Vilsoni Hereniko

Fijian playwright, film-maker and scholar Vilsoni Hereniko, who, over the course of his career, has worked for his country's Ministry of Education, as well as teaching at the University of the South Pacific, and (currently) the University of Hawai'i's Center for Pacific Islands Studies, made his children's book debut with this retelling of the classic South Pacific folktale of Sina and the Eel. It is the story of the beautiful princess, Sina, who, sought by many men, becomes increasingly vain, even to the point of rejecting the many humble sea creatures who had been her friends, during her daily bathing. When she spurns the advances of the love-struck eel, whose songs had been her chief delight, she is left alone and friendless, and eventually repents of her harshness. But it's not so easy to mend fences, as our heroine discovers, when she attempts to make amends, and Sina, stricken with regret, falls into a decline. Can the eel bring her out of her illness? Will he come to her aid, despite her unkindness...?

Chosen as one of our May selections, over in The International Children's Book Club I run on another site, where we are attempting to read children's titles from around the world, Sina and Tinilau was published by the Institute of Pacific Studies, and is not widely available, here in the states. The story presented is apparently quite widespread in the South Pacific, and has a number of variants, including one that is a pourquoi tale explaining the existence of the coconut. This version, however, seems aimed at setting out the origins of the island peoples of the region, with the titular Sina and Tinilau (the eel, transformed into a handsome prince) being ancestral figures. The book itself is quite large, and features colorful artwork from Jasper Schreurs, who includes lushly decorative borders composed of things like shells, flowers, and birds, which are numbered, and then identified in inset tables. The result is a book both engaging and educational, with a story that young folktale lovers will enjoy - I wonder if it would fit, broadly speaking, under the "beastly bridegroom" tale-type? - and illustrations that provide a glimpse of the wealth of flora and fauna to be found on the islands being depicted. Recommended, if readers can find a copy!… (meer)