1970s

The Nutrition Center of the Philippines initiated a children’s book development project as part of
its mental feeding program. Headed by Virgilio Almario, the book project, called Aklat Adarna,
started out with the aim of developing a Filipino consciousness by producing and marketing
inexpensive books for Filipino children.
The Adarna books differed from all previous attempts at children’s book production study the
needs of its readership and deriving from the study suggestions on themes and plots for stories
and illustrations.
The increase in volume of the Aklat Adarna books had prompted the establishment of the
Children’s Communication Center to act as a resource, development, and production center for
children’s materials.
1980s
1983: Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) was established to encourage the
development and distribution of books for children, the development of children’s libraries, and
the training of those involved in children’s literature.
Through the Board’s efforts, the third Tuesday of July was proclaimed National Children’s Book
Day. It is still celebrated in schools across the nation.
The first was the production of a Filipino version of the popular American children’s television
show Sesame Street, called Calle Sesame, in 1983.
A year later, it was changed to Batibot, a show with a more definite Filipino identity.
1989: the Palanca Foundation opened a new category in its highly prestigious annual literary
competition: the Short Story for Children, in both English and Filipino.

1990s
1990: Bookmark also experimented with narrative poetry for adolescent and pre-adolescent
readers with The Unicorn (1992) and Chun (1993) by Marivi Soliven.
Cacho Publishing House Inc. began its children’s book line with a cooperative effort with Batibot.
The Aklat Batibot are thin and inexpensive books with soft covers, printed on coated paper with
full-color illustrations.
1992: Tahanan Books has added titles which include an alphabet book, collections of folk tales,
historical speeches and science books which treat of geological and meteorological phenomena.
 1970s
In 1977, the Nutrition Center of the Philippines initiated a children’s book
development project as part of its mental feeding program. Headed by poet-critic
Virgilio Almario, the book project, called Aklat Adarna, started out with the aim of
developing a Filipino consciousness by producing and marketing inexpensive
books for Filipino children. Within a year’s time, the first 15 titles were introduced to the
market.
The Adarna books differed from all previous attempts at children’s book
production by studying the needs of its readership and deriving from the study
suggestions on themes and plots for stories and illustrations. The books were also
distributed through a government network and therefore went almost directly to their
audience. By 1980, the increase in volume of the Aklat Adarna books had prompted
the establishment of the Children’s Communication Center to act as a resource,
development, and production center for children’s materials.

The Children’s Communication Center has published over 150 titles targeted at an
audience with ages ranging from 3 to 10 years. There are eight subseries: Aklat Ng
Karanasan, Aklat Ng Tahanan, Aklat Ng Aliw, Aklat Ng Lahi, Aklat Ng Kasaysayan, Aklat
Ng Bayani, Aklat Ng Karunungan, and Aklat Ng Salin. Printed on newsprint and
therefore in limited colors, the Aklat Adarna series is nonetheless clever and
imaginative, with a light fresh approach to the teaching of Filipino values, often with
amusing insights on the Filipino way of life. It also made the children’s book more
accessible to many families, thus establishing the beginnings of a real Filipino children’s
book market.

Crucial also to the development of Filipino children’s literature was the training and
exposure provided by Aklat Adarna to writers and illustrators who would later become
notable personalities in the field: Rene Villanueva, Gloria Villaraza Guzman, Jess Abrera
Jr., Ibarra Crisostomo, and Albert Gamos, among others.

1980s
The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) was established in 1983 to
encourage the development and distribution of books for children, the development
of children’s libraries, and the training of those involved in children’s literature. The
founding members were Carol L. Afan, Larry Alcala, Virgilio Almario, Angelica Cabañero,
Lucrecia Kasilag, Cristina Lim-Yuson, Linda Ma. Nietes, Serafin Quiason, Gloria
Rodriguez, the late Alfrredo N. Salanga, and Renato Villanueva. Through the Board’s
efforts, the third Tuesday of July was proclaimed National Children’s Book Day. It
is still celebrated in schools across the nation.

One of the important activities of the PBBY has been to sponsor a yearly competition
for writers and illustrators of children’s books. The Illustrator’s Prize was first
awarded in 1984, and the Writer’s Prize, later renamed the Alfrredo Navarro Salanga
Award, was first awarded in 1985.

Other institutions took up the cause. In 1982 to 1983, Mr. and Ms. magazine sponsored
a writing contest for short stories for children in English and Filipino. The stories were
printed in the magazine, and the ten best works of the these two years were selected.

Other significant events occurred during the decade of the 80s to promote the
development of children’s literature in the country. The first was the production of a
Filipino version of the popular American children’s television show Sesame Street,
called Calle Sesame, in 1983. Calle Sesame was practically a clone of its U.S.
counterpart, with only minor changes and concessions to its Filipino child
audience. A year later, this was replaced by a show with similar objectives and
formatting, but with a more definite Filipino identity, as evident in the puppets used
and in the distinctly Filipino setting. The name of the show was changed to Batibot,
and slowly the format and theme of the television show grew away from Sesame
Street, until it achieved an identity of its own.
Batibot and other children’s television shows might be credited with helping to develop an
audience (and therefore a market) for children’s literature in the country. Many shows
include a storytelling segment that features folktales, or teach preliteracy and
beginning literacy skills. But perhaps their greatest contribution to the development
of children’s literature in the Philippines is the promotion of a greater awareness
of alternative means of education, namely, the idea that education is not confined
to the classroom but can take place at home — with a television show, or with
books and stories.

