Good news! Fresh titles celebrating the Filipino culture are up for grabs at Wellington City Libraries. These new children’s books in Filipino – including bilingual (Filipino-English), and multilingual (Filipino-English-Mandarin) stories too – will surely become your new family favourites. From stories written by National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario and other award-winning writers like Jomike Tejido, Patricia Celina Ngo, Liana Romulo, Corazon Dandan Albano, this will be an enjoyable reading and learning experience not only for the kids but also the whole family, as well as other Filipino language readers.
Here are some titles you can check out.
Gustong Mag-aral / Almario, Sula ni Virgilio
This book tells the story of Sula, a young T’boli, and how in her young age she has stirred up the desire to learn to read and write.
Mga hayop na bibilangin / Wildsmith, Brian
A cute and engaging board book with colourful animals across the pages. Enjoy learning how to count and how to recite the names of animals in Filipino.
“1 monkey, 2 deer, 3 rats, 4 butterflies, 5 birds…..”
Nasaan po sila? : sa mga pista / Tejido, Jomike
Enjoy this new Search and Find book series where readers can search and look for objects hidden in fun and colourful landscapes. Find them hidden in different tourist spots, festivals, places in the Philippines and in Asia. Nasaan Po Sila series is a great new read for bilingual learners of English and Filipino.
Sari-Sari Mga Salitang Paulit-Ulit (A Book of Double Words) / Yambao, Auri Asuncion
“Bahay-bahayan… sabay-sabay… paruparo… waling-waling… liko-liko… yakap-yakap…”
A delightful and attractive book filled with repetitive words. In Filipino, we repeat words or part of a word to mimic sound, emphasise, intensify, gather and combine ideas, and celebrate plurality.
Sayaw ng mga Kamay / Que, Joanna
Discover this uplifting story of friends who overcame barriers using Filipino Sign Language. Sam and Mai learned to communicate with each other through the “dance of the hands,” describing in sign language what they can see and hear around them. The result is a beautiful friendship where the mode of communication is not a hindrance in understanding each other.
That’s it, Pancit! / Ngo, Patricia Celina
“Having two of many things is fun but sometimes confusing.”
“How do I choose one culture over the other?”
“Since there’s only one of me, how do I know who I am?”
Ako ba ay maliit? = Am I small? / Winterberg, Philipp
This picture book has been translated into over 200 languages and dialects since its publication. “Am I small?” Follow Tamia as she asks various animals that she meets on her journey and be surprised with the different responses she received. Be enchanted with every page filled with beautiful and imaginative pictures.
Tara, Itok! / Dandan-Albano, Corazon
Itok is always alone and is left alone because he only has half of his tail. From the colourful pictures of illustrator Ara Vilena, let’s explore Itok’s story and how his disability didn’t become a barrier in finding a friend.
“C is for champorado, chocolate-and-rice porridge, believe it or not. I have it for breakfast. It’s best when it’s hot.” Meet a delightful Filipino family who will introduce you to the sounds of Filipino words along with child-friendly notes on linguistics and culture. Learn from each page where everyday words important to the Filipino culture are presented in an easy and playful ABC approach.
Visit the Wellington City Libraries website and type the words “Filipino Language Readers” or “Tagalog Language Readers” to reserve a copy of your chosen book. You can get them delivered to your nearest library branch. What are you waiting for? Let’s read in Filipino!