The Story Behind 'Who Is The Better Leaf?'

My mum has always been very passionate about teaching and learning. She is lifelong learning personified!

In December 2022 when Mum visited us in Australia to spend Christmas with my family, to keep her busy, I suggested that we create an educational Facebook page for her.  Together we launched her ‘Love to Learn with Teacher Lola’ (‘lola’ means grandmother in the Filipino language) Facebook page and we helped her record and upload short videos of science lessons she prepared.

My mum excitedly recorded the lessons for her 'Love to Learn with Teacher Lola' Facebook page! Being a science teacher, all the lessons she prepared were about leaves, plants, and nature. The first lesson we recorded with her was about wide leaves and narrow leaves  - this is where I got the idea for ‘Who is The Better Leaf?’.

Another inspiration for the book is our property located in the beautiful High Country Hamlets in South East Queensland. ‘Who Is The Better Leaf’ is set in the gardens of Cabar Land, which is named after Cabarlah, it’s the town where I live, and it’s part of the High Country Hamlets. 

Living in the High Country Hamlets, we are blessed to be surrounded by nature –  we wake up everyday to the chirping of different species of birds that fly around our property all day long. The blue skies, the flowers and trees which change colours and leaves, and bear fruits depending on the season, are all a sight to behold!

So, that's the inspiration behind my very first children's storybook - a science lesson prepared by my mum and the beauty of Australia's High Country Hamlets!

Writing my first children’s storybook with my mum is an experience I will forever treasure and be grateful for. I hope you will enjoy reading ‘Who Is The Better Leaf?’ to your children, grandchildren or students as much as we enjoyed writing it!