1st National Children’s Book Awards
Best Reads of 2008-2009
Adarna House, Publisher
May Tobias-Papa, Writer
Isabel Roxas, Illustrator
Araw sa Palengke is a true marriage of text and visual image. The story by May Tobias-Papa is gentle and straightforward, and the illustrations by Isabel Roxas are charming and finely detailed. The result is a lighthearted picture book that is nuanced, controlled, and thoroughly engaging. A really good read.
Adarna House, Publisher
Gidget Roceles-Jimenez, Writer
Bru Sim-Nada, Illustrator
By locating the Philippines in the constellation of achievements in the history of astronomy, Can We Live on Mars? boosts our sense of identity and creativity. It is an empowering and inspiring book, giving students sound ideas on what they can do as budding scientists and responsible global citizens now and into the future.
Adarna House, Publisher
Becky Bravo, Writer
Jason Moss, Illustrator
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.
Just Add Dirt 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....
Lub-Dub, Lub-Dub
The Bookmark, Publisher
Russell Molina, Writer
Jomike Tejido, Illustrator
Dr. Fe del Mundo's achievements are unfolded in natural settings—the hallway of her office documenting her career in photographs or a dinnertime conversation between the child and her parents—and not simply a dry copy of the pediatrician's curriculum vitae. The book’s uplifting theme is shown without sounding preachy and pedantic.
Tahanan Books for Young Readers, Publisher
Jomike Tejido, Writer and Illustrator
Tagu-Taguan. As the title suggests, these backyard creatures are […] surprising finds when one cares to seek them out. Mr. Tejido utilizes a full range of earth colors and jewel tones while carefully integrating texture into his illustrations. 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.
Lampara Books, Publisher
Russell Molina, Writer
Sergio Bumatay III, Illustrator
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 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.
This year’s board of judges is composed of: 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, and 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 teachers 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 is taking up her MA in English Studies at the University of the Philippines.
The NCBA is the first award of its kind that recognizes the country’s best published children’s books, which include both works of fiction and nonfiction. This year, the NBDB and PBBY accepted nominations of books published in 2008 and 2009. 131 children’s books were nominated.
The 2010 NCBA was made possible in partnership with Manila Bulletin and Jollibee.
