The National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) presented the first ever National Children’s Book Awards last July 24 at the Mandarin Oriental in Makati City, Philippines.

Of the 131 children’s books nominated, the board of judges chose 6 books as this year’s winners. Of these 6 books, 3 were published by Adarna House. The 1st National Children’s Book Awards are special for many reasons including, as Adarna House states on their blog,:

We are so happy with the NCBA, which gives the awards on an even playing field — without ranking and categories — along with written citations that highlight each book’s strength and charm.

To learn more about the 1st National Children’s Book Awards and the 27th National Children’s Book Day celebrations check out Zarah Gagatiga’s blog School Librarian in Action as well as Tarie Sabido’s blog Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind. Tarie was one of the judges for the awards and if you click here she shares the judges’ comments on the 6 winning books.

Thanks to Zarah Gagatiga, Chair of the Philippines Board on Books for Young People (PBBY), for sending me details on this year’s  27th National Children’s Book Day (NCBD) in the Philippines to be held on 20th July.

This year’s theme is “A Book Reader is a Winner” and PBBY will be commencing their celebrations at the Museo Pambata in Manila for the handing out of their annual awards. This year’s Salanga (Writers’ Prize) goes to Raymond G. Falgui for his poetry collection Green Leaf and Other Poems (the first time the award has been awarded for poetry); and the Alcala (Illustrators’ Prize) has been awarded to Aldy Aguirre for his “dreamy and whimsical illustrations” of Falgui’s poems in the same book.

Filipino author Candy Gourlay will be delivering the day’s keynote address, fresh from the successful publication of her Young Adult novel, Tall Story, in the UK. The day will also be marked by the opening of a Retrospective of Albert Gamos, an award-winning Filipino illustrator who died last year. An esteemed honorary member of Ang Illustrador Ng Kabataan (InK), he was well-known for his classical and intricate style of illustrating for children.

As part of the NCBD celebrations PBBY and the National Book Development Board (NBDB) will announce the Best Reads of 2008 and 2009.

Schools, learning communities, libraries and families are all encouraged to get involved. For ideas on what type of activities could be organized, check out Zarah’s Top Ten Suggestions.

And even if you are not in the Philippines, why not join in the celebrations by reading a Filipino children’s book or YA novel? The summer edition of the National Geographic Kids magazine has picked Candy Gourlay’s Tall Story as one of its Brilliant Summer Books. You can get plenty of ideas from our recent issue of PaperTigers focusing on the Philippines; and more Filipino book suggestions can always be found on Zarah’s and Tarie Sabido’s blogs.

As Zarah says “The NCBD celebration is not exclusive to PBBY. Bring it to your schools and families. After all, we are all here to celebrate reading, books and the Filipino young reader.”

Thanks to Tarie Sabido who highlighted this  new blog for everyone to check out, Read Kutub KIDS which celebrates Arabic kid lit. Tarie says “SO glad I discovered this awesome blog” and having just spent quite a bit of time there reading the posts, I completely agree with her!

The last booth Aline, Marjorie and I visited at the 2010 Bologna Book Fair belonged to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and what a way to end the fair!  We had an absolute blast visiting with the SCBWI members, some of whom we had corresponded with via email before but had never met in person: and we were in for a couple of surprises too.  SCBWI members not only share the same passion for children’s literature as we do at PaperTigers but in two cases share the same first name!  Here’s a special shout out about several of the SCBWI members who made us feel so welcome and took the time to share their work with us.

PaperTigers’ Marjorie (in green) with Marjorie van Heerden, co-Regional Advisor SCBWI South Africa.

Marjorie van Heerden has written and/or illustrated more than 100 children’s books and has been published in 33 languages in Africa, Europe, Canada and the USA.  In 2008 Marjorie won the M.E.R Award for best South African illustrated children’s book.

PaperTigers’ Corinne (in pink) with Corinne Fenton, Assistant Regional Adviser SCBWI Victoria, Australia.

