From Positively Filipino.com: “Look up #filtheshelves on social media and an array of books will flood the screen. A riff on “fill the shelves” and "Filipino authors,” it acknowledges that publishers in North America have finally taken notice of our stories. Readers can now relate to characters who look like them, while Filipino authors are fulfilling a dream. Likewise, it is a call to action for book lovers to fill the shelves of bookstores and libraries, so these stories are told and read.

This holiday season, why not give these books as gifts to Filipinos and non-Filipinos so we all may #filtheshelves?”

“The New York Public Library's Center for Educators and Schools is excited to share Vibrant Voices, an annual book list that celebrates stories by and about Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color. 

This list is designed to support educators and families with culturally responsive book recommendations that promote discussion, expand understanding, and celebrate diverse voices. Explore the full list for kids and teens online!

All of these books are in the Library’s catalog, and many are available in multiple formats, including e-books, audiobooks, and accessible editions.” 

From the RICBA website: “Each year children in grades 3 to 5 have the opportunity to vote on their favorite book from a ballot of 20 selections nominated for the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award by a panel of librarians, reading specialists and teachers. Children vote as part of their class or with their local public library. The award began in 1990 as a joint project of the Rhode Island State Council of the International Reading Association, the Rhode Island Library Association, and the Rhode Island Educational Media Association, under the coordination of the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services. Today, the Rhode Island Children's Book Award is co-sponsored by the School Librarians of Rhode Island (SLRI), the Rhode Island Library Association (RILA), and the Rhode Island Center for the Book (RICFB), and is advised by the Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS). Three public youth services librarians, three school librarians, and three teachers serve three year terms on the committee.”

From the SLJ website: “Toni Morrison wrote, “Efforts to censor, starve, regulate, and annihilate us are clear signs that something important has taken place. The thought that leads me to contemplate with dread the erasure of other voices, of unwritten novels, poems whispered or swallowed for fear of being overheard by the wrong people, outlawed languages flourishing underground, essayists’ questions challenging authority never being posed, unstaged plays, canceled films—that thought is a nightmare.”

You are the ones doing the important work—giving children access to the life-changing books that will inspire them to create the unwritten novels, unstaged plays, and essays that challenge authority and the powers that be.”

From the IE website:

By: Antonia Dorn for the International Examiner: “Holding On by Sophia N. Lee is a short read with illustrations full of character and emotion. The story is about lola, who has lived through Filipino love songs and believes that through song and dance you can “hold on” to who you are, your happiness, your memories. It is cute when you’re watching the grandchild dance with Lola and feeling her miss grandma. It’s painful when Lola isn’t remembering well and her grandchild is trying to help her get there by playing her favorite songs and singing. As a reader, you yearn for Lola’s memory back and with heartache, miss younger days where someone so pure and loving was full of joy and happiness.”

By Alison Doherty

It’s been amazing to read the 2023 picture books over the last year. It’s hard to find the words to describe them. They are diverse, informative, hilarious, emotional, relatable, beautiful, and so much more (sometimes all within the same book!). We are so lucky to live in a time when new picture books are invested in and published every week.

Years ago, when I entered an MFA program focused on children’s literature, I had an epiphany. As much as I loved classic children’s books (and I really, really do), if I didn’t seek out and support new picture books, the art would dwindle and die out. And most of the so-called classics were published before I was born. Many were published before my parents were born. Also, these books come from a time when publishing was even more white and male-centric than it is today. Contemporary picture books still have a ways to go before they are truly representative of all children. But they are more diverse now than they’ve ever been in the history of publishing.

Story time with Sophia Lee: Author Sophia Lee will share her new picture book “Lolo’s Sari-sari Store.” It’s about a Filipino girl moving to a new country and learning how to connect with new people and community. 10 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Free. North University Community Library, 8820 Judicial Drive, San Diego. sandiego.librarymarket.com/event/special-author-storytime-lolos-sari-sari-store-sophia-lee

Oof, parents, this one might require some tissues. It is a sweet story about a grandmother and grandchild. They hold on to each other through songs and memories, both while they are apart and when the grandmother is quiet and can’t remember as much as she used to. This is a wonderful conversation opener about aging and the challenges it can bring.