FINAL SESSION TV personality and Inquirer Read-Along ambassador Kim Atienza during the final storytelling session of the 12th Inquirer Read-Along Festival.—SCREENGRAB FROM INQUIRER READ-ALONG FACEBOOK PAGE
The best way parents can instill in their children the value of reading is to read to them while they are young, TV personality and Inquirer Read-Along ambassador “Kuya” Kim Atienza said on Saturday after the final storytelling session of the 12th Inquirer Read-Along Festival.
During the virtual read-along session, Atienza, known for his expertise on trivias, stressed the importance of reading and how it has helped him gain knowledge about wide-ranging topics.
“I read a lot about the things I want to understand and things I want to discover,” Atienza said before he read the storybook “Bisnesboy Minggoy” written by Augie Rivera and illustrated by Liza Flores. The story is about a boy who dreams of owning a bicycle but does not have the resources to buy one and shows how being business savvy can make dreams come true.
This year’s two-day Inquirer Read-Along Festival was held in partnership with Insular Life (InLife) with the theme “Start ’Em Young: Building Wise Money Habits Through Reading,” to promote financial literacy through children’s storybooks.
The books read during the festival, held through Zoom and broadcasted on Inquirer’s Facebook pages, were InLife’s Children’s Storybooks produced by Insular Foundation with Adarna House. Children who participated through Zoom received copies of the books.
“Read to them storybooks, simple books that they can relate to. When they are old already, meaning they are teenagers, then the best example that a parent can give to a child is to show them you are reading, that you love to read,” Atienza, who hosts the news magazine show “Dapat Alam Mo” said in an interview after the storytelling session.
Veteran storyteller and Sophia School principal Ann Abacan read “Christmas in February” written by May Tobias-Papa and illustrated by Ariel Santillan. The book tells the story of a boy who learns how to save up at an early age to achieve his goal.
The program, hosted by Inquirer Lifestyle writing editor Ruth Navarra-Mayo, was participated in by some 60 students from Alabang Elementary School, Bayanan Elementary School (Main), and Itaas Elementary School, which are among the adopted public schools of Insular Foundation.
Launched in 2007, the Inquirer Read-Along is a corporate social responsibility project of the newspaper company that aims to promote a love of reading among children.