MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Love, Bonito, Southeast Asia’s leading womenswear brand has announced the release of its first-ever children’s storybook through LBCreate, its social impact arm. Entitled Lili the Lioness & Friends, the book features six animal characters and will be available from September 16 in two formats.
There will be a physical book written and illustrated in-house for sale via Love, Bonito’s websites; and an animated video book created in partnership with animation studio Finding Pictures, to be carried only on Vooks, the world’s leading streaming service of read-aloud animated storybooks. Love, Bonito is supporting the education of girls in historically low-income communities in Asia for a year through proceeds from physical book sales with a target goal of $30,000.
“We launched LBCreate last year to crystallize Love, Bonito’s contribution towards empowering women from the ground up,” said Rachel Lim, the co-founder of Love, Bonito. “This year, we’re back with our first-ever children’s storybook, to showcase our brand’s commitment towards creating actionable steps for our community. We strongly believe that female empowerment begins with providing a solid foundation for young girls and we’re proud to partner with like-minded organizations to bring our vision to life.”
Geetha Murali, CEO of Room to Read, said, “Education is one of the most effective tools for addressing gender inequality. Love, Bonito’s efforts will ensure a quality education for girls across Asia and help them build the skills to succeed in school and make key life decisions.”
Targeted toward children aged three to seven years old, the book follows the journey of Jungle School’s head girl Lili the Lioness, who invents her own “power cheer” to motivate her friends in school, but loses her voice as she is about to make a special announcement for the students. Through her ups and downs, readers will discover the power of finding strength in vulnerability as well as empowerment through community, teamwork, and collaboration — all of which are representative of Love, Bonito’s culture, and values. The book also features interactive elements like a scavenger hunt and instructions for readers to write their own “power cheer.”
“We want children and parents to fall in love with the story and the joy of reading together. While the book was written with children in mind, it’s also a story that will no doubt move readers of all ages — one we can often return to, to be reminded, comforted, and encouraged by the reality that we’re not alone. And we don’t have to be alone. You can’t spell power without “we”, and together, we are stronger,” said author Vanessa Yeo Barger.
Yeo was inspired to write the story after a visit to the zoo with her two daughters saw both girls confusing a lioness as a tiger without stripes. This encouraged her to create an empowering narrative with inspiring female-first characters, to celebrate the strength of women supporting women. Bringing the story to life is Lee Jia Zhen, Love, Bonito’s Graphic Designer, and Illustrator, who envisioned a concept with vibrant colors and visual patterns. This allows for young readers to easily comprehend and immerse themselves in the story, and also connect with the irresistible characters.
Voicing the characters in the animated video book are Singaporean voice-over artist Naomi Yeo and Mediacorp 987 DJ Natasha.
Love, Bonito’s first-ever children’s storybook Lili the Lioness & Friends print edition retails for $18.90. The animated video edition will also be carried on Vooks.
