrations on, uh, tinasalveson.com. Maybe they just want to hear more about what you've got to say. Absolutely, that's fine. I'd love that. I, I must say, Tina, it's been an absolute delight chatting to you today here on Get Booked, and thank you so much for joining us. Well, thank you, Hazel, for having me. I really appreciate it, and I enjoyed speaking with you so much. You're very welcome, and good luck with the new series. Thank you, thank you. Right, now we have Celia Strauss, the co-author of the Bobo and Iris books, and thank you for joining us on Get Booked. We've been having a great chat with Tina about the books, her love of reading, and how the the idea of Bobo and Harris was conceived and finally getting them off the ground during COVID Celia has written hundreds of award-winning shows for television, receiving a 2020 Emmy nomination for Kids Speak Out, a YouTube series on youth and the pandemic. For years, she created and wrote the Emmy-winning Memorial Day concert on PBS and ADL's annual concert against hate at the Kennedy Center. Her love for children and dedication for their well-being inspired her YA poetry trilogy, including the national bestseller Prayers on My Pillow, Valentine 1998. With gifted illustrator Tina Sølvesen, she writes children's picture books including the Bobo and Iris series. Celia and Tina are also the creators of If an Elephant Can Wear a Mask, So Can You. I love that, I love that. In both English and Spanish versions, even better. Celia lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband when not visiting her two grown children and adored four grandchildren. Wow, thank you for joining us, Celia. How are you? Well, I'm fine, and it's my pleasure, Hazel. Thank you so much for having me on your show. You're very welcome. I like to talk about books and children's books in particular, and The Bobo and Iris series in particular, particular. Yeah, I've read them both. I read them to my children as well. And also, I was saying to Tina that what I love about these books are that they're kind of geared towards adults as well. They're fun for adults to read because they just kind of remind— sometimes it's not just children. Adults need reminding that life doesn't have to be necessarily conventional for it to work, and we can find love and happiness and connectivity in so many different ways, which kind of epitomises the Bobo and Iris series. Tell us a little bit more about how this idea was conceived. The Bobo and Iris series? Yeah. Well, we had worked on a book about masking for children at the beginning of the pandemic, and one of our favourite pictures that Tina and I created with these little rhymes was an elephant. And then we started— I had always been a contributor to elephant endangered species foundations and NGOs, with a particular emphasis on elephants. And in one in particular, the Sheldrick Wildlife Foundation, focuses on orphaned elephants whose mothers have been killed mostly, usually by poachers. Not always, but often. And so we, Tina and I, who have known each other for decades, decided that we wanted to work on some children's books together. And we were focusing on which subject and what it should be about.. And we both sort of agreed that it might be interesting and fun for both us as artists and children, particularly younger children, since we both had younger grandchildren, to do a series about an orphaned elephant and his struggles to survive and thrive in a an elephant sanctuary. So that's how we came up with Bobo as a baby orphaned elephant. And then we were, as the story started to develop in our heads, we thought, why not give him some, he needs some sort of an advisor to guide him through growing up and surviving as a— and one of my very favorite books in the whole world is Charlotte's Web. And so I was inspired by that relationship between Charlotte the spider and Wilbur the pig to say, well, why don't we have— give him a mentor somewhat like Charlotte? And that's when we came up with Iris, an ibis, which is a bird. It was, it was a pretty natural pairing since the iris is the type of bird that in Africa actually lives on elephants' bodies and uses their skin, which is very tough and accumulates bugs and vermin. It eats their— it makes the ibis eat its meals off the skin of the elephant, accomplishing two purposes: having a meal and also keeping the elephant's skin insect-free. Well, it's how nature can work together, isn't it? Right. It's just amazing. So it's a symbiotic relationship that we turned into a mentor relationship. So Iris sort of rides along with Bobo on his adventures and gives him advice occasionally when he needs it, which is, which is often. And we really had two on each of these, and there will be a series of nine. Two ongoing major themes in the Bobo and Iris series. One is, of course, endangered species and baby elephants and why it's important to learn about elephants as an endangered species and consider they're up against, along with other African species that are endangered, And the second was by making Bobo a child, um, we wanted to have him experience book by book the kinds of experiences that toddlers and young children have to learn, such as socialization and sharing and how to stand up for yourself and respect for your elders. And not to be afraid of the dark. So that there's in each of our little books, there's those two themes that run through each. I think it's nice that there's another aim of these books. It's about how you can help children deal with life's curveballs as well. