HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A local father-daughter duo has written a new children’s book focusing on mental health.

It follows a sea turtle named MoCo living on Laniakea Beach.

Author’s Steve Sombrero and Candice Sombrero Ishikawa published “What Day Are You?” to uplift and empower keiki navigating personal struggles.

“I’ve gone through some very dark moments in my life, and believe it or not, I was rescued by a song that I heard and so I thought that if a song can help someone come out of it, a book certainly can help people too,” said co-author Steve Sombrero.

Co-author Candice Sombrero Ishikawa added: “I went through my fair share of depression struggles, especially throughout high school, and I know that there’s no shortage of adolescents today that are struggling from the same thing.”

“My background is in business and in psychology and so this is very much a passion project of mine and I’m very happy that I can work together with my dad and use some of my background to come together and create this project.”

The book was illustrated by a local student at Sacred Hearts, Journey Flores.

All of the proceeds will go to youth mental health charities, including the Moore Aloha Foundation, led by Olympic Gold Medalist Carissa Moore.

The book will be available starting on Tuesday.

Purchase the book here.

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