Sari-Sari Summers

February 15, 2023
A young girl of Filipina descent and her grandmother make quite the entrepreneurial team. Nora spends her summers with her Lola, who owns a sari-sari store, a convenience store ubiquitous in the Philippines. This year, Nora is proud that she's old enough to help out at the shop, located on a lively city street. She dusts, refills, and sorts, but her favorite thing to do is measure out rice, beans, and other orders for customers. Shelves of condiments and treats are brought to life in a warm palette. The gentle, spare narrative reveals a sudden dearth of customers when a heat wave hits the area. The softly textured illustrations show Nora and her Lola quietly trading worried looks. Lola says, "Let's get some fresh air, my apo." While the two rest under the shade of their mango tree, heavy with fruit, Nora has the idea to make and sell ice candy. Readers see delectable scenes of the duo mixing pieces of mango and condensed milk, then freezing it in long tubes. The homemade ice candy proves to be popular with locals, who flock back to the store for more. This sweet summer tale has Tagalog words interspersed throughout the dialogue, mostly terms of endearment that reflect the cozy relationships with family and the community. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Like a sari-sari store, brimming with joy and heart. (recipe for ice candy) (Picture book. 5-8)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2023
Grades K-2 Nora loves that she gets to spend summers with her lola. Lola owns a sari-sari store in a bustling part of town, and for the first time, Nora is old enough to help her grandmother sell her wares. The sari-sari store is an exciting place, full of essential household products such as detergent and rice, as well as delightful novelties and toys. Readers get to share Nora's eagerness as they are treated to a two-page spread depicting colorful, delectable items stacked neatly on the store shelves. When a heat wave causes customers to stay home, Nora and Lola come up with a clever plan to entice them back: they make mango ice candy! The plan works, and the enterprise expands to include ice candy of all flavors. This sweet story of intergenerational love will resonate with many readers. Meanwhile, an abundance of specific linguistic and cultural references integrated in both text and image will appeal to cultural insiders. Can be paired thematically with Quiet Time with My Seeya, by Dinalie Dabarera (2023).

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2023

PreS-Gr 3-This is a love letter to grandparents who live far away and the special bond that develops when grandchildren get to spend time with them. Nora is so excited to visit her grandmother in the Philippines. She loves working with her lola in her sari-sari store, which sells nearly everything imaginable. Nora likes to help with measuring for the customers, but when a heat wave strikes and no one comes to the store, the child worries that Lola will send her home early. The mango tree just outside the store provides a delicious answer to their problems. The illustrations, digitally created, capture the busy street where the store is located as well as the love shared between Nora and her lola. A recipe for ice candy is included at the end of the book. VERDICT Celebrating the special bond between a child and an older relative, along with the setting and language details of the Philippines, makes this a highly recommended title.-John Scott

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 3, 2023
Familial bonds burnish Bontigao’s affectionate solo debut in this empowering intergenerational tale featuring a child’s creative problem-solving. Nora, who cues as of Filipino descent, is staying with her grandmother, Lola, for the summer, and is finally old enough to help out at Lola’s sari-sari store, where “you can buy ANYTHING”—bulk dried goods, condiments, hair clips, “and all kinds of treats!” Energetic Nora cleans (toppling a display), restocks (trying out the bubble gum), and measures (doing her best not to spill)—until a heat wave halts business and prompts worries about potentially being sent back home. As Nora rests with Lola under a mango tree, the ripe fruit gives the child an idea that could bring back customers. Digital art mimics colored pencil and pastel textures, and standout images portray a bustling community, the shop’s myriad contents, and the feel of hot days in this story of how thoughtful entrepreneurship can serve and delight. Ages 3–7.