For this year’s reading series for schools, Inquirer in Education (IIE) asked two young mothers to work their magic on a story for young readers.
“Yaya Maya and the White King” is a fantasy story by Cyan Abad-Jugo, mother to twins Megan and Colin, both almost 5 years old, and a teacher of English literature at Ateneo de Manila University.
As a kid, Abad-Jugo loved to listen to her dad, poet Gemino Abad, make up stories about giants and goblins, and it’s no wonder that her twins now prefer the same genre. “My husband, Mike, likes fantasy stories, too,” says Abad-Jugo, a Palanca award winner in the stories for children category for her story “Behind the Old Aparador.” Her published titles are “Sweet Summer and Other Stories” and “Lead and Shadow: Stories about Some Friendly Creatures,” a fantasy book for young adults.
The illustrations for the series were by in-house artist Steph Bravo, whose comic strip “Full House” appears every Sunday in the Junior Inquirer pullout. The strip is loosely based on real-life sitcoms with husband, Chris Semilla, and son Jakob, 7. The artist gave birth recently to baby girl Katherine.
“Yaya Maya and the White King” was the fifth in the IIE Serial Reading Program supported by fashion retailer Bench. Recently voted the No. 1 brand among young Pinoys in a survey conducted by TNS Teens Research Unlimited (under Kantor), Bench has added education to its list of advocacies through this program that aims to foster love of reading among the youth and encourage the use of newspapers in classrooms to link learning to the real world.
Both the author and the artist graced the recent quite casual closing ceremonies for the series. Bench was graciously represented by Suyen Lim-Yap. All three gamely posed with the teachers for souvenir photos.
The six-chapter “Yaya Maya” is about a girl who meets a mysterious woman and other even more mysterious creatures upon relocating to a rural town with her father and younger brother. The father has requested a woman named Mayang to watch the kids while he was at work. But Mayang turns out to be not-your-average nanny. She is not Nanny McPhee, strange but rather mystical. And as the story unfolds, the toads in the backyard turn out to be no ordinary toads either.
Although it was a mix of realism and fantasy, the story served as a good introduction to the subjects of loss of a loved one and moving to a new place. It had curriculum links to language arts, art and culture, science and values education, among others.
“Yaya Maya” was the first story for young readers from a Filipino writer to be published in the Learning section for grade school students. In previous years, the stories published were works donated by American writers and illustrators to the World Association of Newspapers. For high school students, Inquirer has had the pleasure of presenting “The Magic Circle” by Gilda Cordero-Fernando, with illustrations by Inquirer editorial artist Gilbert Daroy.
This year, as in the previous school years, Bench donated copies of the Inquirer every Monday for six weeks to give students at 14 public schools and one nonprofit school the opportunity to read the story and study it with their Language Arts teachers.
The participating schools in Metro Manila were Tuloy sa Don Bosco in Alabang; Jose Magsaysay Elementary School, Nemesio I. Yabut Elementary School and Tibagan Elementary School in Makati City; Ninoy Aquino Elementary School in Malabon City; Eulogio Rodriguez Integrated School and Isaac Lopez Integrated School in Mandaluyong City; and Kabayanan Elementary School in the city of San Juan.
The provincial schools that benefited from the Bench support were Bubukal Elementary School and Oogong Elementary School in Santa Cruz, Laguna; Cabog-Cabog Elementary School and Cataning Elementary School in Balanga, Bataan; Nellie E. Brown Elementary School and New Cabalan Elementary School in Olongapo City; and Gabaldon Elementary School in Lauag, Ilocos Norte.
It was in September, in observance of International Literacy Day (September 8), that Inquirer invited English language teachers for fourth to sixth graders to enroll their classes in the Serial Reading Program. The teachers were required to attend a pre-series briefing to qualify for free copies of the newspaper for their students. They were also given a workshop on using the newspaper in the classroom.
This year’s partner teachers were Rosan L. Aclo, Carolina Andres, Rove Raes A. Arzadon, Elena S. Banzon, Lannie Basada, Marnelli A. Bautista, Angilina J. Bernardo, Aimee V. Cambel, Paul Nylden A. Carable, Wilma R. Cuenta, Marisse Eng, Abigail Marie T. Ferrer, Marlyn Gerio, Rhea C. Gonzales, Erma D. Guerrero, Armie C. Lopez, Michael L. Mamon, Aura Fe T. Morales, Zacarias A. Penoliar, Anelyn C. Pracambo, Sarah H. Putan, Oliver N. Quiba, Marcelina G. Saculo, Delia V. Sahagun, Evangeline D. Sason, Ryan Lorenzo Singson, Rochelle T. Tallud and Mercy A. Villamin.
The Serial Reading Program is not to be confused with the popular and much-awarded Read-Along corporate advocacy of the Inquirer.
Read-Along is aimed at fostering love of reading among the young. The IIE Serial Reading Program, on the other hand, wants to encourage newspaper reading and the use of newspapers in classrooms as a learning tool.
In other words, Read-Along is reading for enjoyment while Serial Reading is reading the newspaper for learning.