We’re so excited to partner with the amazing @belcantobooks for a pre-order campaign and West Coast book launch of our picturebook Holding On, a Filipino kidlit story about a girl and her Lola and the many ways they hold on to what they love.

I’m so excited to share that I have another story book dream coming true! Lolo’s Sari-sari Store, written by me and illustrated by Filipino-American artist Christine Almeda, is a tribute to all the warm afternoons spent manning our old sari-sari store with my cousins. This place was where we learned about work, kindness, and life.

Holding On is about a young girl who spends song-filled summers with her music-loving grandmother in the Philippines, but when her beloved Lola starts slipping into silence and stillness, the girl helps her grandmother hold on with music and the joyful memories the songs bring.

Sharing this recording of a panel I did with the extremely talented author and illustrator Isabel Roxas and awesome Professor of Literature Danilo Baylen. We talked about our creative journeys, the ups and downs of creating work from inside and outside the Philippines, and some of the things we've learned along the way.

Heads up! I’ll be doing online story time and reading my latest picture book Soaring Saturdays on the Bergenfield Library Facebook Page this Saturday, December 12, 2020, at 10 AM EST.

What has given you joy during these difficult times?

We are all here because we have one thing in common: we love books.