Kuwentong Musmos Author Interview: Kristine Canon

Balik Kuwentong Musmos tayo sa pagpopost sa blog ngayong buwan ng Setyembre! 

Naging abala tayo sa maraming bagay noong mga nakaraang buwan dahil sa COVID-19. Pero, tuloy ang ligaya at patuloy ang munting proyektong ito sa blog. Naway maitulay natin ang impormasyon at kuwento ng mga manunulat at ilustrador na naging bahagi ng Room to Read project sa mga school librarians, guro at magulang na naghahanap ng mga babasahin para sa mga bata at kabataan.

Sa pagbabalik ng Kuwentong Musmos Author Interview, ang Team Adarna naman ang naka-feature sa mga susunod na araw. Buena mano si Kristine "Teacher Tin" Canon sa pangatlong serye ng blog interviews na ito.

Teacher Tin wrote the story Noel! Noel! Leon! Leon! which was illustrated by Nina Patricia C. Martinez and published by Adarna House. Here is a little information about this tandem. Teacher Tin won the Salanga Prize back in 2001 for the story Bakit Matagal Ang Sundo Ko? While Nina won the PBBY Wordless Book Prize in 2019 for her work, Ang Mga Sikreto ng Langit at Dagat.

Teacher Tin with Nina Martinez

 1. Why are you writing for children?

I write for children because as a teacher, I work with them and know them well. I am passionate about teaching children, and find joy in seeing how they learn and grow.

 2. How did you break out into the children's book industry?

I officially began writing for children in the year 2000. I was pregnant with my first child and had to go on bedrest, which means I couldn’t teach for a good number of weeks. I wrote Bakit Matagal ang Sundo Ko based on my niece’s “sumbong” about not being fetched on time by my sister and then I remembered my own preschool students who stay with me after school because they are fetched late.  I chanced upon the Salanga Writer’s Prize ad in the newspaper and I decided to enter my story there without knowing anything about the writing and publishing world. Lo and behold, my story won!  Then after that, I started to take writing for children seriously as I respected the award so much.

3. Give three words or phrase to describe your Kuwentong Musmos Workshop experience?

Kuwentong Musmos Workshop experience: nerve-racking, exciting, enlightening!

4. What is the book you wish you had written and why?

There are soooo many books I wish I had written, (some were even written in kuwentong musmos!) but my favorite would be Papel de Liha by Ompong Remigio and Beth Parrocha Doctolero. I absolutely love the sense of sweet and calm you feel in the mother and daughter’s relationship (totally the opposite of my life with 3 boys and 1 girl- na parang boy na rin!) and how it placed so much value in the mother’s role as a servant leader in keeping the home in order physically and psychologically.

5. What are your 5 tips for aspiring children's book writers?

What really helps me write is asking people I trust to read any attempts I have at writing a story. As for tips, keep reading children’s books and spend time with children (if you plan to write for kids).

Teacher Tin is a Founding Director for Creative Learning Paths School, a progressive preschool to Gr. 12 educational institution advocating for inclusion and peace education.  She has more than 20 years teaching experience from preschool to college levels.  She is currently a faculty member of the College of Education at De La Salle University.   She a reading specialist as well as a children’s book writer having authored original Filipino children’s picture books for Adarna House, Anvil and Vibal.   She is also a teacher-trainor and formator for Teach Peace Build Peace Movement, a non-profit and non-partisan organization.  Aside from literacy, her advocacies include peace education and the inclusion of children with special needs.  She is married and has four children, two of which are hearing impaired.

 

Nina Martinez, Wordless Book Prize Winner (1 of 2)

Nina Martinez, winner of the 2019 Wordless Book Prize, shares with us her five memorable books, why Math is interesting and briefly describes what her winning story is all about.

1. What are the 5 books that you will always remember? 

Estrellita: The Little Wishing Star by May Tobias-Papa -  one of the first ever books I read and also possibly the first to ever make me feel sad.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery – for its simple but purposeful illustrations.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – for the terrifying but believable world it was able to paint through first-person perspective.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel – for its painfully real, lived-in illustrations, difficult subject matter, and its proving that even autobiographical graphic novels could have striking prose.

Blankets by Craig Thompson – another graphic novel with expressive illustration and the ability to turn a personal story into a tale worth reading.

2. What would you be if not a visual artist?

If I was not a visual artist, I would be a mathematician because I find math beautiful. They say numbers are a “made-up” language yet when used properly they reveal beautiful patterns and truths of our universe.

3. What is Ang Mga Sikreto ng Langit at Dagat?

Ang Mga Sikreto ng Langit at Dagat is my entry to the PBBY 2019 Wordless Book Prize. It opens with a little girl looking at a bird outside of her condominium window and wondering what the open sky and sea are like. We are invited into her imagination of those things.Being an archipelago, the Philippines is surrounded endlessly by both sea and sky, so much that they are both cornerstones in indigenous faiths, folklore, and art. If a child were raised in a highly urbanized environment, she may not be able to experience either of those until much later.

Part 2 will follow soon, so visit the blog again!