What happens when a lioness loses her voices, especially when she is the head girl and she has lots to do? Womenswear brand Love, Bonito tells the story about female empowerment in its first-ever children’s book Lili the Lioness & Friends.
Inspired by a Visit to the Zoo
Written by Vanessa Yeo Barger and illustrated by Lee Jia Zhen, Lili the Lioness & Friends is about the Jungle School’s head girl who constantly champions her fellow students in school and even has her own “power cheer”.
However, just when she is about to make a big announcement, her voice starts to fade and she is unable to speak. Thankfully, in her time of need, her friends rally around her and help her through her predicament.
Author Vanessa Yeo Barger was inspired to write the story after a visit to the zoo with her daughters where the girls confused a lioness with a tiger without stripes. Illustrator Lee Jia Zhen envisaged the colours and patterns to connect with young readers. Both Yeo Barger and Lee are Love, Bonito staff.
Love, Bonito Children’s Book: Lili the Lioness & Friends
The Love, Bonito children’s book is targeted at ages 3 to 7 years old. It is released under the brand’s social impact arm LBCreate.
The book will be available in two forms, a physical version which will be on sale via Love, Bonito’s website for S$25 and an animated video book created in partnership with animation studio Finding Picture and available on the Vooks streaming service.
Aiming to Empower Women from the Ground Up
Love, Bonito is aiming to support the education of girls in historically low-income communities in Asia for a year through the sales proceed from the physical book. It is aiming to raise US$30,000.
Rachel Lim, Co-Founder of Love, Bonito said, “We launched LBCreate last year to crystallise Love, Bonito’s contribution towards empowering women from the ground up. This year, we’re back with our first-ever children’s storybook, to showcase our brand’s commitment to 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 organisations to bring our vision to life.”
Lili The Lioness & Friends can be purchased online from 16 September 2022.
