You’ve probably been wondering about the sporadic posting for the past couple of weeks… Well, on top of other things going crazy as the holidays draw nearer, I’ve been busy working on a piece for a special group exhibit with the most awesome illustrators ever!
Lookee – it’s Blowing Boxes!
Blowing Boxes, til Dec 29 at 1/of Gallery, 2/F Shops at Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Gallery hours: Mon- Sat 1-9pm
Lane Smith (of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and many others) is one of my all-time favorite illustrators, and I’ve got a growing collection of his books (mostly the result of foraging in bargain bins!).
I’d been eyeing the book The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders (illustrated by Lane Smith) at a specialty bookstore for ages. Earlier this year, I finally scored a copy at one of the book store sales for only P59!
Opening night of FOReveRENEver (Ang INK's 18th Annual Exhibit).
I just got back from the opening night of FOReveRENEver, the 18th annual exhibit of the children’s illustrators’ group I’m part of, Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK). It’s a tribute to Rene Villanueva, (1954-2007) prolific writer of Filipino children’s stories, playwright, and even a television writer for Batibot, once the Philippines’ local counterpart to Sesame Street.
On its 18th year, Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang I.N.K.) presents its annual exhibit for 2009, entitled “FOReveRENEver,” a tribute to the late children’s writer Rene O. Villanueva, whose literature has showcased I.N.K. illustrators’ works for several decades now.
Ang I.N.K. pays tribute to one of the most celebrated figures in the landscape of Filipino children’s books with a showcase of more than 30 works that bring to life Rene’s never-been-illustrated literature
Join Ang I.N.K. in honoring the memory of Rene O. Villanueva, and in ensuring that his legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of future generations of Filipino readers.
The Little Lit series is a set of comic compilations for kids, edited by the great Art Spiegelman. I have two of them, because I lucked out on new copies at bargain prices — Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies (from the NBS Book-sak sale, P200) and It Was a Dark and Silly Night (from the Book Sale warehouse, P170). I decided to read them for the 24-hour read-a-thon because they were easy to read and I wanted to get some variety in my read-a-thon books.
When I first saw the Little Lit books, I was literally agape at their visual impact — it’s a smorgasbord of creative juices from an amazing roster of top-caliber cartoonist and children’s book artists. Even now that I’ve had the books for some time now, I still thumb through the pages with reverence. It’s like holding an art gallery in your hands!
Revealing the actual stories would take away the fun from reading the Little Lit books, so let me just touch lightly on them, so you have an idea of what’s inside.
Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies (book #61 for 2009) showcases a humorous collection of old and new story selections from different parts of the world, told through comics.
Aside from Spiegelman this book includes the works of Barbara McClintock, Chris Ware, Kaz, J. Otto Seibold, William Joyce, Bruce McCall, David Macaulay, and many more.
My favorites from this book include Barbara McClintock’s leonine version of the Princess and the Pea, the reprint of Walt Kelly’s (of Pogo Fame) 1943 comic The Gingerbread Man, Art Spiegelman’s hilarious Prince Rooster, Claude Ponti’s The Enchanted Pumpkin and Chris Ware’s interactive Fairy Tale Road Rage boardgame.
My second Little Lit Book is It Was a Dark and Silly Night… (book #62 for 2009), this time a showcase of imagination, with different comic stories that take off from the starting phrase “It was a dark and silly night… .”
This time, the masterminds are not only comic book artists and children’s book illustrators, but also novelists such as Neil Gaiman and Lemony Snicket.
My favorite selections from this book include Lemony Snicket and Richard Sala’s hilarious story about a girl and the Yeti, J.Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh’s penguin treasure story, and Patrick MacDonnell’s moon story.
I still lack Strange Stories (my cousin Dianne has this one, though, I must borrow it sometime) and the Big Fat Little Lit collection. Hopefully I’ll get lucky and find bargain copies again for my Little Lit collection one day; they cost about P800 each at the bookstore.
*All book photos from the Little Lit website.
***
My copies: both hardcover
My rating: both 5/5 stars!
: site's back up! yay!
: hi aenid! sure!
: hello. would like to add you to my blog list since you love reading books too. 
: Ok Guia. What's your blog url?
: hey blue add kita sa blogroll ko ha ^_^
: Thanks Sasha!
: Hey, Blooey! I gave you an award, and tagged you: http://silverfysh.wordpress.com/201 0/01/06/honest-scrap-meme/
: geri - no I don't sorry
