Children's books on Philippine art

MANILA, Philippines - Robot monsters, mystery laughter and a path marked with bronze heroes. The Crucible Workshop presents a whole new look at Philippine art with the release of three unique storybooks for children. Written by members of Kuwentista ng mga Tsikiting (KUTING), an organization of Filipino professional writers for children, the stories show how a work of art can lead to quite a few interesting adventures.

Tito Arturo Makes Robot Monsters brings a little girl behind the scenes at the workshop of National Artist Arturo Luz. Looking Out for Heroes leads a little boy to his mother with the help of Jose Mendoza’s bronze monuments, while Laughter On the Wall coaxes a little girl to figure out what Anita Magsaysay-Ho’s ladies find so funny!

Each story pays tribute to a fact about art appreciation that so many take for granted: that everything is open to interpretation and that there is no such thing as a wrong answer.

“The stories in this series try to capture children’s encounters with works of art: the wonder of seeing something odd yet beautiful, the comfort of knowing something different yet familiar, and the excitement brought about by figures that are both inviting and mysterious,” said Glenda Oris, president of KUTING and Palanca award-winning author.

The books were made possible by a team of writers and illustrators: Yasmin Ortiga wrote and illustrated Tito Arturo Makes Robot Monsters. Germaine Yia and Katerina Angara worked on Laughter on the Wall while Glenda Oris and Andrea Pua created Looking Out for Heroes.

With its new series, Crucible Workshop hopes to introduce children to Filipino artists and to encourage them to experience homegrown art firsthand. After all, the joy of producing children’s books lies in the fun of having young readers come up with their own stories to tell.