Filipino Children’s Books
Philippine Independence Day is June 12th and June is Filipino Heritage Month in Canada. Accessibility to Filipino children’s books have come a long way and I am here for it! Sharing with you books that bring out the goodness of the Filipino culture and sharing our reviews.
Updated June 2023 with additional books and reviews from Sunshine, Maxwell and Brandon to follow! We will continue to update as we discover new books along the way.
Sunshine’s review – My fav Filipino children’s book – Pan de Sal Saves the Day. It’s about a young Filipina girl named Pan De Sal who is shy and compares herself to her classmates. FYI – Pandesal is a common bread roll in the Philippines. Pan De Sal goes on a school field trip, gets to know her classmates, builds her self confidence and then saves the day. The book is written in both English and Tagalog and I love how the story weaves in some Filipino Culture. They also have an activity book.
Brandon’s review – I like that the book has the music notes so I can play Dahil Sa ‘Yo on the piano.
Sunshine’s review – so I just gave you the review for Pan de Sal Saves the day and I need to give a separate review for the activity book, which brings the story to life with colouring pages, crossword puzzles, recipes and sheet music to keep your kids busy. The kids can complete activities on their own or for kids 3 and under, a parent or guardian can be involved. Pan de Sal Saves the Day Activity Book would be a great gift to pair with the children’s book.
Brandon’s review – the activities are easy for me. I want to try and make the pasta dish recipe.
Sunshine’s review – Little, People Big Dreams – Corazon Acquino coming through with a book on the First Female President of the Philippines and Asia. I didn’t follow the political news in the Philippines growing up and would overhear my parents talking about it. She was married to Ninoy Aquino who was a politician but was assassinated by the Marcos regime. Corazon never held any previous political positions and her presidency put an ending to authoritarian rule.
A great book to read during International Women’s Month, Asian Heritage Month and Filipino National Heritage Month.
Maxwell’s review – he found out that the Philippines has thousands of islands. I googled it and there are 7641 islands. That’s a lot.
Sunshine’s review – Filipino Friends is Filipino 101 for kids, make that kids for all ages! I visited the Philippines at least 8 times and experienced the culture first hand hanging out with family and seeing where my parents grew up. The boys and hubby haven’t been and I have to visit soon. This book gives kids the glimpse into the customs, the language and the cuisine of what Philippines has to offer. It is an interactive book that has a game for kids to play, a recipe that you can try and music notes for a classic Filipino song, Bahay Kubo.
Brandon’s review – after reading this, I wanted to make halo-halo dessert (translation: mix-mix). Shaved ice, sweetened beans, fruits like mango and plaintain, evaporated milk, gelatin (like boba) and topped with ice cream (typically ube which is taro). I’m still waiting for my mom to make this.
Sunshine’s review – after reading Filipino Celebrations, it had me appreciate the vibrant colours of the Filipino festivals, the music that brought people to sing and dance together and the laughter that filled the homes when relatives gathered. This book taught us about the different regions in the Philippines and how they celebrate. An interactive book that has kids making Ati-atihan masks and a recipe for Philippine candy Pastillas de leche.
Brandon’s review – My mom experienced Christmas in the Philippines and it’s a big deal. She told me that they start decorating and getting ready for Christmas in September.
Sunshine’s review – When Lola Visits is a story about a little girl who lives in California, who knows when it’s summer, because her Lola (grandmother in Tagalog) comes to visit her from the Philippines. Her visit always means spending quality time together like hanging at the pool, cooking, baking, enjoying nature, BBQs and of course lots of family gatherings and meals at the table. The illustrations are just beautiful and my favourite is the family gathered around the table eating Kamayan style (“hands” in tagalog) – a communal feast where the food is laid out on a bed of banana leaves instead of plates and you eat with your fingers instead of utensils.
Maxwell’s review – I love halo-halo but this book has a yummy calamansi pie. I would like to try that one day.
Sunshine’s review – my brother and sister-in-law bought this book in the Philippines along with other books. This was back in 2016 and no word of a lie I went on the hunt for Filipino books and there was nothing in Canada. The closest that I could get my hands on was when we would visit my sister-in-law in Florida and I would order online. Filipino books were inaccessible. It’s 2022 and we’ve come a long way!
So, let’s talk the Rice Book for Kids! It’s a book on just that. It’s an educational book take gives the reader insight to how rice is grown, the different types of rice, what factors help rice grow and it ends with some Filipino rice recipes that you can make. My favourite type of rice growing up was Champorado which is a chocolate sticky rice pudding.
Brandon’s review – I needed help reading this book from my mom. I knew all the words, but I couldn’t understand it on my own and my mom had to explain some parts.
Sunshine’s review – Marbel’s Year (review coming soon)
Sunshine’s review – All About the Philippines (coming soon)
Sunshine’s Review – Maria Orosa Freedom Fighter, Scientist and Inventory from the Philippines (coming soon)
Sunshine’s Review – Marikit and the Ocean of Stars (coming soon)
Sunshine’s review – Gabriela Silang (coming soon)
Sunshine’s review – Lapu Lapu (coming soon)
Whether you are adding to your book collection or looking to learn a new culture with your kids, I hope you found this post useful. I am a proud Filipina and I do my best to ensure that my boys who are multiracial (Filipino and Bajan) learn about both cultures.
Until the next read … Mabuhay (Best Wishes)!
Sunshine XO
