Book Review: Josefina

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Author Visit: Russell Molina at The Beacon Academy

📣 Author Visit: Russell Molina at The Beacon Academy

We are honored to welcome Russell Molina , multi-awarded author and graphic novelist, to The Beacon Academy!

Join us for his talk, "Creative IRL: Turning Real Events into Epic Stories" where he will share his writing process with a conscious awareness of young audiences, and reflect on the author's role in navigating social-cultural issues and global realities. He will also speak on the responsibilities authors hold in shaping consciousness, dialogue, and compassion through literature.

🗓 Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
🕐 Time: 1:50–2:50 PM
📍 Venue: Auditorium

We greatly admire Russell Molina's body of work and his enduring impact on Philippine literature for young readers. This is a rare opportunity for our school community to learn from one of the country's most compelling storytellers, whose works like 12:01 , Sixty Six, EDSA and Josefina continue to preserve memory, provoke thought, and inspire change. 

author_visit Russell Molina_ver2 by ZarahG

Book Review: 12:01

12:01
Russell Molina and Kajo Baldisimo
Anino Comics

In February, as the nation celebrated the 30th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution, Anino Comics and the EDSA People Power Commission launched a graphic novel set during the final years of Martial Law and the 1986 People Power Revolution.

It begins with four friends, bandmates, who miss the curfew. Afraid of being caught by the police, they seek refuge in an abandoned printing press, which one of them recognizes as his father’s former workplace. As he recounts the story of his father’s capture by the Metrocom, the reader gains an overview of law enforcement during the Marcos years. The story escalates when the bandmates leave their hiding place and encounter a jeepney driver searching for his daughter, missing after several rallies and mobilizations in Tondo, Manila. Alas, the police catches up with them, and a few good men heed the call of the brave. The story ends at a concert during the height of the EDSA Revolution, with the bandmates playing their song not just for freedom, but in memory of their fallen comrade.

What I enjoyed 

Molina is a gifted storyteller, honest and unpretentious in his use of words. What you read is what you get with Russell, and yet he is able to layer events and emotions into a multi-dimensional narrative. In 12:01, Molina is not just telling the story of four friends dreaming of making it big in the music industry; he is also showing us that we all have dreams that can be crushed or realized by forces larger than ourselves. Tragedy can happen anytime, especially during the Martial Law years, but he shows readers how people can live through such dangerous times. And so, we persist.

Baldisimo’s illustrations are dynamic. They are kinetic where they need to be, haunting and nostalgic in exactly the right panels, and dramatic and melancholic when the moment calls for it. The broken coffee cup. The old picture frame. The drumsticks left unmoved on top of a garbage can. His artwork enhances and enriches Molina’s skilled storytelling. And the book cover-- powerful.

What I hope it had

This is more of a suggestion than a critique, and I hope Anino Comics gets to read this review.

There are three songs in the graphic novel: Hala, Tahan Na, and Gising Na. These are seamlessly woven into the plot. But it would have been a great way to further engage teenage readers if guitar chords or tabs for these songs were included. Add a downloadable or streaming MP4/MP3 recording, and you’d have a multimedia material perfect for the digital native.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (Four bookmarks out of five)

Author of the Month: Russell Molina

Let's kickstart 2013 with an author interview. The blog's featured Author of the Month is Mr. Russel Molina.

In this interview, he shares his thoughts on his writing process and how he started out as a writer. He reveals his inspiration for writing the PBBY Salanga 2012 winner, Anong Gupit Natin Ngayon. Illustrated by Hubert Fucio and published by Adarna House, the story book is available in bookstores nation wide.

1. When did you start writing for children?

I started in 1998 with the story "Ang Lumang Kumot ni Lola."  I wrote it then entered it in the PBBY Salanga Writer's Prize.  Luckily, it was given a special citation that year.  I took that win as a nudge that I should pursue writing for children.  I never stopped writing ever since.  

My background is really advertising.  I write copy (text) for numerous print ads and television spots. So it's also like telling stories in 30 seconds or 15 seconds.  So the shift from writing copy to creating children's stories wasn't a leap.  I actually use what I learn in advertising when I write for kids and vice versa.  It's a fun process.  

2. What was your inspiration for writing "Anong Gupit Natin Ngayon"?

"Anong Gupit Natin Ngayon?" is a combination of two experiences first, as a child growing up and visiting the barbershop with my mom and dad and second, as a father bringing my daughter to her own haircut sessions.  

At the 2012 NCBD, Museo Pambata

As a child, I remember sitting in the barber chair and devouring pages of Funny Komiks (remember those?) in between snips.  Those times, I think, were my most creative moments.  Just being alone with your thoughts and your comics.  You can let your mind explode with ideas even if you're stuck to a chair.  And I remember imagining different hair styles then.  "What if" moments come to you when you let your mind fly and wander.

As a father, my heart aches every time I think of the time when my little daughter inevitably grows up -- old enough not to need her dad to tag along.  She would finally make her own decisions, in hairstyles and in life.  So I guess I wrote this story also for parents.  Moments such as these are fleeting.  Embrace them and hold on tight as long as you can.  

3. Among your published stories, which story do you consider the best?

All my stories are my babies.  I gave birth to them. So it is really hard to choose. 

4. Describe the "creative process" you went through while writing "Anong Gupit Nating Ngayon". Did you undergo the same experience while writing your other books?

I really do not follow a strict process when it comes to writing.  Writing is like a journey and I seldom take the same route twice.  I allow myself to lose my way sometimes.  But all my stories start with an idea.  I don't think you can ever begin writing a story without an idea.  What is it that you want to say?  Where do you want to take your readers?  And what is it about your story that would make them sit up and listen?  If you can answer these questions THEN you can start the trek.  

At a public school in Batangas

5. As a writer for children, where do you see yourself ten years from now against the backdrop of Philippine Children's Literature?

I still see myself creating stories that celebrate the Filipino spirit.  Stories open the eyes, minds and hearts of Filipino children.  Books are the best vehicles to encourage kids to get to know themselves better.  And it is important that they read ABOUT themselves in the pages.  There are still a lot of Pinoy stories that are left untold.  I hope to continue championing this cause.  

6. Short message please, for teachers, parents, and children who read your stories.

To the parents, the best stories are YOUR stories - stories about your childhood, about your family, about your community and about your life in general.  These are the best stories because you are part of them.  Pass them on to your kids.  These stories are your legacy.  Also, don't forget to read to your kids.  And don't forget to open a book too. 

The culture of reading starts in your own home.  

To the teachers, we need new writers and storytellers and I really believe that you are primed to take on the challenge of creating wonderful stories for kids.  Jump in!  Take the leap!  

Thank you for your support and for making my stories come alive with every telling.  

To the Filipino child, open a Filipino children book today and read all about you.  You have always been our inspiration and we hope to return the favor and inspire you back with our stories.  

Thanks! Happy New Year everyone!  

 

 

Another School Library Grows in Tanauan, Batangas

Sambat Trust and Trapiche Elementary School will open the newly built library in the school located at Brgy. Trapiche, Tanauan Batangas on Saturday, August 11, 2012.

It is the seventh school library in Tanauan that  Sambat Trust helped establish.

Guest for the opening is multiawarded author, Mr. Russell Molina. He will be joined by Mr. Gerard Hidalgo and Mr. Ark Buenaobra, true blue Tanauenos, in the ribbon cutting that will follow after Mr. Molina's inspirational message to children, parents and teachers of Trapiche Elementary School.

Thank you to all donors, sponsors and supporters of Sambat Trust's school library project!