Brand New from Tahanan Books!

TAHANAN
BOOKS
Delighting
Filipino families
since 1992

Waray (Visayas) Maranao (Mindanao) Ilocano (Luzon)

THE GIFT OF SONG

A Splendid 3-Book Collection of Philippine Folk Songs
LL 8 FOLK SONGS!
COLLECT A

Music Editor: Felicidad A. Prudente, Ph.D.
Book Designer: Auri Asuncion Yambao
PONG PONG GINATBONG, An Ilocano Folk Song
Illustrated by Danielle Florendo
ISBN 978-621-422-038-0
POK POK ALIMPAKO, A Maranao Folk Song
Illustrated by Liza Flores
ISBN 978-621-422-037-3
LUBI-LUBI, A Waray Folk Song
Illustrated by Happy Garaje
ISBN 978-621-422-039-7
Collection also includes:
ED-EDDOY, An Ifugao Folk Song
by Kora Dandan Albano, 2019
PAKITONG-KITONG, A Cebuano Folk Song
by Harry Monzon, 2019
KAISA-ISA NIYAN, A Maguindanao Folk Song
by Fran Alvarez, 2019
PAGTULOG NA, NENE, A Hiligaynon Lullabye
& BAHAY KUBO by Hermes Alegre, 2017 & 1993
8 x 10 inches | 16 pages/each
Full-color | Softcover binding
Standard retail price: Php120/each
Php350/set of 3, Php895/set of 8
For information, please contact Marketing Manager
Meg Roxas through hello@tahananbooks.com.
@tahananbooks | www.tahananbooks.ph
Before children learn to read, they learn to sing.
More so for Filipinos who are known around the world
for their love of music. After nearly three decades since
publishing Bahay Kubo to wide acclaim, Tahanan Books
unveils a new set of folk song picture books to enrich the
Gift of Song collection for music-loving Filipinos across
the globe. Carefully selected by musicology expert
Dr. Felicidad A. Prudente, each song features regional
customs and traditions that showcase the diversity of
our islands.
WHEN TAHANAN SAW MUSIC
“As a music teacher and musicologist, I know there is
a need for quality and well-researched materials on
Philippine music,” Dr. Prudente recalls when she first
collaborated with Tahanan Books for Antukin: Philippine
Folksongs & Lullabyes in 1998. “Tahanan fills this gap
by creating beautifully illustrated Filipino folksong
books for children that even adults can appreciate.”
With over a hundred ethnolinguistic groups across the
Philippine archipelago, the song selection was trimmed
down to those which children can have fun singing along
to and those depicting Filipino life and good values. In
the Ifugao Ed-Eddoy, we follow a little girl in celebrating
the bounty of living by the rice terraces. We try to catch
river crabs while crossing a mangrove forest in Cebu
for Pakitong-Kitong. And we tap to the rhythm of the
kulintang ensemble in Maguindanao for Kaisa-Isa Niyan.
Between Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are treasure
troves of stories that showcase a distinct facet of our
local culture.
A CULTURAL REPERTOIRE
ORDER NOW FROM THESE OUTLETS!
In 1993, Tahanan Books published to much acclaim Hermes PHILIPPINES
Alegre’s bucolic paintings in Bahay Kubo, a popular https://tahananbooks.ph
Tagalog folk song. It took 24 years before Pagtulog Na, National Book Store [bit.ly/nbsstores]
Fully Booked [fullybookedonline.com]
Nene, a Hiligaynon lullabye, followed as a companion
Pumplepie Books & Happiness [pumplepie.com]
picture book. Recognizing the need to preserve more folk
or from our favorite homeschool providers
songs in our collective memory, the first set of the “Gift and book sellers on Shopee, Lazada,
of Song” picture books was released in 2019 evocatively Facebook or Instagram
illustrated by Kora Dandan Albano, Harry Monzon and
Fran Alvarez. For 2022, three new titles from Ilocos, Leyte, COMING SOON!
and the Lanao regions expands our collection.
USA
https://tahananbooks.com
PONG PONG GINATBONG is a game song created for
the amusement of babies. With joyful lyrics that speak of CANADA
the joy in cooking and eating the Ilokano pinakbet, Danielle @pahina.ca on Instagram
@alalabooks | alalabooks.ca
Florendo illustrates the scrumptious flavors one can savor
@summitkidsca | summit-kids.ca
from the traditional earthen kitchen. “To render every
detail in their proper historical context, AUSTRALIA
research was a critical part of my process. @abakada.au on Instagram
We had to depict how Ilocanos lived in www.bulilitbilingo.com.au

the past: the garments they wore, tools JAPAN

they used.” Danielle says, ”Also, Dr. Norma @bulilitbooks on Instagram
Respicio’s insights on Ilocano weaves and
kitchenwear helped me present a richer story.

