Why I Wrote a Book About Children, Animals and Kindness
BEHIND THE MOON
How butterflies in Massachusetts, tiny patches of earth in Tokyo and a family of swallows above a station ticket gate helped inspire Magical Tails.
As we shared in Our Story, the idea for Magical Tails, our first book, began with a gap I kept noticing: the gap between the things children encounter in Japan and the rich stories that sometimes lie quietly behind them.
Stories that reach beyond a particular time or place and, in some small way, connect us all.
Every culture has stories inspired by the animals, creatures and natural world close to people’s lives.
What a butterfly can carry
When my son was at preschool in Massachusetts, his class spent a great deal of time learning about monarch butterflies. The children read folktales alongside science-based picture books. They raised butterflies from eggs and, when the time came, watched them fly away.
Watching this, I began to see how naturally stories and science could come together for children. They were inheriting tales passed down by people who came before us while also looking closely at a tiny creature they might otherwise have walked past.
And it was all unfolding right in front of them.
They learned about the butterfly’s life, its relationship with the environment and its astonishing migration. Some monarchs travel thousands of miles from the United States to central Mexico to escape the winter. It was difficult not to be amazed by them.
Perhaps this is one reason people have always found their own stories reflected in the creatures around them. Butterflies have been associated with returning spirits in Mexican tradition and, in some Celtic traditions, with transformation and endurance. We observe the lives of other creatures and sometimes find ways to understand our own.
I find that quite wonderful.
Having grown up across different countries and continents, I have often felt a peculiar sense of grounding when encountering folklore about animals.
The food, language, architecture and weather could feel completely unfamiliar, yet the stories often felt surprisingly familiar. Beneath the visible differences was something I recognised: people looking towards animals and nature to make sense of life.
The smallest patch of Tokyo
I noticed something similar when I brought my son to Tokyo at the age of two or three.
I wanted to take him to all the wonderful places in the city, on the opposite side of the world from where we lived at the time. There was so much to see and far too little time.
My son, however, was most exhilarated by the small patches of soil beneath the roadside trees lining Tokyo’s busy streets.
Walking a few blocks could take an exorbitant amount of time because he kept crouching down to observe and explain everything happening in one tiny patch of earth.
The same tiny patch of earth that was, in all likelihood, also the preferred bathroom of every passing dog.
I would be lying if I said I was never frustrated by these walks. But over time, I began to realise how reassuring it seemed to be for him to see and feel what was happening close to the ground.
Loving grandparents, his mother’s caring close friends, wonderful food and an entirely new culture were all very exciting. But a little patch of nature went a surprisingly long way towards keeping him happy and calm.
Since then, partly because of my desperate search for patches of soil that were not also unofficial dog bathrooms, our family trips have developed that rhythm.
At least for our family, I have found that when children have a moment to pause or connect with a small patch of nature, even an overwhelming journey can feel more meaningful and grounding. A busy day becomes a little calmer, and they begin to feel more connected to the unfamiliar world around them.
The nest above the ticket gate
After nearly a decade on the East Coast of the United States, we moved to Tokyo in 2021. I began telling my son the stories behind the ordinary things we encountered, many of which I had rarely seen explained in languages other than Japanese.
Tokyo is a very busy city. When you are with a small child, there are moments when you feel as though you are in everyone’s way. Before long, daily errands and commutes began to feel a little isolating. We missed the familiar, friendly faces that had surrounded us in Massachusetts.
Then we encountered the scene that pushed us to create this book.
THE MOMENT THAT STAYED WITH US
Above the ticket gate at a busy station was a swallow’s nest. Tens of thousands of people passed beneath it every day. Below it, the station staff had placed a handwritten sign asking everyone to watch over the birds kindly. The swallows returned each year, it explained, to raise their chicks.
There, of all places.
People passing through the station would pause, look up and linger for a moment. There was something beautiful about seeing the movement around them slow, even briefly, for a family of birds.
I remembered the stories about swallows that I had grown up hearing. I found myself wondering what stories the children beneath that nest might imagine as they looked up.
In the middle of all the movement, here was a small act of warmth and kindness from the station staff towards a family of birds.
It felt like a story waiting to be shared.
And so the stories began
Some of the stories in Magical Tails are modern, original adaptations of centuries-old Japanese legends and folktales. Others are new, inspired by my childhood, my experience of motherhood and the beautiful scenery we are lucky enough to encounter in west Tokyo.
Two of the stories were even created by my son.
His summer project in 2025 became rather more permanent than either of us expected.
I hope that, as you read these stories, you recognise a small part of yourself or are reminded of a moment from your own childhood.
And if you are travelling to Japan, I hope the stories add a little more magic to the journey for you and your children, whether you spot a fox at a shrine, koi in a pond or a swallow’s nest above a station ticket gate.
Wherever you are, I hope the stories give your family a gentle way to wind down and bring a little warmth and wonder to the end of the day.
We cannot wait to hear what you think of the book.
OUR FIRST BOOK
Eleven stories are waiting
Magical Tails brings together children, animals and stories inspired by Japanese legends, folklore and the natural world.