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Richness in the Written Word!

Customer Rating:
Wonderful book of stories! Just right for children to have as they learn about their heritage.

Nice Filipino stories

Customer Rating:
I bought this book to expose my daughter to her Filipino heritage. The stories are well written and the pictures are colorful. However, I think some of the stories are better for children older than 7 years old. My daughter is five, so some of the things in the stories are hard for her to understand, and some are a little violent for me to read to her for a nighttime story. She does like a few of the stories and enjoys learning from them. I do plan on reading all of the stories to her and her baby brother when they get older. They remind me of the stories that my mother used to tell me when I was a child. I am glad that I bought this book, and would recommend it.

A classic

Customer Rating:
Having grown up in the Philippines, I had wonderful memories of reading folk stories in grade school. Though I cannot find our text book that sparked my imagination, this was the best thing I can find. I sometimes even use it as a Sunday school supplement to teach values like honesty, sharing, friendships, and so forth. I always have a captive audience!

Better than nothing

Customer Rating:
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.

Charming and Humorous Addition for your child's library

Customer Rating:
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.