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And you've just said that you've got another— you've got— you've published 2, um, now there's another 7 that you've got in the pipeline. Is there one in particular that is your— I think the one that Tina is currently working on is gonna— going to be one of my favorites. It's book number 3, and it's about sharing, and it's based on a Bobo's Red Blanket blanket. And it's actually grounded in fact in that at the Sheldwick Trust, baby elephants, when they come, when they're rescued and taken to the trust, are given a blanket to wear at night in their nursery to keep them warm. And often they're red. So Bobo is given a red blanket, and then he has to learn to share it, to let other baby elephants touch it or hold it, somewhat like a lovey. Like, you know, little children have a special toy or blanket. Yeah, blanket that they go— blankie that they go to bed with. So he learns to share and trust that his blankie, his red blanket, will be his even if he let someone, another elephant in this case, Pika Pika, who is a little girl elephant, hold it momentarily. So I think that's a good one. The first book, the book I guess I think with many authors, the book, particularly if you're writing a series, the book that you're currently working on is your favorite. Almost has to be. So I, and I loved working on the first book and the second. The first book was a little tricky because we had to establish to begin with that Bobo was an orphan. And we didn't want to just say it. We wanted to establish that in the first 2 or 3 pages. And that's tough. It's tough sort of the way Bambi, the Disney movie Bambi, is hard for some little ones to take in when Bambi loses his mother. It's heartbreaking. It's so— once we got past that, then we could start our story and actually start our series. So that was— that I would think— I mean, it was an interesting challenge to meet. I'm interested in— I guess your 4 grandchildren, they're guinea pigs to the books, aren't they? Do they get to— do you sample out the material on them and go, right, yep, they love that, that's definitely one for the list? You're talking about my grandchildren? Yes. Yeah. Well, you know, you're right. I have one that just turned 5, and so Sophie was 4, and she lives in London, and Olivia from my Boston family was 2 and a half, almost 3. And I did test them. Those are my two oldest grandchildren. I have little ones too. And I tested it out on them. And Sophie, the oldest, was a little worried about Bobo. She was concerned about Bobo's mother being killed. By poachers and said, "Grandma, why did you start it that way?" And I explained it to her and then she accepted it. I think children, young children as well, are able to accept some of the challenges and some of the, what we would consider, you know, pretty tough ups and downs of life. If they are put in the context of, they're grounded in reality and you don't, you know, beat around the bush and tell them upright what's going on. And then she understood. More than anything, I think both children just needed to understand why it happened. Well, children are like sponges. They just want to understand the world. And so books that actually start these conversations are a good thing. All children want to do is just connect to the people that they love, and reading is a fantastic way of doing that, something that is getting more and more lost, and if we're not careful, just because there's so much tech out there. And so I love the idea of having stories that can entertain them, teach them great values, but get them talking to you about about, you know, what can happen in life, you know, modern day. It's not expected to just go straightforward in linear lines that we've so often thought that it has to be the way. So I think it's lovely when the stories, they just help children appreciate and develop that connectivity. I agree with you, and I also think I think that it's important to acknowledge and recognize the essential resilience of children and childhood. And that we often underestimate our children's ability to take in information and process it and learn from it and bounce back or come to a conclusion is hopeful and positive. And I think that the other thing that helps so much with children's books— well, a couple of things. One is Tina's artistry and her, in my mind, brilliant illustrations help so much to visualize what is going on in the book. And you will find that even more so the series continues to develop. That's number one, that I'm so lucky to have such a talented illustrator. And the second thing is that I think children are looking for stories that have a traditional dramatic arc, that there is a challenge and there is a, you know, there's a beginning, middle, and end, and the end ties things up in a happy way. And as so many children's books are read at night before they go to bed, it's nice to have stories that have happy endings. And that's the case with the entire Bobo series. I think we— so with little children, although this book seems to be being appreciated by children, self-readers who are 6, 7, 8, as well as little ones. I did notice that it's a very easy-to-read book. It's very nicely laid out. Yes, yeah, yes, exactly. But we are— when you're writing children's books, you have to keep in mind, I think, if you're writing for a younger child, that you're also writing for mom or dad or whomever, what caretaker is going to read them that night. I think it's fantastic that kids get read to on an evening because they're ending their day connecting with somebody, which I think helps them relax no matter what the story is on the way. I mean, my children, especially when they were younger, it's like a light switch, you know, as soon as they had their story, bang, they were out. If they didn't have their story, they could sit there for a good hour or so just going, "Well, I'm not ready for sleep yet." And it is, it's that thing that kind of seals off the day, isn't it? Oh, absolutely. I think that reading books, not off an iPad, I'm very old-fashioned that way, but reading one or two books as a part of the bedtime ritual after you've had your bath and put on your jammies and brushed your teeth and gotten into bed and someone reads aloud. Either a chapter of a chapter book if they're— your kids are a little older, or a couple children's picture books, is, as you say, a trigger to relaxing and going to sleep. So after the book is read, it's "Night's out, sweet dreams, say your prayers," and then, um, good night. And you— sorry, do you get to read your stories to your children, to your grandchildren? Sorry. Over Zoom, seeing as though a couple of them are in London. Yes. Yeah. I— well, first of all, I read stories. I was read to as a child, and I always read stories to my girls when they were little and ongoing. In fact, we kept the tradition of reading a chapter probably way into what traditionally today teens would say is inappropriate. I used to read them sometimes. It wasn't at bedtime, but in the evening, read aloud to them, to each other. They would read to me or I would read to them in their early teens