The gift that keeps on giving

After Joan Orendain’s article on my children’s book, “Calypso,” came out in Inquirer last week, I got a number of reactions from friends and strangers who expressed surprise that I was now writing short stories for young readers. Was it true? How had the “new chapter” in my writing life come about?

Well, the secret’s out: A couple of years ago, I noted the urgent need for more stories for young Filipino readers, so I sat myself down for a really long spell, scoured through my childhood memories, and wrote and wrote! When I finally got up, I was amazed to see that I had written over 30 stories and three plays!

I then proceeded to choose 12 of the stories for my first compilation. For luck, I decided to ask my dear friend, the famous artist, Cheloy Dans, to sketch an illustration for the first story titled, “Calypso, The Pig That Almost Became Lechon.”

Cheloy was so delighted with the story that she was inspired to make, not just one illustration, but 16 of them! I was bowled over when she sprang her beautiful surprise on me. It’s such a joy to have Cheloy for a friend. She’s the gift – and the gift-giver – that keeps on giving!

After getting over my grateful amazement, I realized that, thanks to Cheloy’s lovely and lively pictures, “Calypso” should come out as a separate story book –so, it was launched during Cheloy’s big retrospective exhibit at Ayala Musuem early this year. For copies, visit the museum’s gift shop.

Interest in our little book is reported to be high due to its “whimsical yet realistic” story – and Cheloy’s truly wonderful pictures. Thanks, dear friend, for helping me launch my new persona as writer of stories for children – with a really big, brash and beautiful bang!