Booktalk, 2006 Oct 9 : Light, and pigs

By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

Beaulah and I suspected that it would eventually be a Booktalk with just the two of us. With the messiness of everyone’s schedule this was bound to be the case sooner or later. And that is what we thought would be on October 9.

Much to our surprise, two people showed up. Patrice Hill came and wanted to stay, she even brought a book with her. Unfortunately, after registering for the November workshop and chatting for a bit she had to leave for another appointment. Darn!

However, just a few minutes before Patrice left, David Larkin, writer, illustrator and publisher of The Modern Teacher came. So now there were three – Beaulah, Nikki and David.

I started the booktalk with Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Ring of Endless Light.” L’Engle is a writer I fell in love with as a teenager and who my eleven year old now enjoys as much as I did. The choice of this book was a no brainer for me. You see, one evening, as I was watching television, my daughter ran upstairs. Fifteen or twenty minutes later, she came down and presented me with the first poem she had ever written (or at least the first she ever showed me). This poem was inspired by “A Ring of Endless Light.” So, as I said, no brainer. I had to share the book that unlocked the door to my daughter’s literary creativity.

Briefly, this book tells the story of how a 15 year old, Vicky Austin, copes with the death of a dear family friend. As the story continues, she must, along with her other siblings, cope with a dying grandfather. Complicating matters are the three young men who are after Vicky’s heart – Leo the boy next door, Zachary the handsome but dangerous young man and Adam, the calm would-be scientist. In the end, Vicky gets comfort from an unexpected source – dolphins who are being studied by Adam.

Like all of L’Engle’s books, this one focuses on the inter-relation of all living creatures, human and non human and their ability to communicate. As always, the author is not afraid to touch on painful realities, such as death. Again, like all of L’Engle’s books, this is part of a series – each of her books deal with specific characters. Young people reading these books are spurred to read the next in the series to see how each character grows and develops.

In closing, I shared my Ruth’s poem. Below is an excerpt:

The world is like a pool of light
In the middle of it all it shines so bright
A light that sparkles in the breeze
A world that dances like the trees

Within this light we see
A mixture of feeling of people and me
A circle of happiness, anger and feeling
Within a mixture of love all in all completing

…So in a galaxy so full of light
The world is like a pool of light

Dave was supposed to be next. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to bring a book for children. Instead he had The Modern Teacher with him. This was a family publication meant for teachers around the country. It had about 60,000 subscribers.

So Beaulah then stepped up. She had actually brought three books, all on pigs, all published within a year of each other in 1989 and 1990. We briefly discussed what could have happened in those years that brought this resurgence of pig stories.

The tome she chose to share was Rene Villanueva’s “Ang Unang Baboy sa Langit.”. As Rene mentions in his book of essays “Personal,” this was his very first children’s book. Rene of course, is one of the country’s most prolific writers with over 50 stories and 30 plays as well as 29 Palanca Awards to his name.

How “Ang Unang Baboy…” came to be is an interesting story in itself. The Philippine Board on Books for Young People which was founded twenty years ago used to have a story telling hour at the Luneta. One day, the story teller for the day ended her stint rather quickly, leaving the children present wanting more. PBBY founder and now National Artist for Literature told Rene to tell the children another story. And so, literally off the top of his head, Rene told this story, inventing it on the spot. Later, it became, for Rene a simple matter of writing is down. And, as with many of his works, winning an award for it.

The book tells the story of a pig unlike any other pig. He is clean, he is respectful and he understands his role in life – to be lechon and chicharon. As such he earns the ire of the other pigs. In the end, he is slaughtered, and does become both lechon and chicharon. What is unusual is that he ascends to heaven – the first pig saint.

The book has parallel text of English and Filipino. It interested Beaulah to note that the story, the illustrations and the lay out of the parallel text were all copyrighted to specific people. The Filipino version seems to target anyone from 3 to 8 years of age who could listen, but as with many of his works, Rene did not hesitate to use complex words and ideas. It is hilarious and in many instances, irreverent.

The ideas are the kind which will encourage young people to ask questions. As simple as the story is, the tendency is to keep processing it and to keep on asking questions. Published in 1990 by Cacho Publishing, it is part of the Trampoline series, which is their line of affordable books, which at that time was priced at P50 and and below.

Beaulah also briefly spoke about “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” as told to Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith (Viking, 1989). It is a re-telling of the story of the three little pigs from the point of view of the wolf. The wolf contended that he was innocent and that he was framed. This sparked a discussion about point of view. Someone said that it actually is an interesting exercise for future story tellers. In one workshop, Rene Villanueva himself used it in one workshop, where he asked children to re-write the Cinderella story from the point of view of one of the other characters. The results were hilarious.

Thus ended out Booktalk. Come to the next one, second Monday as usual, November 13. As usual, from 6 to pm at Figaro in Greenbelt 3.

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