California-based author and filmmaker Tess Cacciatore says she wrote the 2025 children’s book “Yumi: Keepers of the Garden of Peace” to share a message about the importance of peace, friendship, and culture.
The project is one example of Cacciatore’s works that are inspired by her background in peace activism and a desire to raise awareness on issues important to her, such as homelessness, domestic violence, and human trafficking.
On EpochTV’s “Bay Area Innovators” program, Cacciatore spoke about the Yumi universe and the motivations behind it and her other projects.
The Yumi books were inspired by a story from Cacciatore’s friend who was hospitalized while being treated for lymphoma. In August 2024, during his hospitalization, a woman named Yumi visited while wearing a Japanese kimono and served him a formal Japanese tea ceremony for friendship. The visit was powerful for Cacciatore’s friend, and he spoke to the author about how important the friendship tea ceremony was for him during his treatment.
This visit inspired Cacciatore to write the children’s book about Yumi and the importance of friendship, compassion, and peace.
In the book, Cacciatore said, Yumi and her animal friends travel the world to “talk about their culture [and] talk about the teas that are important to them.” They begin in Japan and travel to South Africa, India, China, and Australia to explore the different cultures of Yumi and each of the animals, which include a panda, giraffe, elephant, and koala. Cacciatore mentioned that future volumes of Yumi will explore North and South America and Europe.
As Yumi and the animals are all close friends, Cacciatore said “they get to explore the cultures so that children in the world can learn that we are friends with our cultures.”
She said it’s very important for children and others to know there can be peace in the world.
The characters also plant “peace poles,” which honor Japanese guru Masahisa Goi, who died in 1980, and his organization, May Peace Prevail on Earth, which has planted over 200,000 peace poles around the world. That part of the story further highlights Cacciatore’s passion for peace and friendship through her partnership with the Goi Peace Foundation.
Cacciatore explained why this message was important to her, describing it as an opportunity “to teach our children to get along with each other, to teach how to be peaceful within.”
“A lot of the kids are having anxiety ... because they’re hearing and feeling what’s going on in the world. Whether they’re watching the news or not, there’s a lot of families that are affected by what’s going on with the wars and the horrible things that are happening in the world,” she said. “We need to step up in the world of peace and conversation and community building.”
Education about this topic is critical, Cacciatore said. She described plans to expand the Yumi universe into an immersive dome experience where schools and families can experience the Yumi story. She has also co-written a Yumi song called “Chasin’ the Sun” that won Best Children’s Song in the Hollywood Independent Music Awards.
She said her collaboration with an educator is helping her incorporate subjects such as math, history, and environmental education into the Yumi universe.
In addition, Cacciatore spoke out about human trafficking.
“No area should ... be left untouched with regard to bringing awareness [to human trafficking], because it’s everywhere,” she said. “It’s so prevalent and so in our face, but it’s the most hidden multi-billion-dollar industry.”
She said that large organizations and many activists are needed to fight the trafficking industry. Her award-winning short film, “The Rescue,” showcases how the hotel industry has been combating human trafficking.
“Everything that I work on, whether it’s a children’s book or a short film, it has to have something that has meaning, educates, or inspires people to get involved,” she said.
