Pepe the Butterfly Girl

On the small tropical Pacific island of Manono in Samoa lived a young girl named Pepe. She had a younger sister named Epi and an older brother named Ropeti. They lived in a thatched roof hut along the seashore with their Mama and Papa. Their home was surrounded by the most beautiful tropical flowers, which attracted lots of colorful butterflies, as well as the people of the village. Pepe was often seen singing and dancing in her mother's garden, looking for her favorite butterfly and she later came to be known as "Pepe the Butterfly Girl". Her Mama depended on Pepe a lot to help prepare food for the family, while her Papa spent most of his time farming and making ukuleles to sell. Other times Pepe would go to the farm to help her Papa. This was the typical island life, and a regular day for Pepe. One day, a cyclone passed over the island and destroyed many homes and farms. It left the villagers devastated, including young Pepe who lost her family during the storm. Although life after the cyclone was more difficult, the villagers did not give up hope and were grateful to Pepe for sharing the crops from her Papa's farm. Like her Mama and Papa before her, Pepe always welcomed and helped all of the people of Manono. This is the story of Pepe the Butterfly Girl's hard, but faithful life: the loss of her beloved family and their final reunion. The character and experiences of Pepe the Butterfly Girl are based on the life of the author's adoptive mother, Pepe Matalena Ah Kiong Chan-Cheuk, to whom this story is lovingly dedicated.

Sera Tasileta Chan-Cheuk Moss was born in Samoa in 1967 and migrated to New Zealand in 1979. She is the youngest of sixteen children, and the only legally adopted child of Pepe Matalena Ah Kiong Chan-Cheuk. Sera is married to a retired career US diplomat, Lloyd Moss, with two daughters, Eva and Sarrana. Eva is named after both her paternal and maternal grandmothers with Matalena as her middle name. Sarrana is adopted from Grenada, West Indies. Sera recently opened an art gallery in August 2013 called Elements Samoa. They currently live in Miami, Florida and plan to retire to Sera's homeland of Samoa.