Shabu Shabu the rabbit makes new friends in Colombo
Kristina Thornton is often asked why she chose to name her rabbit after a Japanese beef hot pot dish. “When I was living and teaching in Taiwan a few years ago, I had a little pet white rabbit,” Kristina explains. “She was very cute and her name was Shabu Shabu. That wasn’t her name but it became her name because as she got older and older she became naughtier and naughtier.” When she found her pet chewing up everything in sight, Kristina would threaten her. “If you do that one more time, you’ll be Shabu Shabu.”
Pleased with their efforts: Ola Olaniyi and author Kristina Thornton. Pix by Nilan Maligaspe
Now, Shabu Shabu has her own book and since it’s the first of 8, she will also have her own series.Part 1 – The Jade Legend – was launched at the Asia Festival for Children’s Content in May this year. In her very next touchdown, Shabu Shabu made some new friends at multiple events scattered across a variety of locations in Colombo last week. Also worth noting is that the books they bought, as well as select merchandise, had been printed and produced to an international standard in Sri Lanka itself.
While this is an exciting achievement for the team, young readers needn’t wait to find a bookstore – the book is available across all major e-book platforms and there’s even an app. “That’s the really exciting part for me – you can now not only read the story, you can interact with it” says Ola Olaniyi, co-founder and the man who handles the business side of Steam Powered Productions. Since they’ve been using relatively new technology, for the writer and illustrator, working on the app has been its own challenge. “You really have to switch your mindset from 2D to something that can really come alive at the touch of the finger,” says Kristina. Kids help Shabu Shabu solve puzzles, work on her inventions and even face challenges that determine whether the story can move ahead or not.
Despite this, the Shabu Shabu series isn’t educational in the strictly traditional sense, explains Ola. Instead it’s about imparting key values. Shabu Shabu learns to walk the fine line between respecting her elders and challenging them – she’s also quick on her feet and courageous. As the series progresses so does her understanding of friendship, her determination to persevere and her ability to apply intelligence and innovation to solving her problems. “It’s not 1 +1 = 2, it’s really the life lessons, if you look at Shabu’s story that’s the big learning,” says Ola.
Suitable for children aged 6 – 12, the volume is beautifully illustrated by the Budapest based artist Michael Csokas who uses a blend of hand drawn and digital colouring techniques to produce each piece. The final product has been years in the making – “she looks very different now from how she did originally, so there’s been a definite evolution in the character,” says Kristina.
Visuals and text combine to tell the tale of a little rabbit who is raised by her grandfather, himself a traveller and explorer of some renown. Shabu Shabu dreams of the world that lies outside her burrow but it’s not until she sees the Jade Rabbit waving down at her from the moon that she discovers her destination. In writing the book, Kristina drew on sources from both the East and West – there were the books she loved like 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and Harry Potter but also the legends and parables she had encountered on her travels in Asia. In fact, at the heart of the book is a legend that Kristina heard for the first time in Taiwan – where she looked up and saw the man on the moon, her students saw a rabbit.
Now, Kristina says she has the next eight books planned out and the team hopes to have part 2 ready for bookstores in a matter of months. “The market is ready, and people are waiting for this,” says Ola. In the coming years, Shabu Shabu is also likely to grow far beyond the books themselves.
Ola says they’re considering mobile games and have even been approached by a production company that is interested in developing an animated series.
Kristina would like to expand their range of educational materials – and she wouldn’t say no to a Shabu Shabu theme park. It’s clear, that like their character, the Steam Powered Productions team is at the start of their own grand adventure. “The potential is limitless. We’re taking it one step at a time,” says Ola.
‘The Jade Legend’ priced at Rs. 1550 is available at all leading bookstores, Find ShabuShabu online at: http://www.shabusworld.com
Contact the team in Sri Lanka to find out more at ishani@tsmc.lk.
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