Children's Book : Milo The Tripod Sea Turtle
Author: Kathleen S.
Illustrator: Jennifer P.
I am proud to announce that my youngest sister, Kathleen, is now an author of a children’s book called “Milo the Tripod Sea Turtle”. I am so excited for her! She even had a book launch and attended various signing events!
I read the story of Milo and I couldn’t help but be amazed how anyone could relate to the story of the main character. I’m Milo….the tripod turtle….the one who is different from the others who was teased and ridiculed, but only wanted to be accepted and make friends. I felt that way in my younger years in elementary school. And although I did not have a Sherman the Crab to help me understand that what makes us different is what makes each one of us unique and special, through my experiences I learned that valuable lesson.
I am sure anyone who reads Kathleen’s book will reminisce a ‘Milo experience’ in their lives. I am proud that Kathleen not only authored this book at such a young age, but also wrote one about courage, understanding, and other valuable lessons that children can learn from.
An excerpt of Kathleen's Interview is as follows:
“I’ve always liked the way children’s books are written,” says Cai Subijano (III AB Comm), author of Milo the Tripod Sea Turtle. “I can’t really explain it; but they’re written with a kind of simplicity that children can understand.”
It was back in junior year high school when Cai and her best friend Jennifer Pandilio set to work on Milo as a project for English class. Jennifer, who loved sea animals and then dabbled in watercolor painting, became Milo’s illustrator. With a protagonist who lacked a limb, it aimed to explain the concept of discrimination to children.
Milo the Tripod Sea Turtle turned out to be colorful and animated, while following a simple storyline wherein Milo finds a friend in the character of a crab, who, like Milo, is considered weird-looking by their fellows. “The simplicity is almost jarring,” says Cai. “It’s so simple but it contains many things that [could be] so complex.”
“Nothing sparks a child’s imagination like [a] book,” she adds. “Yes, there is television but when [children] read from a book, it’s so nice [to have them] picture it in their head.”
Milo’s aim was simple—it didn’t need to exploit racial prejudices or sugarcoat the reality of disability. It didn’t need to stress that discrimination to children is a serious social issue today. Instead, when caught in the moment of journeying with a missing limb, perhaps all one has to wish for is to come across a friendly crab.