Corinne Fenton’s classic award-winning picture book Queenie: One Elephant’s Story was followed in 2008 by The Dog on the Tuckerbox (shortlisted in the Younger Readers Category of the Australian Book Industry Awards and named a Notable Book in both the Picture Book and Eve Pownall Information Book categories of the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards for 2009). Her latest book Flame Stands Waiting was released in March 2010.

Yoko Yoshizawa, Assistant Regional Advisor SCBWI Tokyo (more…)

Wondering what happened at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content which concluded yesterday in Singapore? Check out Filipino editor, English teacher and Cybil judge Tarie Sabido’s blog Asia In the Heart, World on the Mind. Lots of great info and photos!

Filipino editor, English teacher and Cybil judge Tarie Sabido is a great source on what is happening with respect to literature in the Philippines. She contributed to to our recent PaperTigers Focus on the Philippines issue with  her interviews with authors Carla Pacis, Dorina Lazo Gilmore and Edna Cabcabin Moran. Tarie’s blog Into the Wardrobe is always a great read. She has now launched another blog Asia in the the Heart, World on the Mind which is a “children’s and young adult blog about books set in Asia and books with Asian characters (regardless of where they are published and whether or not their authors and illustrators are Asian), and Asian authors and illustrators (no matter where they are in the world).”

With our current focus on the Philippines, I have been exploring Filipino blogs – and indeed, this post would have gone live a couple of hours ago if my attention hadn’t been caught by this or that blog post!

I already know and follow Into the Wardrobe – and indeed Tarie has been a major contributor to this issue of PaperTigers: read her interviews with authors Carla Pacis, Dorina Lazo Gilmore (reprint) and Edna Cabcabin Moran (reprint). Tarie is also one of this year’s Cybils judges, in the Science Fiction and Fantasy category, so she definitely has her finger on the pulse of what’s out there!

Also Zarah at School Librarian in Action – Zarah opens up the world of Filippino children’s literature and is always happy to share events with us here at PaperTigers. As current president of PBBY, the Philippines chapter of IBBY, she’s another person who seems to know everything that’s going on – definitely another blog to follow!

Of the other blogs I’ve come across, I’ve found plenty of interest at Masayang Mgbasa!, publisher Adarna House’s blog; and I love illustrator and all-round artist Mark Salvatus’ blog – his current art projects are very different to his illustrations for Papa’s House, Mama’s House, which I blogged about recently! I’ve also enjoyed reading Nitoy’s Homeschool Journal and Children, Books and Life Lessons, writer Jean Lee C. Patindol’s blog.

And I’ve read some very moving posts too – writer and illustrator May Tobias Papa describing the devastation to her family’s home during the recent flooding in the Philippines, alongside delightful musings on her small son’s discovery of reading; and writer Dean Alfar’s up-to-the-minute detailings of lack of running water and power-cuts in the wake of Typhoon Ondoy and, most recently, his beautiful eulogy to an old friend, all at his blog Notes from the Peanut Gallery.

So go ahead and dip into these blogs – and if you have any other recommendations do let us know!

You can read more about the devastation caused by Typhoon Onday at TyphoonOnday.org and its sister-site OndayRelief.org, where you can also make a donation to the relief fund.

Now, more than ever, other countries and customs affect our everyday lives, wherever we live, making it crucial to teach our children about the wealth of cultures our world is home to.

This time, our newly added website features focus on the Philippines, whose unique history and complex cultural amalgamation have created a rich legacy borne out in its children’s literature.

By paying tribute to both old and new narratives in English from and about the country, and to the talented writers and illustrators who bring them to life, we hope to encourage readers to explore the bigger—much bigger!—picture of children’s literature from the Philippines and the Filipino diaspora.

Please keep in mind that we will continue to explore the topic here, on the blog, through the end of November, so make sure to stop by again to join in the conversation! We are counting on your feedback—and really appreciate your help with spreading the word on these features, too.

Heartfelt thanks are very much in order to Filipino editor and English teacher Tarie Sabido, who blogs at Into the Wardrobe, for her interviews and book review contributions. Thanks a million, Tarie!