Written by Adarna House Staff
This piece is part of a series of short essays commemorating Adarna House’s 45th anniversary. It explores anecdotes from some of our prominent illustrators and writers of their earliest encounters with Adarna House, and how our collaboration has changed their lives as well as ours.
For 45 years, Adarna House has been a home for Filipino storytellers who have crafted timeless stories for young readers to grow up on. Little did we know that the story of Adarna House itself was one that would have an impact as well on the lives of many writers and illustrators. Over four-and-a-half decades, scores of artists have walked with us on our journey as a publishing house–some of them growing up with Adarna House books themselves–and now they share some of their fondest memories of working with Adarna House.
Perfecto “Boy” Martin
Lumaki ako sa Bulakan na katon ang unang libro bago pumasok sa elementarya —iyong nabibili sa palengke namin sa kabayanan, na tinuturuan ka ng mga titik at pantig ng abakadang Tagalog. Katuwang din nagpalaki sa akin ang Liwayway na binabasa sa akin ng kapatid kong komadrona noong naghihintay pa siya ng trabaho. Kasama na rin dito ang iba't ibang komiks na paminsan-minsan kong nakikita sa aming bahay at sa mga kaibigan ng aking mga kapatid (tanda ko pa yung isang naka-bind na koleksiyon kaya tuloy-tuloy kong nababasa ang mga kuwento).
Mga pocketbook sa Ingles ang "ipinamana" sa akin ng aking mga kapatid (bunso ako sa labing-isa, na lima o anim na lamang silang kapisan sa bahay noong nasa elementarya na ako). Pagpasok ng elementarya at high school (public pareho) pa lamang ako nakakita ng sari-saring libro sa aklatan ng paaralan.
Sa kolehiyo, malaki ang naging impluwensiya ng aking mga gurong manunulat sa Ateneo de Manila (naging national artists sina Bienvenido Lumbera, Virgilio Almario, Rolando Tinio, at kilalang iskolar ng teatro, Nicanor Tiongson) upang mag-aral ng literatura, kahit na noong lumipat ako ng UP Diliman (National Artist Franz Arcellana, Rogelio Sicat, Pete Daroy).
Nang simulan ang paglalathala ng Aklat Adarna noong 1977, naging malaking hamon sa akin ang paglikha ng mga librong pambata. Hindi kasama ang children's books sa aking karanasan noong bata pa at sa aking mga napag-aralan sa kolehiyo. Kaming apat sa binuo ni Rio (Virgilio Almario, naging titser ko sa Ateneo) ay mga wala ring karanasan sa larangang ito: si Victor "Bimboy" Peñaranda na Ateneo dropout at nasa textbook production program ng EDPITAF ay na-assign sa production; si Charles "Charlie" Funk na fine arts graduate ng UST, ang aming artist; at ako ang nasa editoryal.
Nakatulong sa aking pag-unawa ng children's literature ang aming mga anak na maliliit pa noon (tanging si Charlie ang binta sa aming apat). Ang panganay ko na ipinanganak noong 1978 ay lumaking "batang Adarna", tulad ng ikalawa (1980) at ng bunso (1984). Lumaki silang Aklat Adarna ang binabasa namin sa kanila, at nang lumaon, binabasa na nila bago pa sila tumuntong ng kinder at elementarya.
Siyempre, malaki ring tulong ang mga libro tungkol sa literaturang pambata, at mga guro't espesyalista sa larangan, upang higit naming maunawaan kung paano lilikha hindi lamang ng mga librong pambata, kung di mga libro para sa batang Filipino.
Ngayong may-edad na ang aking mga anak, masaya kong binabalikan ang mga panahon namin sa mundo ng Aklat Adarna, at ang impluwensiya nito sa kanilang tatlo sa tinungo nilang mga propesyon--isang online editor sa Channel News Asia ng Singapore at may dalawang nalathalang aklat ng mga tula sa Ingles at Filipino; isang pre-school educator na nagtataguyod ng mga epektibong paraan ng pagtuturo sa mga batang nasa murang edad; at isang filmmaker na kinikilala loob at labas ng Filipinas. Sila ang aking mga Batang Adarna.
P.T. Martin is editorial assistant of the Aklat Adarna project under the Nutrition Center, and later on, Ministry of Human Settlements. He belongs to the first Aklat Adarna team organized by Virgilio Almario in 1977, together with Victor "Bimboy" Peñaranda (production), and Charles "Charlie" Funk (art). Almario's account of Aklat Adarna's history can be found in Panitikang Pambata sa Filipinas (2017).
