Filipino Children's Favorite Stories

Rating:
Summary: Better than nothing
Review: Beautiful illustrations! My 3 year old enjoys looking at the pictures. But, I'm disappointed with the storytelling. I've read many of these stories as a child and wanted to share them with my son. But, I found the style long on words and a bit tedious. Older versions of these tales told in a straight-forward manner made for livelier story-telling. Many of these stories are half as long in older translations than what appears here. I would not recommend this were it not the ONLY easily available book on Filipino stories for children.

Rating:
Summary: Charming and Humorous Addition for your child's library
Review: I was randomly looking for a children's book on the Philippines for my young son, who is half Filipino on his mother's side. I wanted something suitable for a young child, and that would also provide a positive view of Filipino culture and people. I can say unequivocably I found what I wanted in this book. There are charming stories, beautiful illustrations, and a refreshinly positive perspective on an Asian society that is so often viewed for only its economic problems.

After the first story "why mosquitso buzz around our ears", I was captivated by the humor and the small cultural bits within the story. Other stories, like "Alunsina" are majestic creation stories, and shed some insight on pre-Christian beliefs. The themes within the stories are universal (good vs. evil, honest vs. dishonest, lazy vs. diligent, etc.) but it is refreshing to get the lessons from a non-western tradition. There are some cruel incidents (like the giant pulling off the wing of a kindly dragonfly), but less so than in the standard Brothers Grimm.

In short, this is a wonderful instructive book filled with beautiful watercolor illustrations that I would recommend for all parents of young childern, and others interested in cross cultural exposure.