Mona Liza Santos is a Filipina American children’s author, publisher, educator, and founder of World Love Press. Her stories are created to help children understand themselves, believe in their worth, embrace what makes them unique, and carry kindness into the way they treat others.

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Her books cover a wide range of styles and subjects, from rhyming picture books and stories about confidence, family, emotions, and cultural identity to imaginative tales, coloring books, journals, and educational resources. Although the books may look very different from one another, they often return to the same ideas: courage, compassion, resilience, belonging, and staying true to who you are.

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Born in Chicago, Mona spent part of her childhood in the Philippines before returning to the United States and growing up in San Diego. Much of who she is today was shaped by her grandparents. Her Lola gave her a strong sense of love, family, and togetherness, while her Lolo, a World War II veteran, taught her discipline, responsibility, courage, and resilience.

Becoming an author was never part of Mona’s original plan. During the pandemic, while her son was home and everyday life had changed dramatically, she began making up simple stories to comfort and entertain him. One of those stories eventually became Mama, I Love You. What began as something personal between a mother and her child slowly grew into an unexpected creative path and, eventually, World Love Press.

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Today, Mona has written 42 books and counting. Her son, Michael Blade, has also experienced the creative process alongside her, and their shared ideas, conversations, travels, and memories have influenced many of the stories and projects she continues to create.

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Mona’s perspective has also been shaped by her love of travel. Having experienced more than seventy countries and destinations, she has encountered different cultures, traditions, languages, and ways of life. She has always valued experiences and memories more than material things, often saving for travel because seeing the world was one of her greatest passions.

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Those journeys strengthened something she already believed: people can come from completely different backgrounds and still share many of the same hopes, emotions, struggles, and need to belong. They also deepened her appreciation for her own Filipino identity and inspired her to create stories that encourage children to feel proud of where they come from while respecting people whose stories may be different from their own.

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Outside of writing and publishing, Mona enjoys a much simpler side of life. She values time with her son, close family and friends, days at the beach, parks, movies at home, travel, music, creative projects, and time with her pets, Destiny, Warrior, and Luna. Even with a busy life, she has learned that some of the best memories are often the ordinary ones.

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Above all, Mona wants her work to remind children that they matter. She hopes they grow up knowing that their feelings are valid, their identity has value, kindness is a strength, and they do not have to become someone else in order to belong.

Why Her Work Matters​

The heart of Mona’s work is built around needs that do not disappear with time. Every generation of children will experience fear, excitement, disappointment, jealousy, loneliness, confidence, uncertainty, love, and belonging. They may feel these emotions long before they know how to explain them.

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That is why emotional literacy matters.

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When children learn to recognize what they are feeling, find words for those feelings, and understand that emotions can be talked about rather than hidden, they begin building skills that can support them far beyond childhood. Those early lessons can influence the way they communicate, handle challenges, build relationships, understand themselves, and show empathy toward others.

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Mona believes children’s books can help make those conversations feel less intimidating. A story can give a child language for something they could not explain before. It can help a parent begin a conversation, remind a child that someone else has felt the same way, or offer reassurance at exactly the right moment.

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Her work also gives importance to cultural identity and belonging. As families move across countries, cultures blend, and children grow up with more than one influence shaping who they are, Mona believes it is important for young people to know their roots while learning to appreciate the roots of others.

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That is what gives her work the potential to continue beyond one generation. The titles may change and the world around children may look different, but the need to feel loved, understood, confident, accepted, connected, and proud of who they are will remain.

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Mona hopes the books she creates today will continue to be shared between parents and children, educators and students, and eventually one generation and the next.

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For her, the lasting value is not simply in leaving behind a collection of books. It is in leaving behind messages of kindness, emotional awareness, resilience, confidence, cultural pride, and compassion that children can carry with them as they grow.