Papel de Liha (Sandpaper) by Ompong Remigio

This is one of my all-time favorites when it comes to children’s books written by Filipino authors. I bought a copy years ago but in recent years, Adarna House has come out with a Silver Edition which is hard-bound and I could not resist buying another copy.

The Silver Edition copy has both the English and Filipino versions of the story. Papel de Liha (which translates to Sandpaper) is about the 101 (or should it be 1001 or maybe even a million and one?) things that our mothers do for all of us. From the kitchen, to the living room, to the bedroom, and bathroom, mothers are always on the go and keeping themselves busy. I prefer the Filipino version of the story, largely because of the choice of words and the creative ways that the “sounds” of the words are put together.

If you are a mother or if you’d like to show your appreciation to your mother for all that she has done for you, please get a copy of this book and make it part of your library. It is a heartwarming story about how our mothers demonstrate their love for us by making our lives more comfortable. In every life, there will be difficult days, but a mother’s love will surely smoothen out all the rough times and spots.