In celebration of the 33rd National Children’s Book Day, I received a review copy of the second edition of “Bumasa at Lumaya 2: A Sourcebook on Children’s Literature in the Philippines,” edited by Ani Rosa Almario, Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, and Ramon C. Sunico.
I encountered the first “Bumasa at Lumaya” (1994) book in college while I was doing research for my thesis, which was about the process of creating a children’s book. The Rizal Library had a copy of the book, and while I appreciated the context it provided me of the Philippine children’s book industry, the year was 2005 and I had to rely mainly on articles I could find online for more recent articles I could use as reference.
This second volume comes as a much needed update on the first, an essential sourcebook for students, teachers, writers, illustrators and other children’s content creators, publishers, and generally anyone who is involved or interested in Philippine children’s books.