MANILA, May 21, 2025 \u2013 The International Board on Books for Young People-Philippines (IBBY-PH) formally awarded today the winners of this year\u2019s The Severino Reyes Medal, during a ceremony held at the National Library of the Philippines in Kalaw Avenue, City of Manila.<\/p>\n
Nakikisilong by author Eljay Castro Deldoc, illustrated by Richard Red C. Elli, and published by Southern Voices Printing Press, was named \u201cBest Storybook,\u201d while Sa Iisang Batya by Christopher Rosales and illustrator Rommel Joson, published by Brilliant Creations Publishing, won \u201cBest Picture Book.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nAuthor Krie R. Lopez\u2019s Oha: A Story Told in One Eternal Second, with illustrations by Mikke Gallardo under Milflores Publishing, meanwhile, won in the \u201cYoung Adult Literature\u201d category. A special citation was also awarded to author Mon Sy, illustrator Ara Villena, and their publisher Adarna House for Mga Tagapagtanggol ng Lupang Ninuno for its moving tribute to the Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines and their deep ties to the land, culture, and language.<\/p>\n
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The Severino Reyes Medal, now in its second year, is organized by IBBY-Philippines in collaboration with the National Library of the Philippines (NLP), the National Book Development Board (NBDB), and professional librarian organizations: Philippine Librarians Association Inc. (PLAI), Association of Librarians in the Public Sector (ALPS), and Philippine Association of School Librarians Inc. (PASLI). As custodians of knowledge and champions of literacy, librarians play a pivotal role in shaping young readers’ literary experiences.<\/p>\n
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The annual event honors creative excellence in Filipino children\u2019s and young adult literature, being named after the beloved playwright and storyteller Severino Reyes, the creator of Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang. The heirs of Severino Reyes also provided guidance and support to this award, which recognizes the best picture books, storybooks, and young adult books published in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
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\nA selection committee was tapped to choose an \u201cHonor List\u201d from hundreds of entries submitted by local publishers. This year\u2019s panel was headed by Dr. Dolores Carungui from NLP. Other committee members were Jose Tomas Fernando and Melody Madrid from NLP; Carol Tapia from NBDB, Maria Victoria dela Cruz and Charito Basagre from PASLI; Easter Wahayna-Pablo and Lucila Raquino from ALPS; and Elisa Garcia and Kevin Conrad Tansiongco from PLAI.<\/p>\n
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Honor List<\/strong> For the \u201cBest Picture Book\u201d category, the following were named to the Honor List:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The following were named to the Honor List for the Young Adult Book category:<\/strong><\/p>\n About IBBY Philippines<\/strong> In a statement, IBBY Philippines president Kristine Mandigma commended the awardees: \u201cI am incredibly proud of our immensely talented authors, illustrators, and publishers who continue to uplift excellence in Philippine children\u2019s literature. As part of IBBY Philippines\u2019 mission, we are always committed to supporting initiatives that bring books and children together and promote love for reading and children\u2019s books. We are also honored with the trust given to us by the heirs of Severino Reyes, so that through this event, we may reach a wider audience, especially the younger generation, whose engagement is vital to preserving our cultural narrative and the legacy of Lola Basyang.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ready to be excited? Read my latest story!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[288,44,58,287],"class_list":["post-4486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-events","tag-book","tag-lifestyle","tag-manila-events","tag-national-book-development-board"],"pageone_source":{"pageone_source":"National Book Development Board","author_name":"sipandblog.com"},"_pageone_source":"National Book Development Board","zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/energetic-pink-donkey.109-123-235-239.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMaking it to the Honor List of selected titles for this year\u2019s \u201cBest Storybook\u201d category are:<\/p>\n\n
\nSegura and illustrator Octopus & Whale, published by 8 Letters Bookstore and Publishing<\/em><\/li>\n
\nMark Norman Boquiren and illustrator Kata Alamon, published by Lampara Books<\/em><\/li>\n\n
\nillustrator Danielle Florendo, published by ABC Educational Developmental Center Children\u2019s Book, Inc.<\/em><\/li>\n
\npublished by ABC Educational Developmental Center Children\u2019s Book, Inc.<\/em><\/li>\n
\nBalbalan, Kalinga and author Danielle Florendo, who also illustrated the book, published by Alamid Publishing House<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
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\nIBBY Philippines is the national section of the International Board on Books for Young People, a global network of professionals and organizations dedicated to promoting children’s literature and literacy worldwide. IBBY-PH strives to enrich the lives of Filipino children through books, storytelling, and literacy initiatives. The IBBY-PH secretariat is led by Vibal Foundation, Inc.<\/p>\n