From Missing Slippers to Midnight Rooftops: How Slipper Ninja Came to Life
Some books begin with a big idea.
Slipper Ninja began with… a very small problem.
One day I kept thinking about kids who lose thing, jackets, water bottles, lunch boxes… and yes, slippers. I started laughing at the idea that losing something so ordinary could trigger something extraordinary. What if the kid who kept losing his slippers secretly needed to lose them? What if they were magical?
That’s when Slipper Ninja was born.
But this book isn’t just “my” book and that’s one of the things I’m most proud of.
This story truly became a team effort.
Yuki Higashino helped shape the heart of the narrative. She brought warmth, humor, and a distinctly Japanese sensibility to Ren’s journey, the kind of emotional texture that makes a story feel gentle instead of chaotic. Her instinct for pacing, kindness, and character made Slipper Ninja feel less like a joke and more like a lovable hero.
Meanwhile, I brought the world to life through illustration.
I leaned into a kawaii manga style because I wanted the book to feel playful, cozy, and cinematic all at once big eyes, clean lines, glowing city lights, and just enough comic-book energy to make kids lean forward instead of back.
Every spread was treated like a mini comic panel:
- quiet classroom moments,
- nighttime rooftops,
- flying slippers,
- and of course, our mischievous Dust Bunny who starts as trouble… and ends as a friend.
What I love most about Slipper Ninja is that it’s really about transformation not just the Dust Bunny’s, but Ren’s. He begins as a shy, worried kid and ends the story with confidence, courage, and a little bit of magic in his pocket.
And honestly? That mirrors the creative process.
At first this idea felt silly. Maybe even too silly. But with collaboration, trust, and a lot of imagination, it grew into something meaningful something funny, heartfelt, and distinctly Page & Pause.
This is only the beginning for Slipper Ninja.
More adventures are already spinning in my head… and probably on a few rooftops somewhere in Neon Tokyo.
Steven Taylor
Page & Pause Studios
