Cora Cooks Pancit by Dorina Lazo Gilmore really made me feel seen! I don’t read children’s books often, so this was a pleasant surprise. The book’s plot is this: Cora loves being in the kitchen, but she always gets stuck doing the kid jobs like licking the spoon. One day, however, when her older sisters and brother head out, Cora finally gets the chance to be Mama's assistant chef.
I was surprised by how deep the Lolo’s (grandfather) story was in the book. The recipe Cora and her mother cook (which is in the back for you to cook as well) is pancit that her Lolo made for migrant farm workers in California. If anyone is familiar with the miserable history of Filipino workers in the US, this is immediately striking. While they toiled during the day, many at night assembled to protest and form a union, which often resulted in violence against the workers. It was likely that the Lolo in this book was feeding a spectrum of workers - people who simply wanted to survive to those who wanted to fight. Though never explicitly referenced, if a child remembers this story growing up, as an adult they might dig into their roots and the backdrop of this story. (If you have no clue what I’m talking about, look up the Watsonville riots.)
“This apron belonged to Lolo, your grandpa,” said Mama. “He wore it when he first came to California. He was a cook for the Filipino farmworkers who picked strawberries and grapes in the fields.”
I know growing up, I would never have had this book, never seen pages filled with people who looked like my family. Honestly, finding similar books to this one in children’s books is difficult. I may read Pan de Sal Saves the Day by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco next.
Filipino authors - please write more kids books I can read my baby nephew!