A Gathering of Characters!

Fairday Morrow ☞ Lizzy Mackerville ☞ Marcus Brocket

The DMS sits down with Little Orchid...

Roundtable Feature:

Little Orchid's Sea Monster Trouble by Gueh Yanting, Claudine

We are so excited for this meeting of the Character Book Club! In attendance today are the current members of the Detective Mystery Squad, more commonly known as the DMS. Fairday, Lizzy, and Marcus are joined by Little Orchid from Little Orchid's Sea Monster Trouble. We are happy for the chance to get to learn a little more about her and find out what she thinks about things! So, without further ado, let the meeting commence...

Lizzy: Thank you for joining us for this CBC meeting Little Orchid. It’s so lovely to have you here today! We have our questions ready for you. Okay, here we go…

Your name is so unique, and it’s interesting how names are chosen in your homeland. Can you tell us about the lore behind the names? 

Orchid: H…Hello. A…And thank you. Our names are quite common here. Pa and Ma never went to school, so they named us after things they knew, things they thought were beautiful. Boys here are usually named after Nature, like mountains, creeks, and the sky. Girls are named after the moon, the clouds, or flowers.

Fairday: What on earth were you thinking when the host at Rainbow’s house presented the giant cuttlefish as dinner?!? I can’t even imagine my reaction! Especially knowing what you knew, and being aware of events that were sure to follow. 

Orchid: I…I was anticipating a treasure from the sea, but definitely not this monster. I don’t know why Uncle Chan thought it was a treasure! The Giant Cuttlefish was known to hurl fish up from the river (o…of course, this time round it wasn’t the culprit. But I know, we children all know, the giants can cause havoc … if they want to.)

Marcus: Once you realized that you had turned into a cuttlefish and found yourself stuck under water, you were scared and upset- but there was also the feeling of being powerful. What was it like to suddenly have the amazing skills of a giant cephalopod? 

Orchid: I first realized I was about twenty times bigger than most sea creatures when I had to defend the Baby Lobster from swordfish bullies. I knew I could hurl off attackers. Yet I didn’t feel powerful until my little friend pointed it out to me (actually, he shouted it at me). As for squirting ink and changing the patterns of my skin, those were really useful skills.

Lizzy: How is the Lobster family different from yours? Was it hard to say goodbye to them when you left?

Orchid: To me, t…they are the special ones! The Emperor and Empress have treated me like their own child. As for the Baby Lobster, he is my first friend. He sees me clearer than I can. (S…Sorry, I don’t mean to tear up here.)

Saying goodbye to them was the most difficult thing I had to do, perhaps as difficult as not saying goodbye to my human family when I turned into a cuttlefish.

Fairday: Do you feel like you have become braver after having gone through the storm? Sometimes, I have a tendency to worry or over think my initial reaction to a situation, and I doubt myself. Do you trust yourself more now?

Orchid: I do feel slightly braver and I trust myself more now, although honestly, I also still t…tend to be a little nervous or worried about whether others think I’m spouting nonsense. It is something I have to overcome day by day. I suppose w…we are quite alike, Fairday.

Marcus: What is your favorite folk tale? Do you believe in it?

Orchid: I have heard of several folk tales from Pa and my uncles. The one I like the most is the story about the Goddess of Mercy. Kwan-Yin was the third daughter of a king, a princess with a heart full of compassion. She once tamed a wild tiger just by looking straight at it with her kind, gentle eyes. I…I believe in kindness, yes. I don’t know if it can make one braver, but I hope it can make the world a less dangerous place. (Maybe, just maybe, I can tame wild underwater creatures one day, and protect the smaller ones in the sea …)

Lizzy: You met some wondrous sea creatures on your adventure. If you could become one of them, which would you choose to be? I mean, knowing that you can change right back again with no problem- lol!

Orchid: If I could transform without the pain and boils, I would pick the Giant Cuttlefish again. So I could explore the sea with my lobster family and visit the Giant Octopus! {W..What is ‘lol?’}

Fairday: Ha! lol is computer lingo for “laugh out loud”. It’s become part of our common language. Okay, so here’s another questions for you- I love asking people this; what is your favorite color? How about number?

Orchid: After all that time spent in a grey world, I cannot describe how happy I was to look up at green trees again. Number … I don’t know. Maybe ‘8’ since Sea Brother said it’s a number of good fortune.

DMS: That does it for this CBC meeting! Thanks so much for hanging out with us today Little Orchid. We can't wait to dive into your next story. J

Orchid: T…Thank you, Fairday, Lizzy and Marcus! Ma told me not to take up too much of your time, but my sister, Little Lotus, told me to answer the questions as clearly as possible. She says it is good to make new friends. M…Maybe one day, you can all come and play in our village! We can go swimming in the river after I’ve done my chores. (Yes, I can swim now!)

Sign up for our monthly newsletter to find out when the next Character Book Club meeting will be!

☞ DMS News & Highlights

Catch the latest book buzz : )  
☞ Preview Newsletter

If you would like to add your colorful character to the Character Book Clubroster and host a meeting on your blog, please send a request tohaightjess@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin