About

lola leona's filipino coloring book for kids with english translations

Most Filipino learning books simply teach kids Tagalog words. This one teaches them Tagalog through creativity and play.

That's what makes us different. While other resources approach teaching Tagalog as if you’re fluent in the language already, Lola Leona's ABAKADA coloring book meets you and your kids where you’re at, regardless if Tagalog is your first, second, or third language. We love treating language as playful discovery—the way children learn best.

We created this coloring book to help kids growing up between cultures feel rooted in who they are.

When I was little, my parents strictly spoke to me in Tagalog at home. One day I came home from school embarrassed about my accent. I have a vivid memory asking my mom to stop speaking to me in Tagalog and start speaking to me in English instead. All these years later, that is still painful to think about. What started as a bonding activity between me and my mom, turned into fulfilling a calling deep inside of me. We created this coloring book to help kids growing up between cultures feel rooted in who they are.

As an adult now, watching my nieces and nephews laugh with their grandparents over silly Tagalog words, I realized what I'd been missing. They weren't translating "bahay" to "house" in their heads, they were making connections between words and their meanings, thinking of different places like lola’s house. Language isn't something to simply memorize; it's something to live in.

While creating this book with my mom, something beautiful happened.

I wasn't just relearning words, I was rediscovering how our culture sees the world. "Bahay" isn't just "house." It carries the spirit of Filipino hospitality that English can't capture. "Kumain ka na?" isn't just "Have you eaten?" It's how we say, I care about you.

During our journey, we realized something was missing from current Filipino learning resources: a coloring book that taught the original Tagalog alphabet (the ABAKADA) using everyday words, with phonetic pronunciation and English translations, all paired with illustrations kids could actually color and keep.

This isn't just a coloring book. This is how kids stay connected to their roots without feeling like outsiders in their own culture.

Lola Leona ABAKADA coloring book for toddlers and kids

We named this coloring book after my great-grandma, Lola Leona.

When my mom and I were trying to name this book, she immediately thought of her.

Unknowingly, we'd both been thinking about our grandmothers while creating it together. 🥹 That's what this book really is: a way for your family's memories to stay in alive in your child's hands.

This is our heartfelt gift to families like ours. It's the kind of coloring book I wish my cousins and I had as kids—something that makes learning about our culture feel like play, not pressure.

Order Lola Leona's ABAKADA Coloring Book Today!

106 hand-drawn illustrations

Each picture is drawn by Reina Leilani, giving personality to every day objects, people, places, animals, fruits, vegetables, and numbers.

Phonetic pronunciations

Paired with its picture, learn how to pronounce all the different Tagalog words!

English translations

Every Tagalog word comes with its English translation, so kids connect new sounds to familiar meanings without confusion.

Single-sided pages

Designed single-sided so every coloring page turns into a keepsake your child can display in your home or share with their lola!