Book Review: Maria Orosa

Maria Orosa was a freedom fighter, scientist and inventor from the Philippines, as the subtitle of a children’s biography about her by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco describes her.

Born in 1893, Orosa was the fourth of eight children, and her father helped in the resistance to American occupation of their country after Spain’s rule there came to an end not long after she was born. She loved science and studied pharmacy at the University of the Philippines, then traveled to America where she studied chemistry.

Upon returning to her home country, she worked as a teacher and a scientist, and eventually led the country’s food preservation office, using techniques she learned in the United States to teach people to preserve their native foods like mangoes, pineapples and jackfruits. She also invented cassava flour and banana ketchup.

She and her “girls” developed hundreds of recipes using native fruits and plants, and she also invented a clay oven that allowed people to cook without electricity.

Like her father, she also helped freedom fighters. When the Japanese invaded the Phillippines in 1941, she sneaked food into prisoner of war camps inside hollow bamboo poles. She refused to flee Manila and was killed when an American bomb hit her lab.

The book tells her story in biographical form and includes memories from some of her relatives who knew her. The book also includes a recipe for freedom cookies, which were also shared with prisoners during the war and are credited with saving many lives. Read the book and make the cookies and talk about different ways that people can make a difference no matter what their skills are.

Maria Orosa is a lovely and inspiring book about using your talents and standing up for what is right.

About the book: 32 pages, hardcover. Published 2024 by Tuttle Publishing. Suggested retail price $16.99.

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Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

I’m in deep denial about the fact that new year is almost upon us again! It’s been the fastest and the longest year at the same time, and I can look back and see some good things as well as some things I wish had gone differently.

Doing a year in review with your kids — whether in the classroom or at home — is a good way to capture some of their memories and the things they really liked about the year gone by.

There are a lot of different printable year in review worksheets you can use if you want to make this super easy. Here are links to a few (often part of larger posts about NYE celebrations with kids that are worth a read, too):

Teach Beside Me has lots of fun printables fro the end of the year, including a year in review that covers favorite memory, funniest memory and the best book they read, among other topics.
NurtureStore‘s version has space for a self-portrait and prompts like favorite toy, best day out this year and future dream job.
Remember favorites, their “best idea” of the year and have room for setting goals for next year with this one from The Keele Deal.
The year in review from Yes We Made This has room for drawing or writing and includes things like something they learned, a memory they made and a place they visited.

Of course you could pretty easily make your own year in review for the whole family to do that asks questions based on what you most want to remember. (Favorite video game? Best friend? Favorite family memory?)

And if after the year in review you’re ready to look ahead a bit, Mrs. Merry has new year’s resolution printables to inspired kids to look ahead and set goals for things they want to try. You can totally fill this one out as a grownup, too.

[Photo: Mrs. Merry]

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