As contemporary Caribbean children’s literature expands, it evolves with new voices and influences from other cultures, illustrating the region’s position in a global space while maintaining the warmth and richness of what we have to offer.
Author and Japanese language enthusiast Phillip Simon does just that with his Petr series that follows the adventures of the titular character as she comes close to Japanese culture.
Simon’s inspiration from Japan and Japanese entertainment stems from a decades-long love affair with anime and manga series, which first enjoyed popularity in the West in the mid-to-late 90s.
The well-rounded characters, quirky plots, and unique art style offered an alternative to the animation scene that was largely dominated by the American franchises whose brands were the genre’s most visible.
“I’ve always been interested in Japanese culture,” Simon said. “I grew up watching [Rurouni] Kenshin, Pokemon AND Yu-Gi-Oh!“
This interest led him to undertake three years of Japanese language studies at UWI’s Center for Language Learning (CLL), and then, with his wife, Brittney, to travel to the Land of the Rising Sun as participant in the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program, from 2016 to 2018.
“When I was at COSTAATT…studying to be a radiographer,” said Simon, “to get away from all the stress, I started reading [the] Harry Potter [series].” Immersed in narrative fiction, Simon thought he should try his hand at writing his own children’s stories.
A few false starts caused him to put the project aside for a while, but the trip to Japan rekindled his interest in writing.
On his way home, Simon came across a poui tree in bloom and immediately thought of the pink Japanese cherry blossoms that bloom with similar brilliance between March and April. The pink flowers of both trees have inspired the work of artists and poets, and the Japanese name for cherry blossoms, sakurais a popular girls’ name, and especially, the name of some popular anime characters.
“One of the things [in Japan] I’ve always loved cherry blossoms,” said Simon. “I found they reminded me so much of poui trees [and] of my childhood.”
The author saw the similarity between the two trees as a reflection of things that are common in both cultures; Armed with a love for his country, as well as the people and customs of Japan, Simon channeled his creative energy into developing the character of young Petra – a curious little girl navigating life at the age of 21str century between Trinbagonian culture, from her birthplace, and Japanese culture, from her travels.
debut book, Petra and Poui, tells the story of the young protagonist who goes to Japan and, like Simon himself, catches the similarity between the two trees, but “suffers a bit of culture shock” when she realizes she can’t climb any more. the fragile branches of the sakura trees in the same way she would the poui trees of her country. The reader follows Petra as she discovers a culture that is, in many ways, so different from her own yet so similar to her own, deepening her knowledge of her country and herself in the process.
The story is enhanced by the Trinbagonian artist Lendell Lara‘s illustrations that capture the vivid colors of the local landscape taking inspiration from anime and manga.
The first installment of Petr the series was well received and led to a partnership with the Japanese Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, which arranged for copies of the book to be distributed to government ministers and other embassy guests.
Since its release in 2020, Petra and Poui can be found in some local elementary school libraries and at NALIS, and has been selected by the literacy advocacy organization Let’s Read for its virtual reading sessions held during the lockdown period.
The next book, Petra and Panman’s daughter, released in March of this year, sees Petra return to Trinidad, eager to regale her classmates with stories of her travels, only to discover that a Japanese student, Tomoko – named after a of Simon’s Japanese friends – now attending her school. Tomoko is a skilled pannist – not unlike her real-life counterpart – and her musical prowess, along with her foreign appeal, steal some of Petra’s thunder with her classmates, making the protagonist a little jealous.
Petra’s dilemma leads her to navigate difficult feelings that are common to childhood experience, providing lessons that are useful for improving interpersonal relationships with friends and classmates, as well as developing self-relationship and self-image. yourself.
Simon explained that he was not interested in writing “perfect” characters, but rather that it was important to him to “highlight the flaws of [the] characters and let them learn from whatever mistakes they might make,” an approach he took from one of his heroes, the late Marvel Comics co-founder and co-creator of the iconic characters Captain America and the Incredible Hulk, Stan Lee.
“What inspired me about him was that he always seemed to focus on characters…flawed,” Simon said.
While the first book was aimed at children aged six to ten, its sequel is aimed at the eight to ten age group, suggesting that readers will have grown up with the work. Simon has already started work on a third part of the series, which he plans to release in 2024.
He referred to a “change in mindset” since publishing the first book, having experienced the various steps involved in marketing, advertising and distribution, as well as dealing with feedback and feedback from the public. “There was so much more I wanted to say,” he said.
His Excellency Tatsuo Hirayama, Ambassador of Japan; The President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Sachiko Hirayama, and Her Excellency Paula-Mae Weekes ORTT.
The author spoke of his desire to foster more partnerships with schools and other bodies that would promote the work and its values.
“I’d really like to do a school tour at some point,” Simon said, adding that his goal is to get Petr series in more school libraries. “I really enjoyed seeing the kids enjoy the book.”
He emphasized the work that went into developing the series’ main character to ensure she possessed characteristics that resonated with the books’ intended readers.
“I feel like I’m able to bring a very vivid and relatable character to use as a conduit to understand a culture that’s different from our own,” Simon said.
He continued, explaining that the series can be used to show children a “window to see Japanese culture,” a window that can “reflect themselves…their culture” in the process.
Later today, Monday, August 8, Simon will be reading from Petra and Poui as part of Dairy Dairy’s Milky Milk Magic Virtual Camp, (tune in with the brand Facebook AND Instagram sites for the live stream and watch the replay on TTT at 9 am and 1 pm); Simon is also scheduled to do a live reading of the bookat NALIS in Port of Spain on Thursday, August 11.
By Sunday, August 21, children between the ages of 5 and 12 are encouraged to submit their applications to Petra and Poui Art Competition where they will have a chance to win prizes sponsored by Paper Based Bookshop, Scribbles and Quills and MVE Collectibles. (Read more about the rules and conditions of the competition at this connection; submit entries to [email protected]).
Petra and Poui is available for purchase at Amazonboth in print and Kindle format, and locally in several stores, includingg RIK Bookstore, Excellent Stores and Paperback Bookstore at Hotel Normandie, where it was one of the children’s store’s best-selling books of 2021.
See the official pages for Petr series in Facebook AND Instagram to learn more about the character’s new adventures and releases.
