Feana Tu'akoi Photo: supplied by Gemma Finlay
New Zealand author Feana Tu'akoi' says when her adult kids were little the family could not find books by or about Tongan people.
Her husband is Tongan, and she is "Irish, with a dribble of Scottish and Welsh, and I think there might even be a tiny bit of English".
So she started writing things that would make sense to her family; and now, her latest title, Lopini the Legend, tells the story of a Tongan-Palagi (European) boy who is a perfectionist and not used to dealing with failure.
"Our kids are very close in age, so they were all preschoolers at the same time, and at the time, we couldn't find any books, either by or about Tongan people, not even Tongan legends," she said.
"There was just nothing. So as far as books were concerned, kids like ours just didn't exist. And I feel really strongly that all kids should be able to see themselves represented in print."
Writing for bi-cultural children
Tu'akoi' quoted American researcher, Dr Rudine Sims Bishop, who says that books can be mirrors that reflect our lives back to us, or windows to see into other realities, or sliding glass doors that we can use to enter other worlds.
"Well, for our kids, books were just never mirror[ing]s. They were always windows.
"And so I just wanted some stories that were mirrors for them. And so, I just started writing things that would make sense to us as a family, whether or not they were specifically Tongan."
Her work now encompasses writing for both children and adults, including 'Ready to Read' in the school journals, poetry and creative non-fiction essays.
"I don't really think about audience too much when I write. I just write stuff I'm interested in, with the theory that if I'm interested, someone else will be too; but I suppose it is actually, I guess, for kids and adults.
"Adults read a lot of junior fiction and a lot of [young adult] fiction, so yeah, I guess you're always sort of aware that everybody's reading it."
Tu'akoi' said it's "lovely" when Tongan children read her books.
"I like it when I'm thinking that these kids are seeing something they recognize in books.
"Because for me, growing up, that wasn't a thing. I thought books were written by dead people and all the characters said things like "jolly good fun" and "rather", and things like that.
"It's nice to know that kids are seeing something that they recognize, and that they realize that books are for them and that their stories are just as important as everybody else's."