even, or certainly tweens, not teens, tweens. And And I do read to my grandchildren. For Sophie, who is in London, I will read at dinner time because of the time difference using FaceTime. And I'll turn the camera so that she can see the pictures and she can hear my voice. Have you managed to make it over to London since the pandemic? Oh yes. Oh, good, good, good, good. Often. She has a 6-month-old baby sister. So I was over there in May and in March, and they're coming to vacation here in August. So I'll see them, and hopefully soon they'll be back from across the pond permanently. But now I, I go over there as often as I can. Oh, that's, that's good to hear. And even more so that they're coming back to be a little bit closer to you as well. Oh yes, I can imagine. Don't even get me started on why they're not in America, but hopefully they'll be back. But they've loved London and they've had a good time there. I don't want them to become expats, but I'm glad they've had the experience. Well, yeah, and it is a good experience, especially for young children as well, and it makes them be so versatile. Um, now something that I like to ask a lot of my guests here on Get Booked for Women's and Men's radio station— we're, we're a well-being focused station now— and do you have 3 top tips for our listeners that you might use to make sure that you keep your well-being at a good Oh, what a great question. Let me think. I'm a great believer in exercise, whether it's— particularly if it's outside, because I, I'm also a great believer in nature. But I think exercise, even, even if it's just a brisk walk, it doesn't need to be, you know, 45 minutes going lickety-split on a Peloton, but I think exercise is very healthy for your body, for your brain, and for your mental well-being. Yeah. So that's one. Another, which I feel, I fear that so many people do not get enough of, is sleep. I am constantly telling my girls anyway, you've got to get more sleep. It means going to bed earlier. You know, because little children get up so early. And I think that sleep is a natural healer, and that, that it is— not suggesting, you know, 12 hours a day sleep, but— oh, that sounds fantastic. That sounds fantastic. I know that. But it— I think sleep is, is, is truly important And then I'm trying to think of a good third for mental well-being is to practice, and I try to do this every day, gratitude. I think it helps put into perspective the mind naturally sort of, you know, itself concentrates on Oh me, my, what's wrong? What have I done? What can I do? What can I get? How have I failed? What don't I have? And practicing gratitude for what one does have sort of adjusts perspective on your day. And I remember when my girls were little, particularly Julia, my oldest one, who went through some pretty tough times. In 5th, 6th, and 7th grade, which is why I wrote that series Prayers on My Pillow. Those were literally little prayers I put on her pillow. But anyway, I used to tell her every— ask her every night, name me 3 things that you're grateful for that happened today. And we would— and she, you know, we'd sit there until she thought of 3. And so I think that that is a good third. You asked for 3, I think. Yeah. A, um, easy without doing lots of meditation, although I'm a firm believer in that and yoga. But practicing gratitude is something we can do, um, all day long or just once a day, or it comes easily. I think to throw a fourth one in there, possibly, uh, in your case would be good friendships, because I gather you've been friends with Tina, the co-author, since 1979, did you say? Yes, that's a good stint. That's a friendship I'm truly grateful for. Yes, we met through our husbands, um, before we had kids, and, um, they were living in New York and we used to go visit them and they— and out visit them in the summer in Long Island, and then we stayed friends off and on. You know how friendships go. They, yeah, they, um, you know, you have an intense period, then you don't see each other for a few years. And then, and, uh, I— she lives in Miami and I live in Washington, D.C., so it isn't like we can hop over to someone's house for a cup of tea in the afternoon. But a couple years ago, we started talking on the phone, maybe 3 years ago, during the pandemic. There wasn't a whole lot to do, do things at home like talk on the phone to old friends. We started talking, and I knew that she was such a master illustrator, and she knew I was a writer. And that's when we first decided to do our first book, which was If an Elephant Can Wear a Mask, So Can You. And yes, I can't think of a friendship that I'm more grateful for than the one I have with Tina. And isn't it great that you find something that you both have in common? You've managed to bring it out into fruition, um, and yet another excuse for you to keep on chatting and to stay in contact regularly with, um, Bobo Finds a Friend and, uh, New Friends for Bobo. And I love it. They, they're just absolutely fantastic stories. I can't wait for the, the next 7 to be released. I just want to point out to our listeners that they can they can get onto Amazon and buy these books. Well, thank you so much. Were they a sheer delight to craft and put together? And they take a longer time than one would think because we really are very painstaking about storyboarding every page and doing multiple, multiple drafts and really working hard to make sure they're accessible to our audience. And so, um, but they are, they're a delight. I think that, yeah, I've really enjoyed reading them. I've enjoyed reading them to my children as well. And I wish you all the best of luck with the series. I think it's going to be a huge success. And I love the story behind it, that it's just two long-term friends that are coming together to produce something and to have a really good excuse to get together. And I must say, Celia, it's been absolutely lovely having you on the show here on Get Booked for Women's and Men's Radio Station. Thank you so much. Well, thank you so much, Hazel, for having me. It's been a pleasure to talk to you, and, and, um, I love your show, and, and, uh, just thank you again so much for taking the time and the time of your listeners. You're very, very welcome. I look forward to hearing more about the next releases. Thank you for joining us on Get Booked. You bet.