Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind

I found out about this festival in Qatar from Asia Writes . (Click on the images to enlarge them and to find out more about the festival.) I sooooooooooooooooooooo want to go. Who's going? :o)

I've got another special author interview for you today! Meet Becky Bravo, one of the nine winners of the first Philippine National Children's Book Awards . Here is the official Philippine National Children's Book Award citation for Becky's book, Just Add Dirt (illustrated by Jason Moss and published by Adarna House in 2009): One morning, Miguel wakes up to find little mung bean seedlings growing out of his ears. "That's what you get for not taking a bath," his mother says quite nonchalantly. Miguel promises to take a bath, but he keeps putting it off so that he can play with his friends. Meanwhile, more and more plants start growing all over his body - a veritable vegetable garden! Miguel starts to panic, but his mother remains cool and calm. Becky Bravo has written very interesting characters and a funny, immensely entertaining story. Jason Moss' colorful, vivid, and detailed illustrations add even more humor to the book. Just Add Dirt will have c...

is on children's literature from India and the Indian diaspora! =D

I kinda fell in love with Tagu-Taguan by Jomike Tejido ( Tahanan Books , 2009). It's a counting book in Filipino, and I thought it was so refreshing that it counted backwards from 10 to 1, then reinforced the "lesson" of counting by counting again from 1 to 10. I also thought that the use of creepy crawlies for the counting was sure to be a hit with the young 'uns. Young 'uns love their creepy crawlies! =D Jomike Tejido is an architect, artist, and illustrator. This year he won two Philippine National Children's Book Awards for writing and illustrating Tagu-Taguan and for illustrating Lub-Dub, Lub-Dub . ( Lub-Dub, Lub-Dub is a picture book biography of Filipino pediatrician Fe del Mundo. It was written by Russell Molina and published by Bookmark in 2008). Here I have a special interview with Mr. Tejido. He's revealed a lot of what goes on behind his work (his inspirations and rituals, etc.) and I hope you enjoy reading all about it! Hi, Jomike! Con...