New Books on Our Bookshelf

Among other things, our recent trip back to the Philippines triggered my latent fondness of books... Thanks to the frequent trips to National Bookstore beside Shopwise. :)

So for the last three weeks, these are some of the books that really took my fancy:

Guess How Much I Love You
Written by Sam McBratney
Illustrated by Anita Jeram
Published by Walker Books Ltd

I guess my daddy-side is already showing, ain't it? :) Anyway, it's a story about Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare telling how much they each other. It's a rather short and simple story but one that you would love telling your kids every night. Although it's "short", it's actually quite longer than other baby picture story books out there. Plus, the watercolor illustrations on each page is great and makes the story even more endearing. Personally, my favorite picture is the one shown below, in which Big Nutbrown Hare is holding Little Nutbrown Hare who finally falls asleep.

Ang Pera na Hindi Bitin
Written by Eduardo O. Roberto Jr.
Illustrations by Roli Sabado
Published by OMF Literature Inc.

This one we got as New Year's gift. Like most of the self-help financial management books, this one deals on how one should manage money. Unlike most of self help financial management books, this one actually has a religious tone about it -- citing several verses from the Bible; it is written in Taglish (Tagalog-English "slang"), which means it's specifically intended for local Pinoys; and, containing just about 100 pages, it is very brief and concise.

The presentation is rather simplified which makes it easier for anyone -- or at least anyone who readily understands Taglish -- to read and follow. The strategies are presented simply and logically, with some Bible verses cited every now and then as needed.

Interesting fact (I've learned from the book): Money is the second most talked-about topic in the Bible, with over 2000 verses in all.


Book of 101 Fables
Retold and Illustrated by Johnny C. Young
Published by Luminaire Printing and Publishing Corp

In case you haven't noticed, I like stories. And in my opinion, there's no better collection of timeless stories than Aesop's Fables. The good thing about this particular book is that (1) it contains several fables which are not attributed to Aesop such as the local Philippine fables; (2) there are commentaries and moral lessons at the end of each fable, which is the reason fables are written in the first place -- to teach a lesson; and (3) the index at the latter part of the book groups the fables by the general moral lesson (i.e., Honesty, Sincerity, Procrastination), which makes it easier to look for fables for different ocassions.