Hi! Thank you for visiting my blog. Today, I’m starting a new series where I’ll review the books that Francis and I read with and for our child. If you don’t know already, I’m a children’s librarian and also a mom of a girl. Welcome to the first episode of Sprout’s Shelf!

For this first-ever post, I’m reviewing our daughter’s current favorite book: May Alaga Akong Bakulaw written by Becky Bravo, illustrated by Ara Villena, and published by Adarna House. It’s also a PBBY-Salanga Prize winner. I’ve long wanted to buy this book because of recommendations from teacher-friends, but thankfully I found a copy at The Book Nook San Jose City.

Unlike many of the children’s storybooks we read, the story is told from the perspective of the mother. This made me question at first if this is really a children’s story, but we’ll go back to this later. The story is about the narrator’s daughter, who claims she is friends with a bakulaw (ape) in their garden. Every day for a week, the imaginative Lilit asks her mother for food to give to her new friend. She shares their conversations with her amused mother. Eventually, the little girl gets angry at the bakulaw, named Robert, because he’s always sad.

May Alaga Akong Bakulaw is a beautiful and touching story about adult depression. Here, the little girl’s innocence and friendship becomes instrumental for a depressed adult to decide to live again.

However, to be honest, as a mom of a girl, I am scared of this story because of the thought of a little girl befriending an adult male. I mean, the real world is a scary place for children – boys and girls alike. So, I’m wary of reading this to Sprout, fearing that she ends up trusting every adult she encounters because of how endearing Robert is in this book. I guess Lilit is lucky that the bakulaw doesn’t turn out to be a real monster… unlike what happens in true crime.

At the same time, I am sad and guilty that I feel this way about this beautifully written and illustrated book. After all, it teaches a lot about empathy and the power of friendship and kindness, especially for people undergoing depression. We need lots of books that teach kids how to be better human beings.

Going back to the voice that I mentioned before, I think the choice to have the narrator be an adult is to serve as a reminder for parents to be more present for their children, to be attentive to what they say, and to not easily dismiss their stories as make-believe or lies. In this story, Lilit is just being a child and does absolutely nothing wrong; the moral lesson here is for the mother rather than for the child. Like a Grimm brothers’ story, this book feels more like a cautionary tale for parents.

So, is May Alaga Akong Bakulaw a good book for kids? Yes, but with strict parental supervision and guidance.

Here are this children’s librarian-slash-mom’s tips on how to (probably) make this work:

1. Read the story together. I suggest that the child first read this with their parent – not their teacher, not their librarian, and especially not an adult celebrity reader.
2. Research about what is a bakulaw together, including the possible dangers and risks if you encounter a strange person in the neighborhood.
3. Tell your child to be like the little girl in the book, who doesn’t keep secrets from her mother. This can be a great springboard for a lesson on telling you everything, that “secret” is a code word for danger.

Have you read this children’s book? What do you think? Am I just being paranoid and pessimistic?