About the Book
Imagine if our pets could travel the world with us. What adventures would they have? What trouble would they get into? What friends would they make?
In the award-winning Travels with Zozo... series of illustrated children's books for ages 4-8 years old, a fun-loving family of four brings their pet bunny, Zozo, on their trips around the world, and Zozo's escapades are bound to amaze, amuse, and inspire you!
Author A.J. Atlas' extensive travel experiences in nearly fifty countries and throughout all fifty U.S. states provide firsthand insight into the settings for the books. Award-winning illustrator Anne Zimanski uses bright colors and expert digital artistry to turn the real-life places into beautifully colorful, imaginative worlds for Zozo and readers to explore. She adds an abundance of charm and heart to the culturally-diverse characters whom Zozo meets, and she packs Zozo's sweet, little, furry face full of emotion. Then, together, Atlas and Zimanski keep the pages filled with goofy gags and funny antics. So many, in fact, that rereading the stories is sure to surprise you with something new and keep you laughing.
The fifth book in the exciting, new series, Travels with Zozo...under the Moonbow, takes readers to the world's largest waterfall, located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Zozo and her human family are on vacation there to experience the African natural wonder and all that surrounds it.
The fun begins with a hike along the waterfall's winding pathways. As Zozo and her family splash in the puddles and spy the rainbows created by the waterfall, another fun-loving but furry family looks on with plans for a good-natured game of their own. Before long, in a hilarious scene of puddle-filled fun, the baboon bandits pickpocket Zozo's family!
Luckily, two helpful African elephants are nearby to offer help to Zozo, inviting her to a wide clearing where the mischievous monkeys stash their lifted loot. The flat cliffside expanse also is the place where zebras, giraffe, warthogs, baboons, hippos, and others gather to watch the rare and beautiful moonbow-a rainbow produced by the light of the moon.
All during the adventure, Zozo and her friends are joined by whimsically illustrated locals-toothbrushing hippos, soccer-playing zebras, and many others. The wildlife adds depth and richness (and laughs!) to the majestic African waterfall showcased in this premium full-color 32-page book.
Children and grownups alike are sure to fall in love with the "hoppity, floppity, huggable, snuggable" pet bunny, Zozo, in this beautifully-illustrated, pint-sized African travel log. They will be amazed by the detailed illustrations of actual plants, animals, and landscapes of Zambia and Zimbabwe while laughing at the goofy goings-on in every corner of the pages.
Bring your imagination and let Zozo be your guide to a world of amazing places!
About the Author :
A.J. Atlas is the creator of the Travels with Zozo... illustrated children's book series. The adventures follow an adorable pet bunny as she vacations around the world with her human family.
Writing a series with each story as completely unique as the place it's set in is a challenge Atlas enthusiastically embraces. Whether readers meet flamingos and viscachas on the Bolivian salt flats, elephants and baboons near Zambia and Zimbabwe's great waterfall, or Icelandic horses under the Northern Lights, the widely differing settings provide a backdrop for readers to meet diverse characters and rich cultures.
Atlas' extensive travel experiences in nearly fifty countries and throughout all fifty U.S. states provide firsthand insight into the settings for the books. From there, Atlas' whimsical sense of humor, active imagination, and creative storytelling abilities bring to life the emotions and adventures of the series' main character, a "hoppity, floppity, huggable, snuggable" pet bunny named Zozo. The series focuses on themes of making friends and strengthening family bonds while growing self-reliant and emotionally self-aware.
Though the first fourteen books of the series arrived on the scene all-at-once, the creation of Zozo developed slowly, over decades. It began with Atlas being a pet lover at heart who had long been denied a furry friend because of severe allergies. Throughout childhood, stuffed animals and a notebook helped channel this love toward storytelling. Then a zest for adventure travel took Atlas to wildly interesting places in adulthood, and the notebook filled with heart-warming stories blossomed further. Currently, Atlas continues to travel and write new stories while advising on the illustrations and production of the completed books in the series.
Atlas collaborates closely with award-winning illustrator Anne Zimanski. Together, they create rich, full-color 32-page books filled with bright, colorful, imaginative worlds, bursting with personalities, action, and emotion.
Likewise, Atlas works with publisher ImaginOn Books as they strive to make Travels with Zozo... their best travel series for young readers. Atlas' personal experiences combine with the publisher's extensive research on the landscapes, plants, and animals to create a rich sense of place in each book. The series explores Alaska's coastal islands, Norway's fjords, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Bolivia's salt flats, Zambia and Zimbabwe's waterfall, ancient cities of Nara, Japan, and Istanbul, Turkey, Argentina's Andes Mountains, Iceland's Northern Lights, Belize's river caves, islands in Greece and the Eastern United States, Europe's Flemish and Basque regions, and many more places.
