Hardy Boys: Like Nancy Drew, but they’re brothers
I was 12 years old when I read my first Hardy Boys mystery. It was “The Crisscross Shadow,” #32 in the Flashlight series (so-called due to the flashlight in the title logo). I’d been...
Monthly Archive: August 2022
Tailor-made and sew unique: Where have the neighborhood tailors and dressmakers gone?
Christmas 1984, lunchtime, somewhere in Makati: My brother walks into the kitchen with leaden footsteps, his shoulders hunched forward in defeat. He tosses a gaily-wrapped package on the dining table before slumping on his...
Resources for free audiobooks | audiobooks free download
Audiobooks are a fun and effective way to get your children to read more. They’re portable, allow multitasking, don’t strain the eyes, and provide an immersive reading experience. Audiobooks are especially useful for introducing...
Audiobooks | The benefits of audiobooks for all readers
One of the toughest things to make school-age kids do, aside household chores, is read a book. If your child prefers curling up with a good paperback to completing missions on Overwatch, give yourself...
Crash Course World History: World History in a Cool, Zany Nutshell
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a sermon from his book Strength to Love (1963) Back when Philippine...
Nutribuns upon a time
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…a monay?! On July 16, 1972, Typhoon Gloring (international codename: Super Typhoon Rita) tore through the Philippine island of Luzon, leaving 214 Filipinos...
Nancy Drew and the case of the redheaded reading inspiration
My interest in reading for pleasure was sparked by an “attractive girl of eighteen.” It all started when our fifth-grade English teacher shepherded the class to the school library. Upon seeing the 30-odd girls...
The benefits of reading graphic novels
As someone who first learned to read by reading Filipino komiks, I’m a strong advocate of using graphic novels to encourage school-going children to read. With their eye-catching visuals and imaginative plots, graphic novels...
Komiks nuts: Filipino komiks and the four-color dream factory
I did not grow up in a reading household, and by that I mean there were no leather armchairs in the family living room nor were our shelves lined with hard-bound editions of “War...
Homeschooling supplies for a tenth-grader preparing for senior high school
One benefit of homeschooling is that you only buy the things you really need. No springing for neon coloring pens and glitter glue for that one MAPEH project. No hoarding pens because the child...
