Philippine Children's Books

IJsselstein, Tuesday, 18 June 2002 (updated: Monday, 4 June 2007)

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When you're raising your children outside the Philippines it is often difficult to give them some feeling of the Filipino culture. Even in the Philippines, it is sometimes difficult to find nice Filipino children books among the large number of American children books available in most shops. Here we have selected a number nice Filipino children books. Unfortunately, most of these are not available outside the Philippines, and even in the Philippines you'll need some luck to find them.

Antukin, Philippine Folk Songs and Lullabyes, selected by Felicidad A. Prudente, and illustrated by Joanne de León is a nice collection of folk songs from around the Philippines. The collections is arranged by region, and includes a number of lesser known tribal songs, from the Kalingga, well known Tagalog songs, such as Bahay Kubo, songs from the Visayas and Mindanao. All songs are accompanied by a single staff, so you can easily play the melody on a piano, and is profusely illustrated - an excellent full page color plate on every is facing each page. A real gem to have. Published by Tahanan Books for Young Readers, P.O. Box 9079, MCS Mailing Center, 1299 Makati City, ISBN 971-630-095-6, distributed by Bookmark.
	The Carabao-Turtle Race, and Other Classic Philippine Animal Folk Tales as told by Sylvia Mendez Ventura and illustrated by Joanne de León, contains eight age-old animal tales, popular in the Philippines. All stories have been taken from Filipino Popular Tales, edited by Dean S. Fansler (The full text of this book is available on this site!), and have been extended and retold, such that they make excellent bed-time stories for children. The books are nicely illustrated with numerous black & white drawings. Published by Tahanan Books for Young Readers, Makati City, ISBN 971-630-024-7, distributed by Bookmark.
The Termite Queen, and Other Classic Philippine Earth Tales as told by Sylvia Mendez Ventura and illustrated by Joanne de León, contains eight old folk tales related to earth. Nicely illustrated in black & white. Published by Tahanan Books for Young Readers, Makati City, ISBN 971-630-084-0, distributed by Bookmark.
	Why the Piña has a Hundred Eyes, and Other Classic Philippine Folk Tales About Fruits as told by Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz and illustrated by Felix Mago Miguel is a nicely illustrated book with eight stories retold from various sources. Winner of the National Book Award for Children's Literature. Published by Tahanan Books for Young Readers, Makati City, ISBN 971-630-026-3, distributed by Bookmark.
The Warrior Dance, and Other Classic Philippine Sky Tales as told by Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz and illustrated by Mark Juitiniani is another collection of eight stories, retold from various sources. Again, nicely illustrated with black & white drawings. Published by Tahanan Books for Young Readers, Makati City, ISBN 971-630-069-7, distributed by Bookmark.
	Bahay Kubo illustrated by Hermés Alégré contains the well known Tagalog song, with each line on a page, with a very nice paintings in a naive art style to clarify the meaning. Published by Tahanan Books for Young Readers, Makati City, ISBN 971-630-008-5, distributed by Bookmark.

Continued...

Jeroen Hellingman

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