Meet Airi Sano
art by Jennifer Naalchigar
art by Jennifer Naalchigar
Airi Sano, Age 11
Meet Airi. She’s spent her entire life moving from one military base to another. But now her family has settled down for good on the island of O’ahu, where her dad grew up, and she faces her toughest challenge yet: a teacher named Mrs. Ashton who isn’t at all fazed by her bad behavior. Let the prank war begin!
Likes: pranks, drawing, her baby sister, curry, Halloween, pirates, Mr. Knuckles
Dislikes: school, reading, her brother E.J., bullies
Airi’s Family
Meet Airi’s family. There’s her dad, a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army. There’s her mom, formerly a travel agent, currently a stay-at-home mom. There’s her little brother E.J., a know-it-all goody-two-shoes. There’s Kaori, the most perfect baby to ever exist. And don’t forget their cat, Mr. Knuckles!
Meet the team
Jennifer Naalchigar (she/her) is a British Japanese illustrator based in Hertfordshire, England. She has a love for quirky characters and enjoys experimenting with digital brushes. You can follow Jennifer on Instagram @naalchidraws.
Sara Matsui-Colby is an actor for screen, theatre, and audio, and is providing the voice of Airi for audiobook. Sara grew up bilingual and bicultural and goes back and forth between California, USA, and Hyogo-ken, Japan. Visit her website at saramatsuicolby.com.
Airi’s World
Airi’s perspective as a Japanese-American kid living in Hawai’i is heavily based on my own experiences and those of my mother and her family on O’ahu, and are by no means universal or authoritative. If you or your reader are interested in leaning more about Hawaiian or Japanese American culture, here are some places to start! —Zoe Tokushige