When I was in grade school, my favorite time of the year was Book Week. We had our DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) time, and I remember we would goof around, literally dropping whatever we were holding and racing for the reading corner of the classroom. There was also one year when our class put on a “Little Mermaid” play, and I originally played Flounder, and then I had a wardrobe malfunction wherein my mishappen blue and yellow crepe paper costume fell to pieces during rehearsal (I had no idea how to make a fish costume — I stapled the crepe paper all around me and I think I ended up looking like Boo from Monsters, Inc. in her monster suit) so I ended up playing Scuttle (the seagull) at the play.
The part I looked forward to the most was the mini-book fair (yes, I was a bargain book hunter even way back in grade school) where some booksellers would lay out books on long tables and there were some really nice books to be had for as low as P5, P10, and P15. Every year I would get a hundred bucks from my dad to spend at Book Week, and then I saved my allowance for the week (I spent all of recess browsing through the books anyway!) so I could buy myself more books! I got a lot of books from those book fairs, including comic books (Peanuts, Family Circus, Grimmy, and Rose is Rose), trivia books, Sweet Valley books (of course!), and those little square origami books with free folding paper in them!
Anyway, this flood of memories was unleashed when I saw a bunch of photos on my brother’s computer. My brother Enzo teaches English and Religion classes at the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation, an organization for poor, abandoned, at-risk, and homeless children. Last month was Book Month at the school, and they had a lot of book-reading activities, topped off with a book parade involving all their students. These kids don’t have very much, but check out the photos — they definitely prove that a little imagination goes a long, long way!!!
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Segue: Earlier, my brother had arranged for a storytelling session for his class. Children’s book writer Glenda Oris came over, books in tow, and it looks like the kids really enjoyed the storytelling.
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And on to the parade!
Superheroes in the lead
Red Riding Hood
Cinderella and Fairy Godmother
Giant Adarna Book
Mariang Makiling and Pagong (from Pagong at Matsing)
The Prince and the Pauper
Snow White, the witch, and the seven dwarfs
The gang’s all here: Ang Pambihirang Buhok ni Lola, Ang Pambihirang Buhok ni Raquel, Mariang Alimango, and Chenelyn!
The Little Red Hen
Lam-Ang
Thumbelina
Here’s one for the science geeks — Michael Faraday!
Princess Jasmine
Zorro
Isn’t that a fun way to celebrate the love for books and reading? I wish more schools would encourage creativity like this.
*Photo credits: Enzo Singson and the Tuloy Foundation Project Development Department
Haha, The Little Mermaid—wherein there were major issues as to who would portray Ariel. ROFL. (I will take that up with you offline, I’m not going to name names anymore—basta, I know someone who wanted to be Ariel but ended up playing Eric!) I was some random fish person, apart from operating the music. Haha.
Did you buy that book on how to increase your grades during the book fair? I think we all did eh. Haha. The only advice I remember was to eat peanuts for brain power. Haha!
The legendary Ariel wars, how could I forget!
I got that good grades book too — hahaha, mnemonic devices galore!
What an awesome activity, Blooey! I love reading about things like this.:) Will refer your link to my former co-teachers. We used to have an activity like it, but it sort of died down. Maybe if they see this, they’ll resurrect it. Thanks!
Thanks Honey! :) Great idea
Blooey, good grief, I never realised how young you are until I read this post. When Disney’s Little Mermaid came out, my niece was in grade school! And I was waaaaay done with it.
I too would spend many a grade school rainy recess and lunch break in the school library, where I secretly read the Sweet Dreams series that I wasn’t deemed old enough to read yet at home, hee hee.
Tuloy sa Don Bosco is one of my family’s favourite foundations! The priest who heads it, Father Rocky Evangelista, is a friend of my parents, and they do a lot of fundraising for Tuloy every year. When I worked at Fully Booked, we organised a Christmas book project with Scholastic whereby every book donated by customers was matched by a new book from Scholastic. At the end of the promo period, they also threw in a free encyclopedia set for the Tuloy library. The one thing better than bargain book hunting has got to be book giving to those who really need and deserve them!
The Little Mermaid play was staged in third grade, the movie came out when we were in Prep, I think.
Tuloy’s a great foundation, and they really do have good programs for their kids. I think they’re having a celebrity storytelling session next, and my brother’s planning something big for UN month, haha.
Wow, it looks like all the kids are enjoying themselves. I wish we would have had something like this when I was in grade school. I’ve always been addicted to reading and would have loved this :)
Hahaha, I have got to talk to my book club friends about doing something like this!!!
Hi, Blooey!
Honey asked me to read this. She’s right, we had an activity like this in Ateneo High School some 8 years ago. It was such a production then, and I am happy that the kids look so happy with their parade.
It is interesting also how interconnected the world is. My dad works at the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation and Glenda “Bong” Oris is the president of Kuting, Kwentista ng mga Tsikiting, a group of writers of which my wife, Raissa, is a member. Great activity! Very inspiring to see it in Tuloy!
-Joel
Hey Joel! Cool, it’s like the six degrees of interconnection!
If you ever have a book parade again in Ateneo, feel free to guestblog here :)