This August at Pamana Library Corner, we are pleased to feature The Twin Mermaids of the Island Moon by Filipina author Marilou Urbi. Rooted in Filipino values of family, kindness, and community, this beautifully written story introduces young readers to a magical world where emotions, courage, and compassion are just as important as adventure.
Inspired by her own life, cultural heritage, and journey as a mother, Marilou created the Island Moon Universe to help children understand their feelings, build confidence, and find comfort in the people who love them. Through the bond of two mermaid sisters, the story gently reminds children that kindness is a strength, family is a source of comfort, and every child carries a light within.
Pamana Children’s Library invites families to discover The Twin Mermaids of the Island Moon and enjoy a story that celebrates Filipino storytelling while encouraging meaningful conversations about emotions, friendship, and growing up with courage and hope.
Behind the Story: A Conversation with Marilou Urbi
Could you tell us a little about yourself and your background, and what led you to become a children’s book author?
I’m Marilou Urbi, born and raised in Ballesteros, Cagayan (Philippines), the creator of the Island Moon Universe – a world shaped by the resilience, humor, and heart of the women who raised me. As a Filipina author living in Hawai‘i, I blend cultural warmth with emotional literacy to create stories that help children feel safe, seen, and gently guided.
I was raised in the glow of twin grandmothers whose lives taught me that love can stay whole even when the world is not gentle. They lived through an era that judged them harshly for choices that were never anyone’s to judge, yet their bond remained unbroken. Their compassion, dignity, and quiet strength became the first moonlight that shaped my life.
Years later, I found myself at my own turning point. After twenty years of marriage, I chose a road with no map — becoming a single parent to protect my children from emotionally challenging circumstances. It was a season of rebuilding from the ground up, guided only by a mother’s fierce devotion and the belief that my children deserved a safer, softer world.
Through every step of that roadless journey, my twin sister stood beside me. She became my shoreline — steady, present, and unwavering. Her support echoed the legacy of our grandmothers: sisters who rise together, who hold each other through storms, who choose love even when the path is unfamiliar.
From this lineage of moonlit resilience, the Island Moon Universe was born.
Over time, it became clear that the stories I wished existed were the stories I needed to write. My Filipino heritage—its warmth, resilience, ocean memory, and deep sense of kapwa—shaped the way I imagined characters, worlds, and emotional lessons. And my years as a mother shaped the heart behind every page.
Becoming a children’s book author wasn’t a career decision—it was a calling. A way to honor where I come from. A way to give back to the next generation. A way to help families create moments of connection that feel like home.
What does it mean to you personally to write children’s books as a Filipino author, and in what ways has your Filipino heritage shaped your storytelling or the values you share in your work?
To write as a Filipino author is to write with inheritance—not just of culture, but of heart.
Filipino storytelling has always been rooted in warmth, imagination, and community. Stories were how we learned values, how we felt loved, how we understood the world.
So when you write children’s books, you’re not simply creating stories. You’re continuing a lineage. You’re carrying forward the Filipino way of teaching: through tenderness, metaphor, humor, magic, and moral clarity. You’re offering children the same emotional nourishment you once received from your elders—now shaped into so called social emotional language that today’s families need.
What inspired you to write The Twin Mermaid Story, and how would you describe the story in your own words?
The Twin Mermaids were shaped from the values that carried me through my roadless journey: kindness as strength, sisterhood as refuge, and the belief that even the most unfamiliar path can lead to a brighter future. Their story is my offering to children — a reminder that their feelings matter, their light is real, and their courage can be tender.
The mermaids were born from that longing—two sisters who carry the warmth of Filipino and Hawaii culture, the emotional lessons I wished my children had, and the kind of magic that helps families slow down and reconnect.
What message or feeling do you hope children take away after reading it?
More than anything, I hope children close the book feeling safe inside themselves. I want them to know that their feelings—big or small—are not something to hide or be ashamed of. They are part of their magic.
I hope they feel, seen-in the way Maharaya and Mahinaʻala see each other; brave- knowing courage can be gentle; connected- to their family, their culture, and the ocean that holds them; loved, simply for being who they are.
And I hope they remember this quiet truth that lives at the heart of the Island Moon Universe:
“Your inner light is real. It never disappears. And it will always guide you home.”
You’ve written about emotions and understanding feelings in this story, why was that important to you?
Emotions were important to me because they are the quiet truth of childhood—the part that often goes unseen, unheard, or unnamed. When I wrote The Twin Mermaids of the Island Moon, I wasn’t just creating a story; I was creating a safe place for children to understand what’s happening inside their hearts.
Growing up in the 70s, feelings were present but rarely talked about. Becoming a mother in the 90s, I saw how quickly the world was changing, yet children still didn’t have the language or tools to express what they felt. And now, watching this new generation grow up in an even faster, more complex world, I knew that emotional understanding couldn’t be optional. It had to be woven into the stories they read, the characters they love, and the worlds they explore.
Writing about emotions mattered to me because, children deserve to feel seen, not just taught. Feelings are not problems—they’re signals. Emotional literacy is a form of protection and empowerment. Stories can teach what conversations sometimes struggle to reach.
The mermaids became gentle guides—showing children that courage can be soft, that fear can be understood, and that connection can help them navigate anything. I wanted every child to walk away knowing that their feelings are valid, that they’re not alone, and that their inner world is something beautiful, not something to hide.
For me, writing about emotions is an act of love. It’s my way of giving children what I wished every generation had—a language for the heart.
