Gr 4–6—Kaia's summer revolves around completing a bucket list with her Tatang (great-grandfather) and creating a
short film honoring her Filipina heritage with her best friends. So many things in Kaia's life are changing, yet her
family always pulls together and supports her as she discovers herself. Respicio's infectiously happy and wise
characters are a burst of sunshine in this upbeat story about family, mindfulness, chasing your dreams, and growing
up.

You know going into this book that it's going to be high emotion, but I really appreciate that one of the gifts that Tatang gives Kaia is the gift of coping strategies. "Where are your feet, Kaia?"; the noticing game; the sunset walks; meditation practice and endless patience. All of these are grounding techniques that allow you to ride the wave of emotion and come out safe on the other side and those are so important right now, when we are all dealing with change and loss. Great embedded messages here, in addition to the gift of being part of Kaia's close-knit family for a while. Her Pilipino heritage is strong and her family is full of stories and choices about how they navigate the world. It's a great book about the beauty of every day, and about waking up to what you have before change. ( )

This book is about a young girl who is trying to win a contest in motive to convince her grand father to stay with her and not move back to the Philippines. This is a great, tender story for a heart warming ending. If you like happy endings this is a book for you! ( )

The most Filipino children's book I've read. Kaia's beloved great-grandfather Tatang plans to return to the Philippines after many years of living in America and being close to Kaia's family. Kaia, who often feels overshadowed by her high-achieving college-age sister Lainey, is determined that her team win a youth film contest with the hopes that a win will keep Tatang from leaving. She and her friends create a film featuring creatures from Filipino mythology such as bakunawa, siyokoy, sirena and tiyanak. In the process of making the film and counting down to Tatang's last day, Kaia learns that home and family, past and present are kept in one's heart. ( )