MUNGAN, A FORTHCOMING CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK WITH HAY(NA)KU TEXT!

The award-winning children’s publisher Sawaga Press, helmed by Justine Villanueva, will be releasing its third picture book, MUNGAN AND HER LOLA (Lola means grandmother). They are currently crowd-funding—LINK IS HERE—and I’d like to support it through this offer:

For every $40-plus donation, show me copy of your receipt (email to galateaten at gmail dot com) and I’ll send you a free copy (to a U.S. address) of my THE IN(TER)VENTION OF THE HAY(NA)KU. (Donations of other amounts are welcome and go as low as $20, which will reserve for you a copy of the book.) [Offer is good while supplies last for IN(TER)VENTION...]

What’s the relationship between my book and MUNGAN? Well, MUNGAN is not just written in three languages but it is written in the hay(na)ku poetry form! In fact, I reviewed the hay(na)ku text while it was still in manuscript form. This means you can give one hay(na)ku book to your kiddos and keep my IN(TER)VENTION for yourself—an adult/children hay(na)ku combination!

 

All donations to the crowdfundraiser also come with perks, such as a children’s picture book for each $20 donation. A perfect gift for the good cause of supporting multicultural (and Filipino) literature!

 

There is also an enchanting YouTube video about Sawaga Press and MUNGAN. You’ll see I appear there with some advance words for the book.

The crowdfunding LINK has more information about MUNGAN—here’s an excerpt:

Mungan and her Lola tells the story of the child Mungan who loves to make her Lola (grandma) smile. One day, Lola is inconsolably sad. Mungan and her family engage in Filipino rituals of care—cooking sabaw, performing hilot, and playing kulintang—to uncover the source of Lola’s sadness and find a way to bring back her smile.  

Mungan represents healing, light, laughter, and love. This story is inspired by the Bukidnon epic which tells the story of Mungan, the Babaylan (Healer) of Bukidnon. After Mungan's disease is healed by the gods, she becomes a healer who helps her people find their home, freedom, and everlasting life.

Mungan and her Lola is written in a mix of three languages: Binukid, Bisaya-Cebuano, and English.  It is also written in hay(na)ku, a distinctly Filipino form of poetry that covers diasporic themes.