LUBI-LUBI is a song also called “An Mga Bulan”
(The Months). This Waray version celebrates
the pleasures of eating native food year round.
Mark Joseph Deutsch and Johanna Velasco, the
husband-wife artist duo behind Happy Garaje,
charmingly depicts the various ways we enjoy
coconuts through the changing seasons in
the island of Leyte. “Being on lockdown for
months, we took it as an opportunity to illustrate places
we treasured (and missed). The things we loved to do,
we wanted kids like our daughter to experience, too —
the mountains, the sea, home — the spaces where we
would be with family and friends.”
POK POK ALIMPAKO is a game song in which children
stack their fists, building an imaginary staircase to
the moon and stars. Taking inspiration from the
intricate okir motifs of Maranao traditional art, Liza
Flores’s paper cutouts weave a whimsical journey.
“The song is playful, but the setting of the story
is real. So it was important for me to get the real
parts right and respectful of the culture,” Liza shares.
“I learned a lot working on this project. I know there’s
much more to discover. It made me realize how little
is documented (writings, photographs, etc.) about
different Philippine regions/cultures.”
MOVING FOLKSONGS FORWARD
Danielle considers these songs as “valuable inheritance
that we can reintroduce to all Filipino children,” while
Liza expresses her hope for these books to “pique young
readers’ curiosity to learn more about the Philippine
traditions, arts and crafts, and even architecture.”
Mark and Jo think that folksongs “will always be relevant
because they connect people to our identity and
history.”
Each artist offers a fresh perspective on the culture
where these folk songs originated. Dr. Prudente
points out how, “kids today are visually oriented
and the art in the pages of this collection can
incite renewed interest and excitement for another
generation of Filipinos.”

Hiligaynon Ifugao Cebuano Maguindanaon Ilocano Maranao Waray

3)
Tagalog (199 (2017) (2019) (2019) (2019) (2022) (2022) (2022)

MEET THE
CREATORS
“Feed yourself and your kids
with music; it is the food that
nourishes our being.”
- Dr. Fe A. Prudente
FELICIDAD A.
PRUDENTE. PH.D.
is one of the leading
Filipino musicologists in
the Philippines today. After earning her
doctoral degree in Musicology with
emphasis in Ethnomusicology from the
University of Michigan, she taught music
at the University of the Philippines for
thirty years. In 1998, she edited and
compiled selections from Luzon, Visayas,
and Mindanao for ANTUKIN: Philippine
Folk Songs and Lullabyes, published by
Tahanan Books. Currently, Dr. Prudente
continues to undertake music research on
a wide range of topics such as bamboo
ensembles, gong music, ritual singing,
and Filipino popular music.
LIZA FLORES is one of the leading
children’s book illustrators in the
Philippines. Renowned for her intricate
paper cutouts, her picture book Ang
Maliit na Kalabaw won the 2021 National Children’s Book
Award. Recently, she wrote and illustrated the children’s
book Sungit (2020).
A talented graphic designer, Liza co-manages Studio
Dialogo, a design and illustration outfit in Manila. A book
she designed, Karapat Dapat, landed in the International
Youth Library’s White Ravens list of notable children’s
books for 2020.
Liza is a member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan
(Ang INK), the Philippines’ first and only organization
of illustrators for children. She has mentored illustrators
from different countries through Room to Read, an
international nonprofit organization.
Say hello on Instagram @lizaflowers, or visit her
website at www.liza.ph.
HAPPY GARAJE is the pseudonym for married artists
Johanna Velasco Deutsch and Mark Deutsch from Cebu
City, Philippines. They are co-illustrators of the picture
book Kalipay and the Tiniest Tiktik, as well as several
German children’s books. Together and singly, their work
has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators of
Los Angeles, from whom they received the Gold Award
in 2011; they have also garnered accolades from the
Society of Illustrators, Luerzer’s Archive (Best Illustrators
Worldwide), and the journal Communication Arts. Their
international clientele includes Disney and Uniqlo.
They also do community projects with
organizations like Door to Asia.
They have a daughter called
Summer, named for the
season with its happy
memories of sunny
days and the sea.
https://happygaraje.com/
DANIELLE V. FLORENDO is an illustrator based in
Baguio City. Growing up as a young child she was close
to her grandfather, an Ilocano native from Ilocos Sur.
Danielle has illustrated several children’s books,
including Ang Bahay na Maraming Klasrum (2021) and
Balitanay’s Laktob: A Kalinga Weaving
Story (2020). She is a part-time visual
communications college instructor
and is a member of Ang Illustrator
ng Kabataan (INK), an organization
dedicated to Filipino children’s book
illustration. Say hello at @dani.doe.