Short stories by Filipino writers offer children an opportunity to learn about the Filipino culture while exploring universal themes. Filipino short fiction has been written for different age groups and parents have the opportunity to explore a number of different collections.
Finding Short Stories by Filipino Writers
Authors who write children's books are often inspired to teach lessons applicable to kids around the world while offering insight into their own cultures and personal experiences. Parents interested in introducing their children to fables and classic folktales may want to look into short stories by Filipino writers for their library of books for kids. Finding collections of Filipino stories for kids can be challenging but a few options are readily available.
Kids Stories from the Philippines
Stories from the Philippines may include tales about new experiences, but they can also include legendary tales with moralistic themes. Here are two stories for kids from the Philippines, each with a unique approach:
- Filipino Friends is a touching short story for kids written from the perspective of a Filipino-American child who visits the Philippines.
- The Turtle and the Monkey is a Philippine animal fable that offers a valuable lesson about greed and vengeance.
Filipino Children's Favorite Stories
Filipino Children's Favorite Stories is a great selection for children ages four to eight years, but some find that older kids like the stories as well. The collection of classic Filipino tales include 13 favorite short stories for children. The stories offer morals similar to fables and many kids may recognize underlying themes from Western children's literature. The appeal of the collection is its variety of tales, ranging from stories that are similar to well known fairy tales. For example, one story in the collection titled "The Prince's Bride" is comparable to "Beauty and the Beast". Other stories are very different, like "The Battle of Sea and Sky", a short tale about the creation of the Philippine Islands.
The big surprise in the collection is "Why Mosquitos Buzz Around Our Ears", an original Filipino short story for children that is very different from the African story that may come to mind. This tales is about Maga, the King of Crabs who is trying to get some rest, and a group of frogs trying to sing him to sleep.
Filipino Children's Favorite Stories offers variety and humor while exploring universal themes and morals. The collection is a peek into the Filipino culture that does not focus on ethnicity. A collection of stories for young adults, Growing Up Filipino explores race as a theme.
Growing Up Filipino
Growing Up Filipino: Stories for Young Adults is ideal for teens in ninth grade and older. Twenty-nine stories tell rich tales of the Filipino experience. A great feature in the book is the short biography of each story's writer before the story unfolds. The collection explores universal themes from the perspective of Filipino teenagers. The book is organized into five different sections, each with an underlying theme. Many readers can relate to the main theme of each section, which include:
- Family
- Home life
- Teenage angst
- Love
- Friendship
Other Suggestions
Books are available for children of different ages, but the selection does appear to be relatively scant. Do you have a favorite collection of short stories by Filipino writers that you would like to share? Please add ideas in the comment section below this article.