The latter half of the 1980s marks the beginning of legitimacy for children’s literature in
the Philippines. Writing awards and writing workshops encouraged many to produce more
works for children. Perhaps more importantly, leading publishers began children’s book
lines for folk tales or original stories for children.
The Cultural Center of the Philippines also supported the production of literature for
children and continues to do so until today. It hosts and co-sponsors the PBBY Awards
and in 1989 devoted an issue of Ani, its literary journal, to children’s literature. The issue
was edited by Rene Villanueva and Karina Bolasco. The CCP has also established a
children’s literature category in its Creative Writing Grants Program.

In 1989, the Palanca Foundation opened a new category in its highly prestigious
annual literary competition: the Short Story for Children, in both English and
Filipino. Early winners of the Palanca Awards in this category include Rene
Villanueva, Ramón Sunico, Maria Elena Paterno, Jaime An Lim, Alfred Yuson
among others.

The new decade promised much development in the field of children’s literature, with a
conscious effort at integration of the knowledge gained in all areas of book production —
writing, design, illustration, and marketing.

1990s
Also in the beginning of this decade, three publishing companies began to produce
Filipino children’s books and market them. In 1990, Bookmark launched its Filipino
Folktale series with three titles by Marla Yotoko Chorengel, The First Cashew Nut
(ill. by Beth Parrocha), Why the Sky is High (ill. by Bernie Solina), and Bathala and
the Gift of Rice (ill. by Ibarra Crisostomo). The books are handsome volumes,
beautifully illustrated and in full color, and this time, it seemed, people were ready to buy
them. Two more titles were released the following year.

The Filipino Folktale series is Bookmark’s flagship series for children’s literature, planned
in response to a general complaint from parents and educators that there was no
Filipino children’s book that could compare with western counterparts.

Bookmark also experimented with narrative poetry for adolescent and pre-
adolescent readers with The Unicorn (1992) and Chun (1993) by Marivi Soliven.
Both are original works, with The Unicorn tackling the theme of growing up and
leaving behind “childish” things and Chun focusing on the issue of racial
discrimination through the eyes of a child.
Cacho Publishing House Inc. began its children’s book line with a cooperative
effort with Batibot, the children’s television show. In 1990, it launched six titles that had
the advantage of recall by parents and recognition by children since these stories first
appeared in the story segment of the televisions show. The Aklat Batibot are thin and
inexpensive books with soft covers, printed on coated paper with full-color
illustrations. The first six titles are: Si Inggolok At Ang Planeta Pakaskas, Ang Pamilya
Ismid, Sina Linggit Laban Kay Barakuda, Ang Alamat Ng Araw At Gabi, and Katuwaan
Sa Batibot. Si Elephas At Estegodon, Ang Patsotsay Na Iisa Ang Pakpak, Makata-Makata,
and 1, 2, 3 [Isa, Dalawa, Tatlo] Sama-Sama Tayo have since been added to the series.
Cacho Publishing House is also experimenting with small books with limited text
and full-color illustrations that can be sold for less than the price of fast-food items.
In 1993, it launched the first four titles in an environmental series, and more books of this
type are being considered for production. The aim of such an experiment is to reach out
to readers who have been unable to include children’s books in their normal budget.
In 1992, another publisher with a strong children’s book program entered the market.
Tahanan Books for Young Readers was founded by the husband-and-wife team of
Reni Roxas and Marc Singer. The couple moved from the USA to start a publishing
company which has as its aim: “to publish quality tradebooks for the Filipino family and
supplementary curriculum materials for Filipino schools and libraries.” In September of
the same year, they linked up with Bookmark and launched its first list of eight titles:
Volcanoes of the Philippines (by M. Paterno), Super Boboy and the Great Villain Hunt (by
R. Santos), and the Great Lives Series which features biographies of national heroes for
young people. Emilio Aguinaldo, Andres Bonifacio, Juan Luna, Apolinario Mabini, José
Rizal, and Gabriela Silang were the first heroes to be included in this series. Since then,
Tahanan Books has added titles which include an alphabet book, collections of
folk tales, historical speeches and science books which treat of geological and
meteorological phenomena. These books also point to increasing attention being paid
by today’s publishers to attractive designs and subject matter which is both interesting
and relevant to the young reader.

Children’s book publishing has become a viable business concern today, a feat in itself if
one remembers that twenty years ago, children’s books did not survive in the market.
Publishers seem to agree that their success in the field is due to a combination of several
factors: 1. their market centeredness, meaning, publishers produce books to suit
the needs of a market in terms of themes, concerns and price; 2. the development
of a new generation of buyers who prefer locally-produced books over imported
ones; and 3. the growing awareness of the craft and the building of professionalism
in the areas of writing, illustrating, packaging, and marketing children’s books. To
date, more and more groups are venturing into this field.
This growth in children’s book publishing may be seen as part of a larger development in
Philippine publishing in general. Participants in this growth have been writers, illustrators,
book designers, publishers, teachers, and a new generation of parents and book buyers,
all of whom are more aware of the demands of nationalism and the importance of a child-
centered children’s literature. Obstacles remain to be sure. The national library system,
normally the backbone of any reading culture, remains irrelevant and inefficient despite
the good intentions of many of its members, encumbered as they are by bureaucracy and
politics. Also, there is a palpable lack of support from the national government which sees
books only as commodities to tax.

Where do we go from here? It seems that children’s book publishing in the Philippines,
against all odds, has finally found its voice. As the various professionals involved in the
creation of children’s books hone their talents and refine their visions, the growing
audience for Filipino children’s books ensures that since more books are bought, more
still will be created. As greater exposure is achieved,
the quality and quantity of our Filipino children’s books can only become better.