Girl, 12, finds inspiration in Christmas traditions
Paulina María Senges Ocasio writes ‘Christmas Island’ book
Paulina María Senges Ocasio was in her room listening to Christmas songs while her sister Adanna Chloe was doing her makeup. What began as a conversation between sisters about what it would be like to live on a Christmas island has become the first publication of the 12-year-old Puerto Rican girl.
“I have always liked to write. Painting is not so much my thing, but that is how I began to bring this book to life,” said Paulina in an interview with El Sentinel Orlando.
Christmas Island tells the story of two children: Alex, shy and cautious, who follows his brave and outgoing best friend, Lola. No matter how different they may seem, Paulina explained, the only thing greater than their love for Christmas was their imagination.
Alex and Lola follow their imaginations to a magical place called Christmas Island.
A bit shy, like Alex’s character, but at the same time outgoing as Lola, Paulina explained how she came up with the story along with a complete map that includes an area named Winter Wonderland; the Present Palooza, where you can just think of a toy and you will get it as a Christmas present; the Easy Frost Forest and the Peppermint Pecan Beaches, where all the palms are made of mint.
“The ocean is called the Eggnog Ocean,” the Lake Nona area girl said excitedly. “I would like to make a Latin version, Puerto Rican like me that has the sea of coquito. I love Christmas, music and I love food, since I am Puerto Rican, I love all of that.
With Christmas Island, Paulina María wants to highlight not only the gifts, but what it really stands for. “Many children think of Christmas and automatically say ‘gifts’. But I love family time, sharing, the smell of the Christmas tree that reminds you of all those important things.”
The story’s message is that all people are perfect the way they are, that skin color is irrelevant, that friendship is crucial and that dreaming does not cost anything.
Paulina María also wanted to highlight a non-binary character. “I like to present inclusion and diversity. We are in 2021, right, so it is important that we all be inclusive. That everyone, regardless of how we see ourselves or how we identify ourselves, we are special and important,” she said.
When she created her book, the beaches and the forest reminded her of the Island of Enchantment. “It reminded me of El Yunque,” she said.
Her family is surprised but enthusiastic about her becoming a storyteller.
“Sometimes I am surprised, but I remember that I have always had my parents support,” said Paulina. “They and my brother and sister have always been by me, every step. When I started to draw and write this story, I would run to my sister’s room to show her. She told me ‘wow Paulina, this is very good.’ ”
Adanna, 14, says that when they talked about Christmas Island “I didn’t imagine this was going to turn out [as a book]. She left my room and came back with a giant poster with everything we talked about. She did it super fast,” she said.
When she began to see Paulina was creating,
Adanna says that she knew “that this has potential. Little by little she would lock herself in the room and come out with a new page of the book and I would say ‘How did she do this?’ I am not surprised that she did it, but it did surprise me that she did it when she was so little. That is incredible to me.”
Paulina María’s twin brother, Paulo Enrique, also said that he was surprised but acknowledges that “she is very talented and she can achieve whatever she sets her mind to.”
He remembers that one day he entered the room and Paulina already had a drawing on the wall. “She told me it was a map that she made of the song Christmas Island.”
Paulo Enrique says that “at home, Christmas is very special, we also like to sing.”
María Ocasio could not contain her emotion when she saw the dynamics between her children. “They are so close and support each other in everything. Each of them is very talented in their own way. Paulina wrote this, but they, as you can see, are here supporting her.”
It was the mom who initially saw the potential to monetize the story.
“Seeing how she created each area that is a city of it’s own, with its own history and her particular qualities, is surprising.” That’s when she talked to dad, José Senges and they encouraged her to turn her idea into a publishable book.
“We told you, Paulina, this is a good idea for a book. You love to write and are always writing, what do you think?’“
In less than 24 hours, Paulina María returned to her parents and “she told us ‘here is the book, when will we publish it?’ ” her mother recalled.
That was for Christmas 2020 so the family decided to start the process, they hired an illustrator who adapted the images that Paulina María had created in her posters and in her mind, and Christmas Island came to life.
“Imagine, as Mom says we have been watching her from the beginning. She writes beautifully and she has an ability to generate words and generate sentences that we have admired from a very young age. It was not an easy process, because you have to budget for everything. We made the necessary adjustments and I think it turned out very well. We are happy with it,” Senges said.
“She writes beautifully and she has an ability to generate words and generate sentences that we have admired from a very young age.”
— José Senges, Paulina María Senges Ocasio’s dad