Debbi Michiko Florence - Jasmine Toguchi

We're excited to welcome Debbi Michiko Florence, author of the bestselling Jasmine Toguchi series for young readers. Debbi will spend the day with students at local schools before joining us at our store at 4pm for a special reading and book signing event. Readers of all ages welcome!

In the seventh book in the Jasmine Toguchi series, Debbi Michiko Florence and illustrator Elizabet Vukovic takes us on a family adventure in Kabo, Japan full of warmth, laughter, and summer fun.

Japan is awesome but Jasmine is beginning to miss home and her best friend, Linnie. She’s hoping her next adventure to a village called Kabo, where her grandmother grew up, is just what she needs to get out of this rut. Jasmine is pleased to find out there’s a beach, tangerine grove, and even a local festival to attend.

She is hoping to explore with her big sister, Sophie. But, walnuts! Sophie is no fun. All she wants to do is read her Japanese manga and stay inside. If Jasmine’s best friend Linnie was there, she’d definitely play with her, so why won’t Sophie?

Regardless, Jasmine is determined to make the most of her time in Japan, only getting into a little trouble along the way.

Accompanied by drawings from Elizabet Vuković, Debbi Michiko Florence writes a beautifully heartfelt and richly humorous eighth book in the Jasmine Toguchi series.

Eight-year-old Jasmine Toguchi is now an expert on travel and doesn't want summer to end! In this final book chronicling her family vacation in Japan, she visits Kyoto. And wowee zowee, on this vacation there is still lots more to see.

This is their last stop, and Jasmine is thrilled to be enjoying the city with her older sister, Sophie, and her Obaachan who teaches her how to live in the moment. Sad to see their trip coming to an end, in true Jasmine fashion, she hatches a plan – involving vegetable seeds, a pink flamingo, and lots of love – to feel connected to her Obaachan even when she’s back in the United States.

Debbi Michiko Florence is a third-generation Japanese American and has many fond memories of sharing in her family’s traditions while growing up in California and visiting her relatives in Japan. Debbi is also the author of novels and picture books, including Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites. She now lives in Connecticut with her husband and their many animals (but no flamingo).