From last week's lecture by Dr. Danilo Baylen at the 43rd GAB Lecture Series, I posted my takeaways and reflections in the blog.
Here now is a book review of Duyan Pababa sa Bayan using elements of Visual Literature, namely color and texture. I will only focus on one spread from the book that I think encapsulates the theme and message of the story.
The story centers on the ingenuity of Filipinos living from too far a medical facility, like a hospital and an ambulance. What device the community put together is a hammock to carry the sick and/or the injured down from the mountains. The patient has to be carried in a hammock by two people along slopes and slippery roads till they reach the hospital. What seemed like a frightening experience for the child who needed medical care became a story of empathy and a community that values life and human rights.
The spread I chose presents these values from the use of colors in blue and green that suggest life and hope. Surrounded by foliage, the characters of the story are in one corner below the lower left side of the spread. A mother hugs and kisses her injured child as the strong hands of her husband is laid on her back in assurance of the safe though long travel that is ahead. The deep blue that is placed above the teeming plant life looks foreboding. Such use of colors provide tension.
Add to this depiction of love and anxiety are the lines of the leaves that criss-cross each other. Will the forest conceal them or will the trees serve as barriers to their journey in seeking medical care for the injured child? Indeed, this spread is one that I enjoyed looking at for a few minutes savoring the comfort it brings at the same time, prompting me to predict possible scenarios - worse, I was worried.
But Gigi Constantino and Enid Din know their children's literature. Inserting humor that helps ease the tension, the story remains a hopeful read for the child and the child at heart.
One may argue that, in real life, going down from the mountain in such a fashion is never an exciting journey filled with laughs and empathy. Here is where picture books for children come into fullness. That even in moments of despair, the human spirit can persevere. In most cases, it prevails.
Rating: 5 Bookmarks
No comments:
Post a Comment