Tall Story (and an NCBD giveaway! — EXTENDED)

NOTE: We've had some downtime due to technical difficulties with the webhost (very special thanks to Melo Villareal for getting me back online), I'm extending the giveaway to Wednesday, July 24, 12 midnight, Manila time! Thank you so much for those who alerted me while I was out of town, and thank you for patiently waiting until the site came back up again.

It's National Children's Book Day once more, and I'm celebrating with this post on Candy Gourlay's award-winning book, “Tall Story,” and a giveaway: a signed copy of the book!

I've mentioned Candy Gourlay more than once in this blog, but I realize I've never featured her novel, “Tall Story” and I was thinking about today's NCBD (and the hours ticking until it ends) and figured this was the best way to catch up on the festivities.

Published in 2011 by David Fickling books (Philippine edition by Cacho Publishing, distributed by Anvil Publishing), “Tall Story” has bagged the SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards for Europe in 2011, the Philippine National Children's Book Prize in 2012, and has been nominated for numerous other awards.

I first read this book on a plane ride to Singapore last year, on the way to the 2012 Asian Festival of Children's Content, where I would meet Candy Gourlay for the first time. I started reading it as soon as I settled in my seat on the plane, and finished it minutes after takeoff.

In a capsule, “Tall Story” is about siblings Andi and Bernardo who grew up in two different continents, and meet up for the first time in eight years. Andi is a titchy, basketball-crazy thirteen year-old in London, while Bernardo is an 8-foot tall fifteen year-old all the way from Montalban Rizal. Bernardo comes to London to live with Andi's family, and Andi's life is turned upside down.

I loved the sincere quality of the voice in “Tall Story,” and how the characters rang true. Andi was a delight to read, perfectly candid in her reaction to suddenly having her brother in her life, and watching her basketball dreams lived out by someone else. While I had no aspirations toward basketball, I was a freakishly tiny kid myself, and I could very much relate to her frustration about her height.

Case in point, behold my Grade 1 class photo:

I don't think I was able to reach the school drinking fountain until I was in Grade 2.The growth spurt hit in Grade 5, although it obviously wasn't much of a spurt, hahaha!

Bernardo, on the other hand, was a fascinating character that cleverly infused the magical legend of Bernardo Carpio in the novel. He's not just tall — he has gigantism — and he's in a strange land, living with a “new” family and missing the family he left behind, and trying to deal with the many new things in his life all at the same time.

The novel touches on a lot of topics relevant to young readers: family, culture being different, sibling rivalry, fitting in, and those awkward teenage years, but I think its success lies in balancing out that reality with a touch of the fantastic, and delivering it with humor and personality.

I've tested “Tall Story” out on my Chinese students (ages 10 and 13), too, and it was a big hit (and those teacher resources Candy produced are the greatest!) — in fact, I'd never seen them both react so strongly to a book before. We had fun looking up Bernardo Carpio, the yeoman warders of the Tower of London, even gigantism, and they were bowled over with laughter even from the first page in.

Here's an excerpt of the review my student wrote:

“I like the health and science part, which explains how Bernardo gets the tumour. I like the fantasy parts of the story because it is amazing to think that a small wish could turn to a powerful curse. I was surprised that Mad Nena was a WITCH. I don't think that Mad Nena and Gabriela were that cruel! I like Bernardo too because he is quiet, enduring, and kind. He can be a true hero!

I would recommend this book to everybody! I want to give 100000000000 likes! This book is downright good because it is entertaining, exciting, and imaginative.To me, Candy Gourlay is an excellent story book writer. Tall Story is a cool book for all ages!”

– Elijah Han, age 10

And that's me, with Candy Gourlay at the 2012 AFCC in Singapore.

The Giveaway

So, because this is a book I think more Filipino readers should enjoy, I'm giving away a signed copy in celebration of National Children's Book Day!

The winner will get the following goodies: a copy of “Tall Story” signed by Candy Gourlay, a “Tall Story” bookmark, and a DIY Tall Story door hanger.

Basic rules apply:

1. The giveaway is open to all blog readers with a Philippine mailing address.

2. To enter the raffle, just leave a comment in the section below.

3. Entries will be accepted until Wednesday, July 24, 2013, 12 midnight, Manila time.

4. One raffle entry per email address, per person (in other words one entry per person). I will reply to your entry in the comments section to validate it, and I reserve the right to weed out suspicious entries.

5. Winner will be drawn from the entries via Random.org. A screenshot will accompany the announcement of the winner.

6. An email will also be sent to the winner to request his or her (Philippine) mailing address. The prize will be packaged securely and sent via a local courier, unless I’ll be seeing the winner anytime soon (e.g. FFP book discussion, quiz night, Geek Fight or whatnot).

The giveaway officially opens as soon as this post is up.

Happy National Children's Book Day, everyone!