Winners: Mica and children's books
In last year’s Palanca Awards night, a discovery for everyone was 11-year-old Mica Roi B. Torre, who read a few of the winning poems for children with professional poise and efficacy. Since then, we’ve been increasingly impressed by this young lady, whose passion for theater and entertainment makes her a standout as a triple threat. She can act, sing, and do just about anything as an excellent all-around performer.
Early this year, she played the young Cory in the play Cory: The Life Story of President Corazon Aquino. She has also appeared in movies, one of them a Manny Pacquiao starrer. We’ve guested her in Illuminati with Krip & Trix on GNN Channel 21 over Destiny cable, where she sang effortlessly and powerfully, and replied to our questions in her usual humble, levelheaded and highly articulate way, in both Filipino and English.
Now 12 years old and a high school freshman in Villa Cecilia Academy as a scholar of Mary Mother of the Poor Foundation, Mica continues to show that she’s headed places.
At the 14th Annual World Championships of Performing Arts or WCOPA held in Los Angeles from July 17 to 25, she competed with delegates from 46 other countries, as the only junior representative of the Philippines. She made it to the semifinals and rose all the way to be a grand finalist.
Mica wound up receiving a total of seven medals and a plaque. Among these were two silver medals for the 11-12-years-old categories of Female Vocal Open, where she sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and for Female Vocal Broadway with her rendition of Part of Your World.
Entered as Myka Torre, she got gold medals for Female Vocal R&B/Soul/Jazz for singing Love Can Move Mountains; Female Vocal Contemporary for Reach; and Female Vocal Gospel for More Than Wonderful. She won another two golds as Junior Division winner in R&B/Soul/Jazz and the WCOPA Industry Award.
Other Pinoy or Fil-Am contestants who garnered medals were Krizia Monik Gutierrez for 8-10; Alissa Andrea Liangco and Lovely Salas for the 13-15 category; Kristiana Miranda who also got five golds for 16-17 for Female Vocal Rock, Broadway, Pop, Soul/Jazz and Open; Bryan Termulo, Mariangela Soleil Trinidad, Rose Marielle Mamaclay and Swirtty Mae Nibley for 18-24; and Edwin Mercado for 30 & Over.
At the awarding ceremony, the judges reportedly kept saying of Mica: “Let’s keep her in L.A.!” But she’s back with us, as she has to complete her studies even as she continues to make waves, now inclusive of international competitions.
Congrats and kudos to the precocious, complete package of a performer that is Mica Roi B. Torre!
On July 24, the 1st National Children’s Book Awards (NCBA) were presented by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati City.
A total of 131 books published in 2008 and 2009 were nominated. Winning multiple honors were Adarna House, Rusell Molina, and Jomike Tejido. Three of the six books cited were published by Adarna House, two were written by Molina, and two were illustrated by Tejido, including one that he also wrote.
The winning books were: Araw sa Palengke (Adarna House) written by May Tobias-Papa and illustrated by Isabel Roxas; Tuwing Sabado (Lampara Books) written by Russell Molina and illustrated by Sergio Bumatay III; Can We Live on Mars (Adarna House) written by Gidget Roceles-Jimenez and illustrated by Bru; Lub-Dub, Lub-Dub (Bookmark) written by Russell Molina and illustrated by Jomike Tejido; Tagu-Taguan (Tahanan Books) written and illustrated by Jomike Tejido; and Just Add Dirt (Adarna) written by Becky Bravo and illustrated by Jason Moss.
The judges were Dr. Lina Diaz de Rivera, a former reading professor from the University of the Philippines and a multi-awarded children’s book author; Karen Ocampo Flores, visual artist, curator, writer, and recipient of the Thirteen Artists Award from the CCP; Ana Maria Rodriguez, a former elementary level teacher at the International School Manila; Maria Elena Locsin, an author and teacher of language arts with a master’s degree in education from Harvard University Graduate School of Education; and Tarie Sabido, a blogger of children’s and young adult books presently pursuing an MA in English Studies at UP.
We also share the following information from our friend Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo, regional advisor of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators or SCBWI Philippines.
Founded in 1980, Adarna House is the Philippines’ first and largest publisher of children’s books. Its roots go back to the Aklat Adarna book series that supplemented the mental feeding program of the Nutrition Center of the Philippines in the 1970s. Today, it is the leading publisher of storybooks for children and manuals for parents, teachers, and daycare workers.
Russell Molina works in an advertising agency. He also loves to write, draw, and create stories for children. Some of his published children’s books are Ang Lumang Kumot ni Lola; Uuwi Na Ang Nanay Kong Si Darna; Sandosenang Kuya; Ako si Kaliwa, Ako si Kanan; Ang Madyik Silya ni Titoy; Lola Puti; and Sampu Pataas, Sampu Pababa.
Jomike Tejido is an architect, painter, and children’s writer and illustrator. The first book he illustrated was Abot Mo Ba Ang Tainga Mo? by Heidi Abad. He also illustrated The General by Kitkat Roces, and Musician for the Filipino Church by Lin Acacio Flores. Other children’s books that he wrote and illustrated include Dindo Bodindo and Ang Pambihirang Sombrero.
The NBDB is the government agency mandated to develop and support the Philippine book publishing industry. It is run by a governing board chaired by Dr. Dennis T. Gonzalez and a secretariat with Atty. Andrea Passion-Flores as executive director.
