In celebration of National Children’s Book Day (NCBD), the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) in partnership with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Intertextual Division is holding a series of online children activities for the whole month of July with the theme “Sa Pagbabasa, Hindi ka Nag-iisa”. These activities, which include workshops, will be live-streamed for free on different platforms.

The online celebration begins with the PBBY’s awarding ceremony for the winners of PBBY-Alcala and Salanga Prizes on July 21, 10:00am, followed by the NCBD 2020 Website Launch at 12:00pm that will take place on the official Facebook pages of CCP and PBBY. The chosen theme of the website revolves around the current situation of COVID-19, quarantine, lockdown, and the value of cooperation during a health crisis.

After the website launch, storyteller Posh Develos will read aloud a story book entitled “Mas Masaya Kapag Kasama Ang Pamilya,” in a storytelling session that will also be streamed online at 2:00pm on the official Facebook pages of the CCP and CCP Arts Education. The book is written and illustrated by Ellen Jay Tampus.

On the next day, July 22 at 3:00pm, author and illustrator, Beth Paroccha together with Liza Flores will offer tips on how to draw Filipino children’s book characters in a workshop. This session will be streamed at the official Facebook pages of CCP and PBBY.

On July 23 at 3:00pm, Sinag, a group of artists, will offer a free live-stream on illustrating books with difficult topics at the CCP and PBBY Facebook pages.

On July 25, 3:00pm, the last day of the celebration, the Lock ‘n Roll group will have a talk show interview with the winners of PBBY-Alcala and Salanga Prizes. The show will be streamed at the Lock ‘n Roll official Facebook page and at the CCP Intertextual Division’s official Facebook page.

NCBD is celebrated annually every third Tuesday of July, not only to commemorate the date of the publication of Jose Rizal’s “The Monkey and the Turtle” in Trubner’s Oriental Record in London, but also to celebrate the importance of nurturing our young readers’ curiosity and imagination.

For more NCBD activities, please visit the PBBY Facebook page.

For inquiries and additional information on this event, please contact CCP Intertextual Division at 8551-5959 or 0919-3175708 or send an email to ccpintertextualdivision@gmail.com.