beautiful anthology of Filipino tales is sure to captivate any reader, Highly recommended. I really enjoyed the stories not so much for "Maria Alimango", which was a lot like Cinderella, I wish I had read this instead of the western fairy tales when I was younger, But, better late than never! Parang collection ng Grimm's Fairy Tales ang dating sa akin ng book na ito, Mula sa cover art, sa papel na ginamit at sa sepia illustrations para akong nagbabasa ng isang mahiwagang lumang libro, Mas feel na feel pa siguro pag hardbound ito na leather ang cover at gold yung edges, Gusto ko yung background kay Severino Reyes at introductions na binigay ni Bien Lumbera at ng publishers, Mas nagkakaroon ng context ang mambabasa sa epekto ng mga kuwento ni Lola Basyang sa mga pinoy noongs, Witty ang mga kuwento, karamihan dito ay parang naguutakan ang mga characters, May violence at gore same with Anvil's version, Judging by the length of the stories, mas targeted yata ito sa older readers as compared to the picture books, Although napakaclassy ng book, mas type ko yung version ng Anvil, siguro dahil mas prefer ko yung stories in Filipino at gusto ko yung may pagkakaiba ng illustrations sa bawat kuwento.
I bought this book in, the year this was published, My daughter was onlyyears old and I thought it would be nice to introduce her to Lola Basyang's stories, However, when I tried reading the stories to her, I noticed that they were not really suited for small children, So, this got buried in our stacks of books until when she was in the elementary and she tried to read this herself, However, she got stuck in one of the stories with missing pages, I was not yet a bookworm then and I was busy trying to earn a living so I did not pay attention, Now that I am a certified bookworm and my book club sitelink Pinoy Reads Pinoy Books is reading the Tagalog compilation of this book, I said why not finally read this book in its entiretyyears have passed.
My daughter is nowyears old and is now more interested on boys rather than books, I looked for this book in the bottom of my book piles, I saw the marks she wrote on the missing pages, She seemed not to notice that the missing pages were not missing, The pages were
just disarranged, Had I not read this book, I would not have found out that all these years, she missed reading the whole book because she got stuck in those "missing" pages.
Maybe this was the reason why she has this generally impression that local books are inferior to foreign books
Finding and finally reading this book now seems like closing the role as a father to my little young daughter.
She just turned. I am finally closing my chance attempt to read children's books to her, I was not really consistent and I missed that chance, She is my only child and though I attempted many times, I thought that I was not good at it, I am not good in storytelling, So, this is my last Lola Basyang book, This is beautifully told in English by Gilda CorderoFernando who I've met already in person, So, this is how she writes, Clear, crisp and very contemporary, I think I will enjoy her other books,
My kneejerk reactions to each of thestories included in the book, These stories are said to be among thebest that the publisher, Tahanan Books chose from among thestories that Severino Reyes wrote fromto.
Do you know that the first story, Perikin's Flute came out in Liwayway on May,that coincidentally will be the same day Mayth when we will read one of the stories during our outreach event at Museo Pambata this year What a coincidence right
Maria Alimango.
STARS
The first half of the story seems to be an original for me, However, the second half is very similar to the story of Cinderella, Hum.
Santiago Karagdag, STARS
Being smart can bring you fame and glory, This being the lesson of the story makes this one a likeable children's story, The twist in the end is also unexpected, Nice one.
Clever Penduko, STARS
Similar theme as the previous one, Penduko is also a smart boy and he proves to his friend that his parents look highly of him that even if he does silly things, he parents will think that those are good calls because he is smart or smarter than them.
Interesting and engaging but I thought I heard some parts of this when I was a young boy in the province,
The Forgotten Princes, STARS
What I really liked about this story is the love between the prince to his mother, The prince has grown up without meeting his mother yet when he learns about what happened to her he really exerts efforts to free and save her life.
Ting the Fearless, STARS
A tad mushy but still a lovely ending, "So at long last Ting did encounter fear, But it was only after he had first learned to love, " I want to see the original text of this story in Tagalog because I have this strange suspicion that Gilda CorderoFernando invented this or at least phrased this in a way to be touchy or mushy.
