ST. JOSEPH — To share the joy of reading with foster kids throughout their 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 St. Joseph bookstore Forever Books to offer a special buy one, give one promotion running from July 29 through the end of August.

The promotion will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 29 at Forever Books, 312 State St, St Joseph. Hackworth will sign books and there will a reading of “Bedtime for Buzzy.”

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

Hackworth said he was glad to have the chance to help local children.

“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,” Hackworth said.

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, a Children’s Services Supervisor with the Berrien County Department of Human Services said the organization is always searching for foster parents.

“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,” Hoffman said.

In “Bedtime for Buzzy,” a young boy is playing with his toys and does not 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 bedtimeforbuzzy.com.