More information about A.J. Atlas is available at www.travelswithzozo.com.
Anne Zimanski is the illustrator of the Travels with Zozo... children's book series. The adventurous tales follow an adorable pet bunny and her human family as they visit people and places throughout the world.
Drawing the ever-changing, real-life locations, animals, and action in each book is an opportunity Zimanski wholeheartedly welcomes because it allows her expert skills as a freehand digital artist to broaden. Whether it's the intricacies of the natural world or the complexities of architectural marvels, Zimanski uses her keen eye for composition and a creative use of lighting to create bright, colorful settings. Upon these beautiful landscapes, Zimanski brings to life a sweet, lovable pet bunny, Zozo, and her animal friends. Zimanski's labor of love fills the series with an abundance of charm and heart, action and emotion, and a plentiful dose of whimsical humor.
Zimanski enjoys working with fun-loving writer A.J. Atlas. The collaboration brings out their healthy, competitive spirits as each tries to outdo the other in dreaming up one funny idea after the next. To date, Zimanski's favorite humorous gag is of a bear cleverly disguised in a hollow tree trunk stealing a sandwich, while Atlas leans toward the hilarious first flight of three baby birds, from their first, confident leaps out of the nest, followed immediately by the struggling, funny faces of gravity taking hold. But whether it's cute crabs golfing, sweet viscachas doing yoga, or goofy, pickpocketing baboons, each reader will enjoy the multi-dimensional illustrations in each 32-page book.
With the help of publisher ImaginOn Books, Zimanski has done extensive research for each book. The abundance of local plants and animals, as well as vibrant landscapes in each story, ensures that Zimanski always has something new and exciting to share with readers.
More information about Anne Zimanski is available at www.travelswithzozo.com.
Review :
"This is a collection that is sure to become a favorite on any bookshelf."
Kristi Elizabeth, Manhattan Book Review
"With bright and amusing illustrations, Travels with Zozo...under the Moonbow is a delightful picture book that encourages learning about nature worldwide."
Aimee Jodoin, Foreword Reviews
I liked reading Travels with Zozo because the story was exciting when the family went to a new place and saw a cool thing like the waterfall... I would enjoy reading the other books and any future ones in the series because it kept my attention and had a fun story with Zozo and her animal friends.
Lydia, age 8, Kids' BookBuzz Reviews
Travels with Zozo... under the Moonbow is a great way to teach kids about places they may otherwise never hear about, and it opens the door for parents to learn alongside them.
Grace Derickson, San Francisco Book Review
Winner of the Best Picture Book Series
Moonbeam Awards, 2022
Loved by my 3 and 6 year olds!
Beautiful, playful, engaging illustrations and a well-written story keep both my 3 year old and 6 year old not only attentive and laughing while I read but asking to read it over and over again. The bunny is sweet and curious about the world. The friends she makes are kind and funny. This is a series I want to see more of.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
This book is just soooo interesting and well done. It should be in every child's home library. The message is about family and friendship, and the pictures are outstanding with clever little characters in the back doing funny things. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
Heart-warming Plot and Adorable Read
This story warms my heart and really rings true for me about how much we love our pets and how much they must love us back. The pages are filled with pretty illustration and a lovely story of a bunny helping her family, particularly the mom. I love fact that a pet bunny is shown loving her human family so much that she goes on an adventure for them. So sweet!
Hilarious! Kids Love This!
I've purchased every one of this authors books for my kids, and this is my son's favorite. At four years old, my son stomps his feet like Boomy the elephant and laughs at their playfulness in the story. Then he asks a million questions about the moonbow and Africa. The story is quick-moving and engaging, but we spend a long time on every page. He shows me the animals having a water balloon fight and the funny baboons everywhere. The illustrations are absolutely fantastic! I should note that my daughter's favorite is still the birds in Zozo and the Fjord, and I personally like the beautiful barrier reef illustrations in Zozo and the Reef. And my son's favorite used to be Zozo and the Bears with the funny bears in the background. We highly recommend this book and the whole series!
Every household should own this book!
What a pleasant surprise purchase I made for a birthday gift! It is very easy to read this fascinating story to any age child. The beautiful artwork adds a sweet touch to each page. I would highly recommend this for every household and will be purchasing it again and again for future gifts
Very fun book!
My 5 year old was so excited when this came, that she plopped down to read before she took her coat off! We'll be ordering some new stories soon.
For a full summary of reviews and awards, visit www.travelswithzozo.com.
