Araw ng Pagbasa in Binan, Laguna

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@zarahgeeh)

Our Travel Zine

 

Travel Zine by zarah gagatiga

Green and Glowing: Takeaways from the Reading Association of the Philippines' Emerald Conference

Congratulations to the Reading Association of the Philippines (RAP) for a successful conference celebrating their 55th year! I am honored to be a presenter and moderator in one of the concurrent sessions. I was nominated as RAP Board Member by Teacher Nong and that means so much! I was not elected to the board but it does not mean I end my "agape" with RAP. 

RAP's annual conference and mid-year demo, as well as talks and webinars are spaces where I find inspiration and challenges to better my skills and competencies as intervention teacher, school librarian and children's book author. Thank you RAP, for being family and for always welcoming me in the community of literacy advocates.

Here are links to my posts on IG as a way of looking back to last week's RAP Emerald Conference

My books on display! Thank you, Lampara Books!

Dr. Cielo Magno and Dr. Maris Diokno pushed for the need to think critically -- a skill that never goes out of style.

I remember Xilef in Dr. Everatt's plenary. And the indefatigable Dr. Luis P. Gatmaitan was in his element when sharing about books and why children's literature carries weight in literacy instruction.

Day 2 began with Fr. Johnny Go's thought provoking plenary on AI in teaching and learning. This was followed by inspiring stories of literacy workers, researchers and learners of shapes and sizes!

Indeed, the two day conference of the RAP at St. Paul Manila University lived up to its name, Sparkling and Growing in Advocating Literacy and Addressing Learning Gaps @55

Women Writing's February 2024 Workshop

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Women Writing (@womenwritingph)

From Stories to Safety: The Role of Media and Information Literacy in Disaster Education for Young Readers A contextual analysis of The Disaster Ready Kids Series

RAP_MILxDRK_gagatigaZee_v2 by zarah gagatiga

Book Review: The Cat Who Saved the Library

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@the.readingarmy)

The Lighthouse Diary #81: BA Library Launches "Books for Biñan" Drive: Filling the Shelves of the New Biñan Studies Center

Celebrating Literacy: November is Reading Month

To mark National Reading Month and Library and Information Services Month, the BA Library is launching a new community-wide book drive. This year, we are focusing our efforts on a very special partner: the Biñan Studies Center (BSC).

The BSC, which receives our library's retired books annually for distribution to Barangay Reading Centers, recently opened its doors on October 10, 2025, in its symbolic new home—the beautifully rebuilt old Biñan jailhouse. This redesign is a powerful statement, transforming the space into a beacon of literacy as a human right and a tool for liberation.

The Immediate Need: A Children’s Corner

During a visit on November 7, 2025, we were delighted to discover the new BSC now includes a dedicated reading corner for children and teens—a wonderful addition not present in its previous location. However, this promising new corner is currently wanting of books.

The BA Library is therefore inviting the entire BA Community to help us fill these shelves with books that young Binanense readers need and love. We will promote the drive throughout November and December, aiming for a special delivery in January 2026.

How You Can Participate

This initiative is open to all Students, Teachers, and Staff. Your support can make a direct impact on literacy in Biñan.

1. Donate Books: The 3-Step Donation Mechanic

We are seeking new or gently used books suitable for children and teens (such as picture books, early readers, and young adult fiction/non-fiction).

1. Identify & Select: Check your personal or classroom shelves for age-appropriate books in good condition.

2. Label & Prepare: Place your books in a bag or box clearly labeled "BSC Book Drive."

3. Drop-Off: Bring your donation to the BA Library desk anytime before the end of the semester.

2. Volunteer: Lend Your Skills and Time

We need a few dedicated volunteers to help ensure the drive meets the community's actual needs:

• Community Liaisons: We need a small group to join me (and/or Flynn) to meet with the BSC librarian. Your role will be crucial in identifying the specific reading needs of the community, allowing us to target our donations effectively.

• Delivery Assistants: We also need assistance in January 2026 when we organize and deliver all the collected books to the BSC. Many hands make light work of a big delivery!

Please see Ms. Zarah or Mr. Flynn at the BA Library to sign up as a volunteer or for more information. Let's celebrate the gift of reading by sharing it with the young readers of Biñan!

Author Visit: Learning From Young Readers

Why Author Visits are a lot of fun, and the possibility of it becoming an intergenerational experience! 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@zarahgeeh)

The New Biñan Studies Center

 

Reading & LIS Month: My New Author Visit Slide Deck

Author Visit November 2025 by zarah gagatiga

The Lighthouse Diary #81: Books for Binan

 

Poetry: it only takes two colors

it only takes two colors, blue and yellow

though chemistry has a name for them i keep it simple mix them in a small white dish the paper awaits, 200 gsm of virginal capacity i wash the colors, looking murky green

on cotton paper

today’s subjects: a coin from BTS Thonglor Station, loose change from a basement café near Myeongdong Cathedral, small bottles of cologne and liniment now empty, and flowers from the soursop tree Uwan uprooted all memories now— remembered in light and shadow, preserved in indigo hue

At the New Children's Library of the National Library of the Phillippines

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@zarahgeeh)

Disaster Ready Kids: Be Flood Ready, Families!

BE FLOOD-READY, FAMILIES.

A new typhoon is approaching Luzon this weekend. Let’s prepare, not just our homes, but our hearts. 💙

🪣 Preparation lessens panic.
When kids know what’s happening, they feel safer.
When families plan together, they stay calmer.

💡 Before the storm:
• Pack go bags: clothes, food, meds, flashlight, docs.
• Move valuables up high.
• Charge phones.
• Talk to your kids about what to expect.
• Don’t forget your pets!

🌊 During the storm:
• Follow PAGASA and LGU updates.
• Evacuate early if near rivers or flood-prone areas.
• Keep calm. Your calm helps your child feel safe.

☀️ After the flood:
• Wait for clearance before returning home.
• Avoid floodwater.
• Listen to your children’s stories. It helps them recover.

📚 My Disaster Ready Kids books: Fire, Earthquake, Flood, Volcano, use stories to help kids prepare mentally and emotionally for disasters. Because being ready is an act of love.

Zarah C. Gagatiga
Author, Disaster Ready Kids Series
Illustrator @juno_abreu
Publisher @lamparabooks
Stay tuned to: PAGASA • NDRRMC • LGUs

PBBY Workshops: Children's Book Lab

Poetry: fireflies

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@the.readingarmy)

Bangtan Herman Notes: RM APEC CEO Summit Series Episode 5: From Consumers to Culture Bearers

The Lighthouse Diary #80: Inquiry and the Library

The 2nd term is the shortest of the four terms in a school year. It also has the most number of school-wide activities and holidays. With midyear exams in December, it is a packed calendar that tests everyone's mettle. We take this in stride in the Academy, but we are fully aware of the timetable and how to make the most of class days amid class suspensions. In light of the tight schedule, teachers still find time to bring their students to the library. It's been a busy term and we're not complaining!

As we move toward the end-of-term exams in three weeks, I'm sharing two stories of our library engagement that made us smile and realize we are doing our part.

PEEL – Point, Evidence, Exploration, Link

Our Grade 8 students explored the structure of an academic essay at the beginning of the term. The English teacher gave them two periods to do research in the library. Prior to this library session, the teacher had explained the task: each student would develop a topic to write about using the PEEL (Point, Evidence, Exploration, Link) framework. To do this, students had to read three printed sources and two online or digital sources.

Armed with their knowledge of using the library’s OPAC, the students worked through the task as my staff and I assisted and supervised. It was interesting to see how they worked, each at his or her own pace and approach. Some were faster than others, while a few needed guidance in searching and selecting sources. The bottom line is, students made full use of the library, from the OPAC to the collection and the staff.

To Smoke or To Vape

A few weeks later, the same class came to the library to develop their PEEL paragraphs. One student was looking for sources on vaping and vapers: what influences them to keep the habit despite its harmful effects on health. Sadly, we had none.

Leading the student to the World Book Encyclopedia and the books we have on smoking, he wondered how these could help him. Our conversation went like this:

Me: What is the difference between smoking and vaping?
Student: They are the same, Miss. The tools are different though, and so is the environment a smoker or vaper builds around himself or herself.
Me: What is the focus of your inquiry?
Student: I want to explore how and why vapers refuse to change.
Me: So it is the nature of addiction that you want to explore.

He nodded. I opened one of the books on smoking and showed him the table of contents.

Me: Can you check and read a chapter that tells you about addiction, behavior, and the habits of smokers? Because if the tools are the only difference between vaping and smoking, you may establish a similarity between the two. And in research, that’s close to what we call a correlation.

It was an aha! moment for the student as he found two chapters on the subtopic in question. 

The next Lighthouse Diary entry will be about our AI journey!

AI Literacy: Boundaries and Limits on AI Use

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@zarahgeeh)

Bangtan Hermana Notes: To be called, ARMY

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@the.readingarmy)

Bangtan Hermana Notes: Singing Beyond Empire

@rkive posted on IG Story the facade of the building where the APEC CEO Summit is held. This is today, October 29, 2025. @rkive, RM, Kpop Idol, Kim Namjoon of BTS, our Leader Nim will deliver a keynote speech. As he stands before the world’s business and political elite at the APEC CEO Summit in Korea, I reflect on the importance and significance of this moment, for South Korea and its management of the arts as an economic force, for countries in Asia that has a history of colonization and imperial influence, and for ARMY a diverse fandom who can approach this milestone with nuance.

At first glance, this might look like another victory for K-culture, another proof that Korean creativity has “made it” into the halls of power. But if we pause and listen with the ears of those who know his story, and the story of Bangtan, we might hear something more radical humming beneath the polite applause and our enormous pride as ARMY.

RM’s presence at APEC unsettles the very logic that built such summits. APEC is a space born of global capitalism and postcolonial hierarchies, where nations compete to sell, to produce, to consume. And here stands an artist whose body of work has long questioned those same systems; an artist who insists that the self is not just a brand, that creativity is not only a just commodity, that love and integrity are forms of resistance.

Through his words and his art, RM redefines what it means to lead, to represent, to succeed. He enters this space not to reinforce empire, but to remind it of its humanity. His talk on “Cultural and Creative Industries in the APEC Region and the Soft Power of K-Culture” invites us to rethink: What if power is not in the market, but in meaning? What if the truest form of growth is not economic, but ethical, relational, and imaginative?

For some of us, ARMYs, those who came to care and to think through their music, this moment is not simply pride in seeing “one of ours” on a global stage. It’s an act of reclamation. RM’s participation gestures toward a decolonial imagination, where artists from the once-colonized world speak not as cultural exports, but as equals shaping discourse, redefining value, and unsettling the West’s monopoly on modernity.

In a summit of CEOs and ministers, RM represents something that cannot be quantified: a people’s longing to be seen and to create freely, beyond the binaries of consumer and producer, colonizer and colonized. He stands not as the product of a system, but as its quiet critique. This is proof that art can inhabit power without surrendering its soul.

And maybe that’s why we, the ARMY who read between the lyrics, are moved. Because in that brief moment on the APEC stage, the story of Bangtan, our seven boys who turned their wounds into wonder, becomes the story of all of us still learning to sing beyond empire.

Apobangpo! Purple and true! 

Library Display: Mental Health Month at the Library

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zarah Gagatiga (@the.readingarmy)