Thursday, December 21, 2006

A Kinaray-a children's book

About the book

There are not too many books in Kinaray-a, much less fully illustrated children's picture books in color. Ang Bukid Nga Nagpalangga Kang Pispis might be the first ever Kinaray-a children's picture book in color. The original story is The Mountain That Loved A Bird, by Alice McLerran. Originally published in the U.S. with illustrations by Eric Carle, the story has been translated to Kinaray-a by Genevieve L. Asenjo and illustrated by Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo.

Ang Bukid Nga Nagpalangga Kang Pispis is published Mother Tongue Publishing Inc., a new publishing company based in Manila, Philippines. It was formed in November 2006 by Mario and Beaulah Taguiwalo, and their mission is to publish books in as many languages and dialects as possible. They are inspired by the words of science fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin: “Literature takes shape and life in the body, in the wombs of the mother tongue.” They also agree with neuro-scientist Elkhonon Goldberg who refers to mother tongues as “an extremely adaptive and powerful device for modeling not only what is, but also what will be, what could be, and what we want and do not want to be.”

About the author

Alice McLerran has been publishing internationally since her career began. The Mountain That Loved a Bird -- her first picture book - appeared with the original art in Japanese, Finnish, Spanish, German and French translation, and with new art in Russia. More recently, it was reillustrated twice more: first in Pakistan, then in India. With the art developed for India it is now published also in Lebanon and Turkey. Her second picture book, Roxaboxen, received a Southwest Book Award and has been translated into Spanish, Japanese, Urdu, and Korean. Other titles have also received honors, and in 2005 Alice was chosen for the Judy Goddard Arizona Children's Author Award.

Alice's earlier background includes research and teaching in anthropology, and program evaluation in the mental health field. She now combines writing with sharing global travels with her husband, a physicist. When in the U.S., they enjoy homes on both coasts - one near the sea in New York, the other in the mountains of Oregon.

You are invited to learn more about Alice at http://www.alicemclerran.com/.

About the translator

Genevieve L. Asenjo is a poet, fictionist, researcher, translator, cultural worker, and Assistant Professor at De La Salle University-Manila. She is the author of Pula ang Kulay ng Text Message (University of San Agustin Press, 2006), a poetry collection in Kinaray-a and Filipino, and taga-uma@manila kag iba pa nga pakipagsapalaran (NCCA, 2005), a collection of stories in Kinaray-a.

She is a three-time Don Carlos Palanca awardee for her stories in Hiligaynon and two-time Home Life Magazine awardee for her poems in Filipino. She is a member of Philippine International-PEN, Philippine Studies Association, and the NCCA Translation Committee. She has published in national anthologies, magazines, and journals. She has earned writing fellowships and served as panelist in writing workshops. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and is now completing her Ph.D. in Literature at DLSU. She is from Tobias Fornier, Antique and has studied at UP in the Visayas in Miag-ao, Iloilo.

Know more about Genevieve at http://www.friendster.com/sadyah

About the illustrator

Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo is an illustrator and book designer. Her work in children’s books is in Sampaguita by Maria Elena Paterno, Junior Starfish and the Rainbow by Mirava Yuson and Alfred Yuson, Kuwentong Kalikasan Katha ng Kabataan, Ragamuffin Kid by Grace Chong, and The Christmas Fireflies by Girl Valencia which won as Best Book in Children’s Literature for 2004 in the Philippine National Book Awards.

Beaulah’s work can also be seen in more than 30 published titles, including books by three Philippine National Artists: The Dances of the Emerald Isles by Leonor Orosa Goquingco, Patterns for the Filipino Dress (From the Traje de Mestiza to the Terno) by Salvador Bernal, and the 2004 edition of Culture and History by Nick Joaquin. She is a founding member and former officer of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, a former member and chairman of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People, and a member and regional advisor of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Learn more about Beaulah at http://bptbooks.blogspot.com/ and http://www.geocities.com/scbwiphilasia/beaulahtaguiwalo.html

1 Comments:

Blogger Carnation said...

hello nice to read about this. is it available as an e-book?

7:46 PM  

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