Norman Rea spent years in the licensing business, working in New York City with characters produced by some of the biggest children’s manufacturers like Disney and The Muppets. But what he really wanted to do was create a cartoon character of his own. So he did.
Meet The Wishaphants, a group of elephant-esque creatures with distinct personalities that Rea hopes will deliver critical messages.
“I wanted to do something with children and make positive image characters for children,” said Rea. “The name kind of means good wish, good things for children, and part of the storyline is they can only be seen by children.”
Working with renowned artist Rick O’Boyle, Rea watched The Wishaphants come to life.
There is Ataro, the “wise old character” and leader of The Wishaphants. Then there’s Nia and Zuri, two female Wishaphants, one who is “beautiful” and the other “athletic and acrobatic.” Kazi is a “strong, macho” male character and Zo is “the brain, the wizard.” The Wishaphant crew is rounded out by twin toddlers Pacha and Kira.
The seven characters combine to create a picture storybook focused on a topic or issue facing young children today. Rea’s hope is to integrate the books, free of charge, into elementary schools across the Capital Region.
“Once I moved here [Rexford], I’ve done a lot of fundraisers to help various causes, and I always wanted to do something to give back to children. We’re not selling the books, we’re looking for underwriters so we can give books away to public schools and charter schools,” said Rea.
Rea might be the brains behind the project, but he still needed someone to write The Wishaphant’s story.
That’s where Poestenkill Elementary School principal Peter DeWitt, and part-time children’s author, came in.
“I wanted to talk about what I thought would be hot-button issues for elementary education. The first thing I chose was based on nutrition. I wanted to focus on something that wasn’t just kids bringing in snacks or unhealthy school lunch programs, but something where kids feel empowered to change,” said DeWitt.
Since they were on the same page about what The Wishaphants should stand for and convey, Rea gave DeWitt the freedom to write about whatever he wanted.
“I started thinking about each character and traits they could have, and I couldn’t get them off my mind; for me, it’s a good sign that it’s something I’m going to want to write about,” said DeWitt.
Besides nutrition, DeWitt will tackle school bullying and loss. He said the books will keep kids’ interest with humor and relatable situations.
“I want to create a good picture book for kids that will get them excited about reading but also something they can learn from as well,” said DeWitt. “I think they’re really good, the characters, and the kids will absolutely love [them].”
DeWitt thinks The Wishaphants books will be especially effective because as an educator, he regularly experiences what he’s writing about.
“These are the things I see day in and day out. I spent 11 years as a teacher and the past five as a principal, so I like to think I know what schools need,” said DeWitt.
The Wishaphants officially launched at the Albany Children’s Book Festival held at the Albany Academies in April 2011. Ataro, the 6-foot mascot, led a parade of characters at the event.
“We’ll use the mascot at various promotions and festivals we want to do throughout the year with these characters,” said Rea.
Rea is planning to use the Capital District as a “test market” for 15 months to two years before branching out.
“We want to get really well known in the Capital District and grow it out of this region to other parts of the country,” said Rea. “Our ultimate goal is to have an animated cartoon series.”
Once the Wishaphant clan makes a name for itself, Rea is planning to create themed products that will be the for-profit side of the business venture.
Rea is looking for underwriters and is encouraging anybody who might be interested to contact him at [email protected]. Wishaphants.com is under construction but will eventually provide information about the characters and books.