Judgment of the King, STARS
Wow. The king here seems like King Solomon for giving really wise court decisions, I had to go back and forth because the publisher of book or maybe their printing press made a mess of the sequence of the book and I got confused reading this morning.
But when I was able to trace through the mess, the story still rocks!
The Runaway Princess, STARS
Another Cinderellatype of story, A tad fun because it reminded me of Julia Roberts in the movie "Runaway Bride" but it's the only thing that I will remember from this book.
Forgettable, I would say.
The Two Thieves, STARS
There is murder here and so I guess this is not really apt for children, However, I read somewhere that during the course of Severino Reyes' writing, he decided that he was not really writing the story for children but for the whole populace.
So, this must be an example of one that seemingly not intended for children, I liked it though.
The Handsome Tailor, STARS
Hiding one's true identity might sometimes work but all secrets will soon be found out, It is better to be true to yourself and to others, This lesson is conveyed loud and clear by this story, The tailor is handsome and being admired by many but when he unconsciously tries the robe of the customer, a prince, he suddenly dreams of how a prince lives and so that is the start of his misfortunes.
Whose Head Will RollSTARS
This is the only story in this Tahanan Books' published collection that Anvil has released individually in their illustrated editions and the title of the story is sitelinkAng Sultan Saif / Sultan Saifstars.
Again, CorderoFernando's magical prose made this book better,
The Cowardly Prince, STARS
This seems like similar to sitelinkAng Prinsipeng Duwag / The Cowardly Princeby Anvil but the second half of the story is not the same.
The illustrated version also overemphasized the cowardice of the prince to the extent of drawing a shrieking prince when he sees a cockroach, I thought it was OA but in this version of CorderoFernando, the emphasis is more on the transformation of the prince from being a coward to a brave battlefront prince.
Nice one.
Pedrong Mabait, STARS
What a nice story! This reminded me of the young Filipino hero who saved many children from a rampaging flood in Bulacan only to lose his life in the end.
This is a story that is indeed good for children,
Overall, what made this book more engaging than the original Tagalog version of Severino Reyes is the spin that Gilda CorderoFernando put in each story.
She made them more contemporary including the use of direct, crisp yet entertaining prose, If you don't know how Filipino or Tagalog say you are a foreigner or you find it hard to read Tagalog already say you've been out of the school for many years and have been reading English books only, try this book especially if you have a young child.
Don't be like me who blew the chance to read children's stories to my daughter because of the missing pages, I missed the chance. I missed having her appreciate good Philippine literature, Adultery and murder start off this collection of Filipino fairy tales by Lola Basyang Grandmother Basyang, a storyteller created by Filipino playwright Severino Reyes,
In Maria Alimango, we get a variation of Cinderella replete with the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and a glass slipper left behind at the ball.
But this one has a magical crab alimango, the girl's mother reincarnated only to be caught and eaten,
While I enjoyed these stories, some could have been pared down, Parents and grandparents may remember this little old lady whose tales have captivated generations of Filipinos,
Each night after supper Old Basyang gathered her grandchildren around her wicker chair, Out of her rich imagination she drew forth tales of bold princesses and cowardly kings, spurned suitors and ardent lovers, fearless young men and heartless queens.
Every conceivable place of enchantment was Lola Basyangs domain,
The First “Kuwento ni Lola Basyang “ appeared in the Tagalog magazine Liwayway in, Its author, Severino Reyes, was the founder and editor of Liwayway as well as a pioneering figure in Tagalog theater, Mr. Reyes wrote more thatstories under the pen name Lola Basyang,
Tahanan Books has gathered together a literary dream team to produce this landmark collection of twelve tales, Poet and literary critic Bienvenido Lumbera sifted through hundreds of manuscripts to select the best of Reyes tales, Acclaimed author and publisher Gilda CorderoFernando delivered the original English translation and renowned childrens book illustrator Albert Gamos rendered overunforgettable illustrations,
Tahanans anthology introduces Lola Basyang to a new generation of readers in English, Open this book, sit at her feet, and let the magic begin, .
Receive The Best Of Lola Basyang: Timeless Tales For The Filipino Family Fabricated By Severino Reyes Available As Volume
Severino Reyes