Friends of Japan Series: Petals, Pan and Japan: A Cross-Cultural Storytime – Phillip Simon
2024/5/6
Friends of Japan Series: Petals, Pan and Japan: A Cross-Cultural Storytime – Phillip Simon
As a children’s book author, I have had the honour of reading to many schools but the reading I did at St. Gabriel’s Girls’ R.C. School was different from any that came before. Usually, the audience hears my story for the first time when I read it to them. At this school, however, the one hundred or so students I was asked to read to all had copies of Petra and the Panman’s Daughter and had already read it from cover to cover.
Petra and the Panman’s Daughter is the second book in my series designed to introduce the children of Trinidad and Tobago to Japanese culture. This book features the titular Petra as she becomes friends with a Japanese pan-player. The pan-playing character’s name is Tomoko and was inspired by my real-life Japanese friend of the same name. The students of the standard three class at St. Gabriel’s Girls’ R.C. had been tasked to read this book as part of a literary appreciation project. Although this was a fantastic initiative I was concerned. I remember what it was like being a child in school and although I enjoyed reading for recreation if I was given a book to read as part of some project I most likely would not like it just off the basis that it was school work. Nothing could prepare me for what I found when I finally got to the school.
I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the students. Each of them had their favourite chapter that they wanted me to read. The moment I finished reading I was flooded with questions about major and minor characters, my writing process, and the book's illustrations. It was an extremely eye-opening experience hearing how the students interpreted the story based on their perspectives and comparing it to what I meant when I wrote it.
Eventually, the conversation became about Japan.
‘What was your favourite Japanese food?’
‘Where did you live in Japan?’
‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’
‘Can you speak Japanese?’
‘What’s your favourite anime?’
The girls’ eyes beamed with curiosity as I answered every question. After the Q and A session one of the teachers let me know that as part of their project, the girls would be crafting origami cherry blossoms and poui trees which was inspired by my first book, Petra and the Poui. What an honour it was to spark not only a love for literacy in the students but to spur a longing to one day experience Japan for themselves.
Friends of Japan Series: Petals, Pan and Japan: A Cross-Cultural Storytime (Japanese Embassy Facebook)
Friends of Japan Series Archives
Petra and the Panman’s Daughter is the second book in my series designed to introduce the children of Trinidad and Tobago to Japanese culture. This book features the titular Petra as she becomes friends with a Japanese pan-player. The pan-playing character’s name is Tomoko and was inspired by my real-life Japanese friend of the same name. The students of the standard three class at St. Gabriel’s Girls’ R.C. had been tasked to read this book as part of a literary appreciation project. Although this was a fantastic initiative I was concerned. I remember what it was like being a child in school and although I enjoyed reading for recreation if I was given a book to read as part of some project I most likely would not like it just off the basis that it was school work. Nothing could prepare me for what I found when I finally got to the school.
I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the students. Each of them had their favourite chapter that they wanted me to read. The moment I finished reading I was flooded with questions about major and minor characters, my writing process, and the book's illustrations. It was an extremely eye-opening experience hearing how the students interpreted the story based on their perspectives and comparing it to what I meant when I wrote it.
Eventually, the conversation became about Japan.
‘What was your favourite Japanese food?’
‘Where did you live in Japan?’
‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it?’
‘Can you speak Japanese?’
‘What’s your favourite anime?’
The girls’ eyes beamed with curiosity as I answered every question. After the Q and A session one of the teachers let me know that as part of their project, the girls would be crafting origami cherry blossoms and poui trees which was inspired by my first book, Petra and the Poui. What an honour it was to spark not only a love for literacy in the students but to spur a longing to one day experience Japan for themselves.
Friends of Japan Series: Petals, Pan and Japan: A Cross-Cultural Storytime (Japanese Embassy Facebook)
Friends of Japan Series Archives