The bond between the twin sisters is very central to the book. What do you hope children learn from their relationship about family, kindness, or friendship?
The relationship between Maharaya and Mahinaʻala is meant to show children what love looks like in action—how kindness, patience, and connection can guide them through both calm and stormy moments.
Family Is a Safe Harbor– The twins show that family isn’t just who you live with—it’s who you return to. Their bond teaches children that home is made of trust, support, and the feeling of being understood even when you don’t have the right words.
Kindness Is a Strength- Through their adventures, the mermaids’ model gentle courage. They show that kindness isn’t weakness—it’s a powerful way of caring for yourself and others. Children learn that being soft-hearted is something to be proud of.
Friendship Is Built on Listening and Understanding- The twins don’t always feel the same way, and they don’t always agree. But they listen. They try to understand. They stay connected. Their relationship teaches children that real friendship grows through empathy and communication.
You Don’t Have to Face Big Feelings Alone- One of the most important lessons is that emotions become easier when shared. The twins help each other navigate fear, excitement, curiosity, and courage. Children learn that it’s okay to ask for help, and it’s okay to lean on someone you trust.
Love Can Be a Guide- The twins’ bond shows that love isn’t just a feeling—it’s a way of moving through the world. It’s how you speak, how you show up, how you care. Children learn that love can guide their choices, their relationships, and their inner world.
At its heart, the twins’ relationship is a mirror for children: a reminder that they are worthy of connection, that kindness matters, and that the people who love them can help them grow through anything.
Could you share a bit about your experience working with your illustrator and how that collaboration came together?
My illustrator -Kim Jasper Billones was introduced to me by Ella Pelayo from Psalms Creatives, our creative editor and publisher. He is an artist with great imagination and receptive idea and brought to life my story. The quality of his artworks are detailed and refine, it matches the impression of artistry I am looking to arise from my stories.
Are you currently working on any new stories or future adventures for the twin mermaids?
Yes, this is actually the first book on the 8 Realm stories, with SEL Guide for parents as special bonus on every book. We are currently working on the second book.
What has been the most meaningful or rewarding part of becoming a children’s book author so far?
The most meaningful part of becoming a children’s book author has been watching something deeply personal turn into something that touches other people’s hearts. It’s the quiet moments—the ones you don’t always expect—that make this journey feel sacred.
As the daughter of lifelong educators, there’s something deeply fulfilling about knowing you’re continuing their work in your own way—teaching through story, guiding through love, offering wisdom through imagination.
The most rewarding part is realizing that these stories will become part of childhood memories, bedtime rituals, and emotional growth for children you may never meet. Your books become a kind of inheritance—one that carries your heart, your culture, and your hope into the future.
At its core, the reward is simple: You’re helping children feel safe inside themselves. And there is nothing more meaningful than that.
Have you received any feedback from a child, parent, or teacher that really stayed with you?
Yes — there was one moment that has stayed with me in a way I’ll never forget.
A mother told me that after reading The Twin Mermaids of the Island Moon, her little girl turned to her and said, “Mom, I think my feelings are like waves too.” That simple sentence carried so much truth, so much understanding, so much softness. It was the exact kind of emotional language I hoped children would find in these stories, being able to articulate their feelings.
Another moment came from a teacher who shared that one of her students — a quiet child who rarely spoke about emotions — pointed to one of the mermaids and said, “She feels like me.” For the first time, that child opened up about something she had been carrying silently. The story gave her a doorway.
And a parent once told me that reading the book together became their new bedtime ritual — not just for the story, but for the conversations afterward. She said, “My son finally tells me what he feels. Your mermaids made it safe.”
Those moments are the reason I write.
They remind me that stories can do what even adults sometimes struggle to do — they can make a child feel seen, understood, and gently held.
And finally, is there anything you’d like to share with Filipino families and young readers around the world about you or The Twin Mermaid Story?
To all Filipino families and young readers around the world — this story is my embrace to you.
I wrote The Twin Mermaids of the Island Moon with the same tenderness I grew up with in a Filipino home: the warmth of our parents’ voices, the comfort of shared meals, the way love is felt even when it isn’t spoken aloud. Our culture has a way of holding children close, of teaching them through softness, of reminding them that they are never alone — and I wanted that feeling to live inside these pages.
This book is my way of saying:
I see you. I honor where you come from. Your feelings are sacred. Your roots are powerful.
Aloha and Mabuhay from the shore of Island Moon Universe,
Marilou writes the way the moon moves — with intention, with grace, and with the quiet certainty that light belongs everywhere, especially in the places it has been forgotten.
The Island Moon Universe grew from a singular, luminous belief: that children who see themselves in stories carry those stories into everything they become. Every character she has woven, every mythic tide she has set in motion, is a gift given forward — from the ancestors who shaped her, through the little ones growing beside her, toward the communities she holds in her heart.
Her writing is rooted in cultural heritage and the sacred work of remembrance. In her world, tenderness is strength, sisterhood is protection, and imagination is not a luxury — it is a birthright. When Marilou writes, she is not simply telling a story. She is lighting a lantern and placing it in a child’s hands.
This is my purpose. This is my heart. This is the Island Moon Universe.
Marilou Urbi
Founder/Author
91-1779 Kohanahana Loop
Ewa Beach, HI 96706
IG & Meta Page: @islandmoonuniverse https://www.instagram.com/islandmoonuniverse/
(808) 436-3585
Read about Pamana Children’s Library story and our mission by visiting our page on the Rizal Center website: https://rizalcenter.org/programs/pamana-childrens-library/.
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