Filipiniana For Children: Handicapped and Special Children

Beginning this month, I'll be posting bibliographies of Filipiniana for children. Ani Almario of Adarna Books was so nice to send two titles of their book blurbs. The rest are taken from our school library's Filipiniana Collection.

For this month, the theme is about handicapped and special children. The interest to start a bibliography of Filipiniana for children was inspired by a session on Bibliotherapy by Ms. Therese Pelias, Xavier School Grade 7 Counselor. She shared her thesis on Bibliotherapy among KUTING members last September. I'm mkaing this "little" project for the following:

a. Teachers and Care Givers - so they may have references of Filipiniana to use and integrate in their lessons.
b. Parents - so they may know that there are books written for their children discussing issues of chidlhood and growing up
c. School librarians - so they can build a Filipiniana collection that caters to the needs of Filipino children and in the process, promote Filipino culture.
d. Writers and illustrators - so they may be inspired to write more stories for children
e. Publishers - so they may publish more stories for children and lastly,
f. People in the allied professions and to anyone working for and with children

Rivera, Augie. XILEF. Quezon City : Adarna House, 2000.

Felix is a young boy afflicted with dyslexia. Through the support of his parents and his teacher's commitment to teach him, he eventually learned how to read and earned his self esteem. Illustrated by Beth Parocha-Doctolero.

Evasco, Eugene. Hilong Talilong. Quezon City : LG&M Corporation, 2005.
A loving aunt helps her nephew survive ADHD. Illustrated by Mark Ramsel N. Salvatus III

Bautista, Feny de los Angeles. Ang Kuya ni Karina. Quezon City : Cacho Publishing, 1996

Karina's brother is deaf. But no matter she loves him all the more. Illustrated by Abby Goy

Evasco, Eugene. Federico. Quezon City : Adarna House, 1997
*One of the most daring attempts at using storybooks to teach sensitive issues is Federico, which won in 1997. Eugene Evasco weaved the story of a child experiencing Down Syndrome into a very stirring narrative while Paul Eric Roca managed to interpret the story in such a way that the physical appearance of the main character would not be a source of malevolent amusement.

Molina, Russel. Titoy's Magic Chair. Quezon City : Adarna House, 2002

*Here comes Titoy's magic chair! Watch it turn into a car, a plane, or a train, and take Titoy to many wondrous places! Here is a heartwarming story about how a child's boundless imagination helps him overcome his limitations. Illustrations by Marcus Nada.

*Courtesy of Adrana House