The PBBY is a non-profit volunteer organization composed of sectoral representatives from the Philippine children’s book industry. It has representatives for children’s book publishers, booksellers, children’s writers, children’s illustrators, children’s librarians, educators, research, and mass media. It started as the Philippine branch of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) based in Basel, Switzerland.
The 2010 NCBA was made possible in partnership with Manila Bulletin and Jollibee. For the NCBA Awards Night program, poet, author and publisher RayVi Sunico, who prepared the concept for the awards, wrote:
“The National Children’s Book Award: Best Reads for 2010 aspires to be a different type of ‘literary contest.’ It consciously avoids rankings because it believes that each work of art and culture is an individual, incomparable achievement and cannot be compared the way commodities can be compared.
“Unlike other competitions, its focus is on the BOOK, that is to say, a cultural but also physical object that is the product of teamwork, from author and/or illustrator, to the publisher and the printer.
“The NCBA hopes that this will help the general public understand the true breadth and scope of children’s literature, get a glimpse of the collective effort behind book production and appreciate the crucial role reading outside an academic curriculum plays in the development of those we call the hope of our motherland.
“In this regard then, it is important to note another, new intent of this initiative. The NCBA is to be seen as a response to the many individual and isolated efforts in our society to push reading as a main instrument of national development. It hopes then to become an occasion, an opportunity, even a pretext for book lovers, buyers, makers, librarians, reviewers and even civic groups who see it as their advocacy to provide good books for poor communities to support Philippine books for children.
“Specifically, it aspires to a situation in more developed book cultures, where the best reviewed books are automatically rewarded, not just with trophies and plaques, but also with large orders for these titles that are then distributed through the library and literacy networks of that culture.”
The following are excerpts from the citations written by the judges, and which were read during the awards’ night.
Of Araw sa Palengke (Market Day) (in Filipino, with English translations): “... The market is hot and noisy, smelly and muddy, but it’s also fascinating and colorful, because it’s seen from a point of view that’s only about three feet tall. When they arrive home, and our little girl unpacks the bayong (bag) to find a surprise wrapped in newspaper at the bottom, it’s her joy we feel in the little dance that she does. (The book) is a true marriage of text and visual image. The story... is gentle and straightforward, and the illustrations... are charming and finely detailed. The result is a lighthearted picture book that is nuanced, controlled, and thoroughly engaging. A really good read.”
Of Can We Live on Mars?: A Book About Space: “Here... is a book that is both educational and entertaining for kids at the threshold of adolescence — kids ready for meaty facts, yet still profiting from the visual and often humorous support of illustrations. ...This book is serious fun. Written, illustrated, and designed as a handy collection of facts and activities about the study of space, (it) provides concise and enjoyable reading and should be a useful supplement to science textbooks in schools today. (The) writing effectively converses with young readers, while the illustrations... ensure the liveliness of this exchange. Finally, the challenge of keeping these elements integrated and organized was met by book designer Lesley Lim.”
Of Just Add Dirt (in English, with Filipino translations): “One morning, Miguel wakes up to find little mung bean seedlings growing out of his ears. ‘That’s what you get for not taking a bath,’ his mother says quite nonchalantly. Miguel promises to take a bath, but he keeps putting it off so that he can play with his friends. Meanwhile, more and more plants start growing all over his body — a veritable vegetable garden! Miguel starts to panic, but his mother remains cool and calm. (V)ery interesting characters and a funny, immensely entertaining story. (C)olorful, vivid, and detailed illustrations add even more humor to the book, (which) will have children giggling behind their hands, then bursting into loud and hearty laughter. And they just might think twice about not taking a bath....”
Of Lub-Dub, Lub-Dub (in English): “Dr. Fe del Mundo’s devotion to her profession is clearly yet dispassionately rendered from the point of view of an observer who is a child. ...The book’s uplifting theme is shown without sounding preachy and pedantic. The title suggests the sound of a beating heart, a gift shared by everyone; thus gently disputing the child’s original claim that her younger sister is ‘different.’”
Of Tagu-Taguan (Hide-and-Seek): A Counting Book in Filipino (in Filipino, with English translations): “As the title suggests, ... backyard creatures are not always obvious. They are surprising finds when one cares to seek them out. ...Each creature is carefully drawn, well defined, and well proportioned. The proboscises of the butterflies, the segments of the earthworms, the thorny hind legs of the grasshoppers, and the joints of the spiders’ legs are a few examples of the exact anatomical details in a book that is both artistic and accurate....”
Of Tuwing Sabado (Every Saturday) (in Filipino, with English translations): “The child in this story anticipates every Saturday, as it is the only day he can be with his father. We are caught up in the excitement of the child. And why not? The father is an amazing man! He always has something new in store for his son. He entertains, he cooks, he teaches, he steels his son for the future. It is easy to be drawn into the child’s narrative. We wish with him that Saturdays would come more quickly than every seven days. One is then taken aback by the surprise revealed at the end.... The carefully omitted background details and the characters’ clown-like faces in the illustrations succeed in showing the intimacy and wonder between the child and his father and in keeping the secret until the very end.”
Congrats to the First NCBA winners, and thanks to the organizers and sponsors. May it go on forever!