May Tobias-Papa
Thirty years ago, in 1995, I entered my short story Little Wishing Star into the Palanca Awards and won second prize. Earlier that same year, my entry for Bru-haha, Bru-hihi to the PBBY Illustrators Prize had won honorable mention. Incidentally, Little Wishing Star was one of two manuscripts which also gained me a slot into the 1995 UP Writers Workshop in Baguio. It was there where I met National Artist and Adarna House founder Mr. Virgilio Almario who was one of our panelists. He remembered my name from the PBBY and Palanca competitions, and he invited me to submit Little Wishing Star to Adarna House, adding that I could illustrate it as well, if I wanted to. I was excited, and did not waste any time in taking him up on his invitation. Armed with a portfolio bag containing my five-page manuscript and a sketchbook filled with character studies, I went to my very first meeting with Adarna House one afternoon the week after the UP Writers Workshop. There I had the pleasure of brainstorming with Mr. Almario himself, Ma’am Lyn, and their print production manager.
My experience of working with Adarna House for the first time was an eye-opener. VSA and Ma'am Lyn very generously shared their insights into what would make my story more engaging with young readers. To make it publishable, I had to rewrite my original 2000+ -word manuscript into a 700-word story, and we changed the title to Estrellita, The Little Wishing Star. Sir Rio shot down all of my sketches for the initial character studies–Estrellita needed to be more relatable to children, he said, so he suggested that I add features that would make Estrellita look like a little girl —the big eyes fringed with lashes, five curly rays with a little ribbon clip, the soft rounded lines that made her look cuddly and huggable. Ma’am Lyn suggested we name the little boy character Noel (he was previously nameless) —derived from my suggestion, Emmanuel (because it was a Christmas story).
The Almarios served as my mentors that unforgettable afternoon, and I will forever be thankful to them for giving me a crash course on publishing children’s books. They helped me polish my very raw short story into the classic, well-loved children's book that it is today.
May Tobias-Papa graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of the Philippines where later she also taught typography, illustration, layout and copywriting subjects. She has had extensive creative experience both as an art director and copywriter, having worked for an NGO, a university press, and some of the country's top advertising and media corporations. She is also the author of The Luckiest Girl in the World and Araw Sa Palengke, winner of the 1st National Children’s Book Awards in 2010.
Pergy Acuña
After illustrating Bahay-Kubo, I was invited to Adarna House’s 2014 Barlaya Workshop and then also asked to pitch book ideas. Inspired ako to make a “part 2”, featuring yung ibang vegetables na wala sa kantang Bahay-Kubo na naging Kapitbahay-Kubo. Pero naaalala ko rin na during the launch of Kapitbahay-Kubo during the INK 25th Anniversary, may batang lumapit at nagsabi na “mali mali yung mga gulay”.
Sa totoo lang, I’m not that good with kids, but there’s something special about children’s book illustration. Medyo mas challenging. Ang mga bata kasi, malakas mag-appreciate pag gusto nila ang isang bagay, pero alam rin nila ang ayaw nila. Sa mga book launch at book signing, nilalapitan talaga ako ng mga bata at sinasabi nila na paborito nila ang libro mo.
When I worked on Kilig with Adarna House, nagkaroon kami ng maraming Zoom meeting para lang i-improve yung storytelling at imagery ng libro. ’Yung unang idea ko, iba’t ibang forms ng kilig lang sa school but it still needed a narrative. Through constant consultation with Adarna House, nahanap ko rin ’yung gusto kong ikuwento: kilig ng isang bata —not in a romantic sense —na hanga sa isa niyang idol na kaklase. I can say na isa akong self-taught artist, pero isang Adarna-taught storyteller.
Pergylene Acuña illustrated Bahay-Kubo (2014 National Children’s Book Awards, Save the Children Award), Kapitbahay-Kubo, Sampung Eroplano, and Kilig. She is a craft artist and illustrator who has a passion for creating illustrations for children's books. Her mediums of choice are paper and fabrics to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional artworks. Pergy finds great joy in the manual process of crafting, enjoying the intricate details and textures that come with it. She is a member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK).
Mr. Martin, Ms. Tobias-Papa, and Pergy Acuña worked with Adarna House through three different eras of the publication house’s existence. Though the tools of the trade and the sophistication of the publishing world have changed throughout the years, from their accounts, it seems that the journey of writers and artists remains the same.
Their experiences are echoed by hundreds of other writers and artists who share in Adarna House’s mission to craft meaningful experiences for young readers. Adarna House continues this tradition and hopes to inspire not just book lovers among its readers, but also future creators.
The story of Adarna House continues in upcoming essays. Like and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to catch the next release.