Next Stop: Adventure! Inside Lily C. Fen's Kisig Takes the MRT
Words by Donna Avellana-Künzler
What do you do when your child cannot find the book he wants to read? If you're writer
Lily C. Fen, you write it yourself.
That simple yet powerful decision led to Kisig Takes the MRT, a bilingual EnglishFilipino picture book that invites young readers aboard the Manila Metro Rail Transit system alongside an unlikely guide: a curious little civet cat named Kisig. Designed for children aged four to six, the book offers a colorful glimpse into everyday life in Metro Manila while celebrating family, culture, and the joy of coming home. The story follows a young civet cat on his first MRT journey with his mother, introducing readers to the sights, sounds, and flavors of the Philippine capital.
For Fen, who now resides in Switzerland and has written for publications including Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Asian Cha, The Local Switzerland, and Asian Dragon, the story began with a very personal challenge.
"My little one was devouring books in German, Czech, and English," she recalls. "I was getting frustrated that he wasn't reading anything in Filipino."
One day, her son posed a simple question that stopped her in her tracks: Was there a Filipino book about trains? The answer, surprisingly, was no.
Fen remembers sharing her frustration with a teacher while she and her son were traveling on a long train ride through Switzerland.
As they prepared to part ways, the teacher offered a suggestion that would change the course of Fen's creative journey. "Why not write the book yourself that your son is looking for?"
What began as a casual conversation soon became a four-year labor of love. Fen set out to create the very book her son wanted to read, drawing inspiration from the MRT line that traverses EDSA, one of Metro Manila's busiest thoroughfares.
The result is a story that blends adventure, family, and cultural discovery into a format accessible to young readers.
While the completed book feels effortless and playful, creating a bilingual picture book came with its own set of challenges. Fen found herself moving constantly between English and Filipino, sometimes from one sentence to the next.
"Parts of the story would sometimes come to me in one language, then another, every other line," she says.
The difficulty was not simply translating words. Instead, it was ensuring that the two versions reflected the same mood, rhythm, and storytelling experience. For young readers especially, language must feel natural and engaging.
At the same time, Fen discovered unexpected joys in the process.
"I learned that it can be a joy to shift from one language to another and what fun that can be, and what different perspectives each language can lend you."
There were moments of frustration as well. Certain ideas and expressions felt perfectly at home in English but resisted direct translation into Filipino. Yet rather than seeing this as a limitation, Fen came to appreciate the individuality of languages.
"It's language for you," she says. "Languages have a mind and will of their own."
Another distinctive aspect of the book is its protagonist. Rather than choosing a child as the main character, Fen selected a civet cat named Kisig to guide readers through Manila.
The inspiration dates back many years, to a visit to Subic Zoo with her husband while they were still dating. There she encountered a civet cat for the first time.
"I hadn't realized that this creature was native to the Philippines and roamed our land until then," she says.
The animal left a lasting impression. Rough-furred, sharp-clawed, and undeniably wild, the civet cat fascinated her. Years later, while taking a course in writing for children at the University of Cambridge, Fen learned an important lesson from her professor: animal characters allow children to explore ideas from a safe distance.
Whether a story touches on family, belonging, adventure, or cultural identity, a lovable animal can help young readers engage with those themes in a comfortable and imaginative way.
"I ended up choosing the civet cat so that an animal native to the Philippines would become familiar to readers in some way," she says. "Our country is full of amazing creatures!"
Beyond its train rides and animal protagonist, Kisig Takes the MRT is also a celebration of Filipino culture and everyday life. For Fen, accurately portraying Metro Manila was not merely an artistic choice. It was central
to the book's purpose.
"Very important," she says when asked about showcasing Manila and Filipino culture.
Because the project began as a response to her own child's needs, Fen approached it with an understanding of what many children in the Filipino diaspora may be missing. While books about the Philippines often focus on history, folklore, or major cultural landmarks, she wanted to present something just as meaningful: an ordinary day in the city.
Through Kisig's journey, readers encounter local transportation, bustling urban scenes, Filipino snacks such as kakanin, and the small social interactions that make daily life unique. The story offers children abroad an opportunity to connect with a place that may feel distant, while introducing international readers to a rich and vibrant culture.
At its heart, however, Kisig Takes the MRT is about something deeper than trains or tourism. It is about belonging.
"Every story I write is a love letter to the home and land that raised me," Fen says.
She hopes her work contributes to greater awareness of Filipino culture and helps young readers develop pride in their heritage. More than anything, she wants children to become curious. Curious about Filipino food. Curious about public transportation in Manila. Curious about civet cats and the country's remarkable biodiversity.
"The more we know about something, the more we develop care and love for a place and its creatures."
With Kisig Takes the MRT, Lily C. Fen has done more than create the train book her son longed to read. She has created a bridge between languages, cultures, and generations. Through one small civet cat's journey across Metro Manila, young readers are invited to discover not only a city, but also the connections that tie us to family, memory, and home. In doing so, Fen reminds us that some of the most meaningful adventures begin with a simple question, a parent's determination, and the courage to create what does not yet exist.
LINKS: KISIG TAKES THE MRT is published by Hiyas Imprint at https://omflit.com/hiyas
Author’s URLs:
Wordpress - https://lilycfenwrites.wordpress.com/ Medium - https://lilycfen.medium.com/
Social Media: @lilycfenwrites on Instagram
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