What Lolo Wants

In this picture book, author Cristina Oxtra and illustrator Jamie Bauza, both originally from the Philippines, describe the touching relationship between Maria and her grandfather (or Lolo). Maria and Lolo have a special relationship and a close bond, and Maria especially loves spending time with her grandfather drawing pictures. Maria is enchanted watching him recreate the familiar features of their life: Grandma (Lola) frying plantains, the star-shaped sampaguita, and the maya birds perching in the guava tree. This is not just a story about intergenerational love; it is also an introduction to Filipino food, culture, and family life, and the book includes a short Tagalog glossary in the front pages to explain unfamiliar words.

The joyous relationship between grandfather and granddaughter starts to change when Lolo suddenly falls ill. He spends many days in bed, and, when he is once again able to sit in his chair, he is not the same person. He forgets names; sometimes he forgets people entirely, even Maria. Maria is distressed and unhappy as she watches her Lolo increasingly retreat into silence. Struggling to think of a way to help him communicate, she has an idea: she brings him paper and pencils and asks him to draw what he wants for dinner. Lolo seizes the pencil, and, as it swooshes and swirls across the page, he draws a plate of pancit (carrots, celery, shrimp, and noodles). Maria has given Lolo the tools he needs to communicate, and she makes him a portable drawing desk so that he can draw “anywhere and anytime” when he can’t find the words to express what he wants.

What Lolo Wants is a heartwarming story that gently describes the changes that occur as family members age and the positive role the youngest family members can play in multigenerational families. The brightly coloured illustrations are an excellent complement to the story, sensitively capturing the connection between Maria and Lolo and also depicting the plants, birds, foods, and streetscapes of the Philippines. What Lolo Wants is an upbeat, heartwarming story that describes aging with empathy and compassion, making it clear that the love between Maria and her grandfather literally goes beyond words.