One for the books

ONE GOAL Children show their approval of love of reading in the ninth Read-Along Festival. —LEO SABANGAN

And the fun continues!

As always, there was a lot of laughter, with children avidly following the antics of characters that came alive in stories read aloud at the ninth Inquirer Read-Along festival held at the Inquirer building in Makati City on Nov. 22 and 23.

“If there is a superpower that the kids have, it’s that sense of wonder, sense of determination and being 100-percent focused on seeing what can be achieved, rather than seeing what the barriers and hurdles are,” said Inquirer president and CEO Sandy Prieto-Romualdez.

Children, Romualdez added, have the power to change the world.

It was an apt description of the theme in this year’s read-along event held in celebration of National Reading Month: “Children Rising,” in honor of young people who have been the core of the program.

Empowered readers

Launched in May 2007, the Inquirer Read-Along program hopes to spread the fun and joy of reading. The dream is to have empowered children who love to read on their own, and in the long run, help build a nation of informed readers.

The advocacy also addresses a declining readership in the Philippines and elsewhere, with children choosing to play gadgets rather than read books.

To break that trend and prove that reading can be as much fun as playing video games, the Inquirer Read-Along event gathers children age 7 to 12 for a story reading session hosted by trained and wacky interactive storytellers. Celebrities who include movie stars, TV personalities, beauty queens, basketball players and outstanding achievers are invited regularly—not only for star power—but also to serve as role models for the awestruck children.

The program has stayed the course as it reinvents itself by injecting fresh elements—from holding read-along sessions in the provinces (launched in 2008), to holding simultaneous read-alongs in 25 cities and provinces from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi (in time for the Inquirer’s 25th anniversary), holding two-day festivals and storytelling competitions (launched in November 2011), and having special Reading for Healing sessions (for survivors of Typhoons “Ondoy,” “Sendong” and “Yolanda”).

This year’s read-along continues the tradition of previous years, with passion and creativity marking the monthly session at Inquirer’s Makati office.

Celebrity readers

On Jan. 12, celebrity couple actress/TV host Gelli de Belen and husband Ariel Rivera topbilled the year’s first session. The other celebrity readers this year were Kuh Ledesma (February); music artists and producers Marq Dollentes and Emilee Jane Joseph (March); former beauty queen and TV host and actress Patricia Tumulak and actress/TV host Donita Rose (April); GMA 7 actress Marika Sasaki and Medicard president Dr. Nicanor Montoya.

For May, there were two sessions that had actress Ai-Ai delas Alas and Herbalife triathlon team member Laarni Anenias-Paredes. For June, the readers were actor-director Ricky Davao and actors Miguel Valdes and Zyren dela Cruz. It was Tumulak in July, and read-along ambassador and child actress Angelica Ulip and Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipino awardees Police Chief Master Sergeant Marsha Agustin, Master Sgt. Ramil Caporas of the Philippine Army, World War II historian and University of the Philippines professor Ricardo Jose for August, and for October, Miss Earth Water Valeria Ayos of Colombia.

On Jan. 25, a read-along session was held for over 400 pupils at Tugatog Elementary School in Meycauayan City—the 10th year a session was held in the city in collaboration with Adopt-a-Kid, an outreach project of Sophia high school students for their elementary grade counterparts in public schools.

BOOKED FOR LIFE Between sessions, kids learn to read on their own.

Guest celebrity readers included Mutya ng Pilipinas 2018 first runner-up Mary Justine Teng, and Miss Air Philippines 2018 Zahra Bianca Saldua.

The other out-of-town read-along sessions were held in Cebu City (June), Legazpi City and Tacloban City (October), in coordination with the Inquirer bureaus.

Multiawarded

This year, the read-along program also received recognition for its youth empowerment initiatives in the 13th Hildegarde Awards given by St. Scholastica’s College in Manila. The award validated the newspaper’s mission to reach out to kids and help them acquire reading skills in this digital era. The paper’s enhanced vision of building a nation of informed readers also hopes to train school kids to spot and reject fake news.

The program’s previous awards here and abroad include the Silver Award-World Young Reader Prize from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-Ifra), 2013; grand prize, Communication Management Division of the Philippine Quill Awards (2011); five Quill Awards for Excellence and Merit since 2008, as well as recognition from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Reading Association of the Philippines.

For the 12th anniversary of the program in May, the Inquirer Read-Along ambassadors took their oath before Inquirer executive editor Volt Contreras. The ambassadors are: Inquirer president and CEO Sandy Prieto-Romualdez (represented by Inquirer associate publisher Juliet Labog-Javellana), TV host Cathy Untalan-Vital, TV host Kim Atienza, Patricia Tumulak, Mon Confiado and Angelica Ulip.

Read-along ambassadors

Previously inducted read-along ambassadors are actresses Nikki Gil, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Alexa Ilacad and Bianca Umali; GMA 7 actors Kyle Vergara and Miggy Jimenez; actors Mark Neumann and Nash Aguas, and Miss Universe-Philippines 2007 Anna Theresa Licaros.

Storytelling workshops and competition also sharpen the program’s edge and strengthen its appeal. On Sept. 28, some 50 kids and 14 adults received pointers on great storytelling during a daylong workshop that kicked off this year’s Inquirer Read-Along Festival Storytelling Competition. Joining the workshop is a requisite to join the competition.

GUYITO FANS Inquirer mascot Guyito gets its share of attention. —PHOTOS BY EARVIN PERIAS

Participants were taught book-based storytelling techniques, as well as the proper use of body language, eye contact and facial expressions, voice, volume and diction, poise and pacing. Over 160 students joined the workshops.

On Dec. 14, another read-along session will be held with the Rotary Club of Mandaluyong and Greenpeace, to be highlighted by a toy-giving initiative from Guardian Angels of America Foundation.