Q&A with Sophia N. Lee

 

Photo by Faith Santiago-Paz

 

 

Sophia N. Lee is the author of the children's picture book Lolo's Sari-Sari Store. Her other books include Holding On.  

 

Q: What inspired you to write Lolo’s Sari-Sari Store?

 

A: I grew up in a home with a lot of extended family – it’s very common for Filipino households to be multi-generational, and so there were always lots of cousins, aunties, and uncles around me. 

 

We had a family sari-sari store growing up. It was a few minutes’ walk away from our house, and many of the grownups in our family took turns minding the store. Sometimes my lolo or lola (“Lolo” and “Lola” are the Filipino terms for grandfather and grandmother, respectively) would be watching the store, sometimes it would be an older cousin, or a tito or tita (Filipino terms for uncle and auntie) would be there.

 

In the summers and also on some days after school, my cousins and I would assist in minding the store. My eldest grandaunt Aurora also ran a sari-sari store of her own in our province, and in the summers I spent there, I helped her run the store too.

 

Through those stores, I got to observe how the grownups in my family built community in different ways. My titas were always very thoughtful and intentional about the items we kept in stock.

 

Over time we learned the very specific needs of our neighbors – from the items that were most often purchased, including to the brands they preferred. We made sure to stock things in a range of prices to ensure that essentials were always accessible for everyone in the neighborhood who needed them.

 

It was also through my summers in those stores that I learned why certain products were sold or packaged in a certain way.

 

For example, it is very common for things in sari-sari stores to be sold “tingi,” which is a Filipino term meaning by piece. Unlike what’s often sold in bigger stores and supermarkets, sari-sari store owners often buy packaged goods and sell them piecemeal, because that better accommodates our customers’ budgets.

 

In the Philippines, and in many other countries in Southeast Asia, for example, it’s very common for items to be sold by sachets instead of by bottle. These would be smaller packets of things from shampoo and conditioner, to lotion, to even flavoring agents that you’d often find sold in bigger bottles and jars elsewhere.

 

We would sell cooking essentials like oil, vinegar, and soy sauce in small plastic bags. I learned to understand that it was because folks often found those more economical and accessible, especially when one was working to stretch an already tight budget.

 

In my great aunt Aurora’s (whom I fondly called “Wawa,” because I couldn’t pronounce Aurora properly when I was small) store, she often sold things like butter and cheese by the “guhit” (Filipino colloquial term meaning a thin slice) in order to accommodate peoples’ need for small pleasures like that with their morning pandesal. 

 

We tried our best to make sure peoples’ needs were met – when people couldn’t pay up front, they would say “pa-lista” – it was the Filipino version of keeping a tab open. We didn’t like seeing people go hungry. We always trusted that they would pay whenever they were able, and most of the time they did.

 

We served everyone in the community – people from different walks of life, from professional folks rushing to work, to the workers that built their homes, all the way to the folks who tended to their homes, and the children in their keep.

 

Our store was a place where people could come and hang out too – people would sit on the stoop and tell stories out front while having snacks, others would stop there on their way home from work to buy pasalubong (small gifts/treats that people gave after returning from a trip, or even after time spent away from home).

 

It was a fun way to grow up and to see the community growing around you. I always knew that I wanted to honor those memories, and I hope I’ve done them justice by this story. 

 

Q: What do you think Christine Almeda’s illustrations add to the story?

 

A: Christine’s illustrations really brought the book to life. There’s a lovely warmth and tenderness in all of the art she creates.

 

I love the care she put into this story – she wanted to make sure that the characters looked distinctly Filipino, and she had gone over different iterations of faces, features, and expressions before settling on the characters you see in the book.

 

You see all that careful attention and sincerity in every aspect that went into her illustrations, from the colors she used, to the soft dreaminess that’s evident in the way she captured each of the scenes. I think she was able to capture that vibrant sort of hopefulness and joy that’s prevalent in Filipino culture. 

 

I also really love the decisions that Christine made in interpreting the text – in one of the spreads where the young female protagonist makes a friend, I didn’t leave any art notes about who the friend should be, and what that friend should / could look like.

 

She decided to make this new friend Muslim. I loved that she was depicted as another brown-skinned girl wearing a hijab, because that added another layer of visibility and inclusion to the story. 

 

This took on an extra layer of meaning for me personally, after reading the story to a very diverse group of second graders. As I was going from spread to spread, I noticed a young hijabi who was dressed almost exactly like the new girl in the book.

 

Her eyes grew wide at seeing that new character, and I realized it might be one of the first instances that she was seeing a character much like herself in a book. Her friend, who was sitting next to her said “Look, you’re the friend!” and the two of them burst into giggles.

 

I could hear her classmates noticing the same and cheering her on, and it was just so wonderful to see the story being a mirror for other kids who don’t often see themselves as heroes in books. I think that’s just one of the many magical things about Christine’s art in this book. I’m such a fan!

 

Q: The School Library Journal review of the book called it a “lovely story fusing past and present, family lost and found, in memory and sensory experiences.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I’m always so grateful whenever any reader — reviewer or otherwise, is able to resonate with the story. Celebrating that idea of finding and building a family and a community regardless of where you find yourself was definitely part of my intentions when I sought to write this book. I am glad to see that this book has made readers feel that in some way.

 

I do hope that, seeing this, readers will be excited to find their own unique ways of building home and community. Reading the SLJ’s lovely words inspires me to write even more. 

 

Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?

 

A: I hope that anyone who reads this book can be inspired to always be kind, and to always be on the lookout for ways that they can build their own community through kindness, wherever they may be. 

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I’m working on a young adult rom-com novel that I’ve lovingly referred to as my “Food and Feelings” book. It’s set in Pampanga, which is considered as one of the culinary capitals of the Philippines, and it features some Filipino heritage dishes that originated from Kapampangan culture. 

 

Though I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines, both sides of my family are Kapampangan, which is a term that refers to Filipinos who speak the Kapampangan language and that live at or around the province of Pampanga, Philippines. The word “Pampanga” itself was derived from the Filipino word “pampang,” which means riverbank.

 

The story feels like a love letter to all the food from back home that I miss, but it’s also an exploration of what it means to be so far away from home, and to be building home away from what has been familiar. 

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I have a new book that’s already in the works – it hasn’t been officially announced yet, so I’m afraid I can’t let you know more at the moment, but I’m excited to let you know more when I’m able to.

 

A small clue for those who are curious: it features one of the most celebrated Filipino holidays, and the joy and yearning that comes with waiting for the arrival of something special. 

 

For now, please be on the lookout for news from me! I’d love to connect with you on social media @sophianleewrites on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky, and through my website www.sophialeewrites.com.

 

I so appreciate this opportunity to share my work with your readers, Deborah. Thank you so much for all you do for readers and writers alike! 

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb