Showing posts with label Lampara Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lampara Books. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Monday, August 10, 2026
Saturday, August 1, 2026
New Children's Book: Talia Says I'm Sorry
New children's book! Cover reveal of "Talia Says I'm Sorry" 💜
As a children's book writer, I have always believed that
stories can teach children how to be brave, kind, and accountable. Sometimes,
they also heal the adults who write them. Sometimes we write the ending we
wished life had offered, not to erase the past, but to imagine the world as it
could be.
Kahit sa kathang isip, nag-sorry ka sa akin.
Maraming salamat, Lampara Books sa liwanag na handog ay
paghilom.
Friday, May 15, 2026
Friday, December 26, 2025
My 2025 Writing Life: Disaster Ready Kids Series (DRK): Flood, Fire, Earthquake, and Volcanic Eruption (1/4)
First of seven is the Disaster Ready Kids Series (DRK): Flood, Fire, Earthquake, and Volcanic Eruption. @juno_abreu and I were interviewed at the Philippine Book Festival last March 2025, and though we were not in the Bologna Book Fair and the Frankfurt Buchmesse, our series was present. At the MIBF in September, we showed up for meet-and-greet sessions. There were author visits in between, where I had the pleasure of sharing my creative process with young readers and it was a joy to talk about the DRK Series with teachers and literacy experts at the Reading Association of the Philippines’ annual conference last November.
As I end this year, I do so with gratitude. For editors who believed, illustrators who brought heart to the page, publishers who took risks, teachers and librarians who carried these books into classrooms, and children who listened, asked questions, and saw themselves in the stories. Writing, I am reminded, is never solitary. It is sustained by community, trust, and grace. I step into the coming year thankful, grounded and ready to keep telling stories that serve, prepare, and hold.
Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Listening to the Hum of the Universe
It’s about a Mangyan child who dreams of a land he can farm and call home, while his friend dreams of seeing other lands far away.
My friend Bernadette Solina Wolf—who illustrated the book—told me during our process of creation:
“The Mangyan’s attachment to the land is not ownership. It is who they are.”
Having lived among the Mangyan, she understands the wisdom of our Indigenous people — a wisdom that preceded the knowledge of empire.
But conquest came, and when colonial powers divided the land, they broke something deeper than borders: memory, and the knowing that we belong to the earth and are shaped by it. Being colonized meant that belonging turned into ownership, and kinship into control. Yet, the earth has a way of calling us back.
Others call their presence at the Buchmesse as complicity, but it can also be a form of returning.
Back to a place called home, before empire drew its lines and built hierarchies. Back to belonging, before ownership replaced kinship. Back to listening to the hum of the universe so we can sing our songs again.
#PHGOH #frankfurtbuchmesse2025 #indigenouspeoplesmonth
Sunday, September 7, 2025
Sunday, June 22, 2025
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Illustrator of the Month: Juno Abreu
And so, a few weeks after the successful launching of the Disaster Ready Kids Series at the Philippine Book Festival, Juno shares his creative process more extensively in this blog interview.
1. Each book in the Disaster-Ready Kids series tackles a different kind of calamity, yet your illustrations maintain a cohesive visual identity. How did you develop the overall look and emotional tone for the series?
I started by researching the target age group and the types of disasters that would be covered in the series. I wanted to create a visual identity that would be both engaging and reassuring for young readers. I experimented with different styles, I tried doing them traditionally with watercolors but I guess the look doesn’t exactly work on the series, so I tried doing them digitally and found a new style for the overall look, this is actually the first time I did the illustrations in this kind of style and I really liked how it turned out and found a cohesive look that would work across various disaster scenarios. I settled on a warm, inviting color palette to create a sense of depth and texture. Throughout the series, I aimed to maintain a consistent emotional tone that would help children feel empowered and prepared, rather than scared or overwhelmed.
2. Your characters show such expressive faces– from fear to courage to relief. What’s your process in capturing the emotions of children in high-stress or emergency situations?
Capturing the emotions of children in high-stress or emergency situations requires a thoughtful and empathetic approach. To get into the right mindset, I try to imagine how a child might feel in a given situation - whether it’s fear, anxiety, or courage. I remembered feeling a bit anxious while doing the illustrations for putting and imagining myself in these scenarios. Hehe.
Also, this is kinda embarrassing to admit, I’m not sure if other artists do this too, what I do is, I put a mirror on my work desk and do the facial expressions myself and use it as reference. Haha!
When illustrating a scene, I try to tap into the emotional tone of the story and convey it through the characters’ faces and body language. I believe that by showing a range of emotions, we can help children understand that it’s okay to feel scared or overwhelmed, but also that they have the power to stay safe and take action.
3. From fire to flood, you’ve illustrated a wide range of disasters. Were there particular scenes or scenarios that challenged you the most as an artist?
One of the most challenging scenes and also my favorite spread was the volcanic eruption. I had to research and accurately depict the safety measures and precautions that people would take in such a situation, also, the details were much harder to do in terms of illustrating.
Another challenging scenario was illustrating the earthquake scene. I had to balance the need to convey the danger and urgency of the situation with the need to avoid scaring or traumatizing young readers.
Overall, the biggest challenge was finding ways to depict potentially frightening or disturbing scenarios in a way that was both accurate and accessible to young readers.
4. What was it like working on a series where your art could help children understand danger but also feel empowered and safe? What message did you hope your illustrations would carry?
Working on the Disaster-Ready Kids series was a rewarding and challenging experience. I hoped that my illustrations would carry a message of empowerment and resilience, showing children that they have the power to stay safe and take action in emergency situations. I hope that the Disaster-Ready Kids series will inspire young readers to take an active role in their own safety and well-being, and to develop a lifelong commitment to preparedness and resilience.
Visit Lampara Book's FB Page and IG account for updates on our books' availability. We can't wait to meet you again for book signing and photo ops!
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Philippine Book Festival 2025: A Book Experience Indeed!
Now that the dust has settled over the success of the 2025 Philippine Book Festival (PBF 2025), I look back with much fondness on the experience of my 2-day visit and participation.
On Day 2 of the PBF 2025, I had the pleasure of meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends at the Lampara Booth. I have new books out in the market in September 2025 and the scoping session by the DepEd was an opportune time to talk to teachers and librarian friends about our new titles.
After lunch, I joined the team of Indie Collab PH for a panel on Inclusion and Inclusive Library Services. There I discovered Lean Borlongan's moving poetry. As to the course of our discussion in the panel, I'm reserving a separate post for that -- so, stay tuned!
Day 3 was our moment -- the Lampara Team who helped me and Juno Abreu work on our new book series, the Disaster Ready Kids, as we took the main stage to share our creative process and back stories. I spent the rest of the day buying select books, visiting booths in the Booktopia, Kids Lit and Aklat Aral realms, as well as the PBBY and IBBY booth that featured award winning books by our writers and illustrators.
The Philippine Book Festival was indeed an experience! However, we need a bigger and roomier venue next year.
My deepest gratitude to the incredible team at Lampara Books and to Jun Matias, whose resilience and dedication made the Disaster Kids Series a reality. Heartfelt thanks as well to the National Book Development Board - Philippines for giving us a space on the Main Stage to launch this important series and share what truly matters to us—why we write, why we love stories the way we do, and the dreams that keep us moving forward.
In times as chaotic and uncertain as these, stories remain our anchor. They connect us, challenge us to think critically, and nurture empathy. More than ever, we need narratives that empower young minds, equip them with knowledge, and remind them of their strength and resilience. This passion fuels us, and we’ll keep going—creating, sharing, and believing in the power of stories to make a difference.
Rey Bufi salamat!
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