(From left) Sereana H. Dresbach, director, UOG Cooperative Extension and Outreach; Rynette D. Perez, assistant coordinator, UOG’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education; Cynthia S. Respicio, assistant program director, Guam Head Start Program; Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, managing editor, UOG Press; Lawrence Flores, Hafa Adai Printing; Divina Garcia C. Leones, school program consultant, Guam Department of Education GATE Project; Leon P.C. Bamba, program coordinator, GDOE GATE Project; Eloise R. Sanchez, school program consultant, GDOE Curriculum and Instruction; Monique C. Storie, dean, UOG University Libraries; Tanisha F. Aflague, coordinator/principal investigator, SNAP-Ed.

The books are part of an effort of UOG's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) to increase the effectiveness of healthy living curriculum in schools by providing culturally relevant material to facilitate family conversations around food-related traditions, experiences, role-modeling, and family relationships.

The SNAP-Ed team at UOG, in collaboration with UOG Cooperative Extension and Outreach, distributed the books to 352 students and 26 teachers in 17 Head Start, five Pre-K Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), and four Pre-K classrooms island-wide and hosted a workshop at a Family Engagement Conference. Chief Hurao Academy will also be using the books in their CHamoru immersion preschool classrooms as well as providing copies to families to use at home.

“Parents, children, teachers, and administrators were guided through each book to highlight healthy food talk opportunities and were introduced to online resources from UOG Press,” said Assistant Professor of Nutrition Tanisha Aflague, SNAP-Ed coordinator. “Select materials were printed and used as an activity for parents and children and others were provided to the teachers to incorporate into their class time.”

Published by Taiguini Books, an imprint of UOG Press that publishes cultural and indigenous literature about and for the people of Micronesia, the books that were donated include:

• “Si Pedro yan i Hilét Oru na Ko’ko’ (Pedro and the Golden Ko’ko’)” by Lance Osborn
• "Ma Guaiya Yu’, si Nåna yan si Tåta (Grandma and Grandpa Love Me)” by Simone and Dana Bollinger
• “Guaiyayon na Trongkon Mansanita (The Loveable Mansanita Tree)” by Dolores Camacho
• “I Malingu na Påtgon (The Lost Child)” by Rufina Mendiola

Free K–12 curriculum resources for select Taiguini Books titles can be downloaded here.