Tiktipaklong: Mga Dula at Kuwentong-Pambata

by Rene O. Villanueva

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Rene O. Villanueva (September 1954–December 2007) was a Filipino Dramatist and Children's Story Writer who made his mark in Philippine Literature in the late 1970s and well into the first decade of the 21st century. He had a remarkable contribution to Filipino culture as shown in his prolific output which generates continuing interest in his plays and books for young people.

Villanueva was born in La Loma, Quezon City and studied in public schools, the Lyceum of the Philippines, and the University of the Philippines. As a young person, he already had the inclination to the arts, telling stories to playmates and winning in national school writing contests. In college, he was active in the theater as a writer and as a performer. Later when he got into the writing workshop circuit, he joined the literary group Galian sa Arte at Tula (GAT) to learn from veteran writers.

In a children's literature workshop, he stood out as a fellow, and critic National Artist Virgilio S. Almario recognized his writerly gifts. His drama auspiciously began in 1978 with "Entreswelo" and "Pag-ibig ni Mariang Makiling" which won an award in the playwriting workshop, Palihang Aurelio Tolentino. Then in 1980, he won his first Palanca Award with the one-act play "Kumbersasyon" and from then on his pen did not falter a beat. He came out with memorable dramatic works like "May Isang Sundalo"(1981), "Sigwa" (1984), "Botong" (1990), "Kalantiaw" (1994), "Dobol" (1994) and "Watawat" (1999).

Villanueva's stories for children garnered prestigious prizes, including Palanca Award-winning works like "Bertdey ni Guido" (1989), "Ang Unang Baboy sa Langit" (1990), "Tungkung Langit at Alunsina"(1990), "Nemo, Ang Batang Papel" (1992), and "Tatlong Ungas" (1999).

For his pioneering contribution to local children's literature, Villanueva was nominated by the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) to the 2002 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Children's Writer, the most prestigious international recognition in the field of writing for children. He is the first Filipino writer to have been nominated to the award.

His indomitable spirit as a writer, teacher and cultural worker found him travelling all over the country to share his views on children's welfare, creative writing, curriculum enrichment, and teaching materials development.

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compilation of the early children's stories and plays by Rene O. Villanueva whose works I am currently trying to complete. We read his bestselling memoir Personal: Mga Sanaysay sa Lupalop ng Gunita (4 stars) last month in our book club here in Goodreads called Pinoy Reads Pinoy Books. I liked the book so much that now I would like to read all his published books. Well, aside from the fact that we also went to his tomb and met his family on the occasion of this supposedly 59th birthday last September 22, 2013. Here is the picture of his tomb with me and my friends:

Taken in front of the tomb of one of my favorite local Tagalog authors, Rene O. Villanueva on the occasion of his 59th birthday. In front of his tomb are two of his pictures and a copy of his memoir that our book club read and discussed last month.

In this collection of his works, there are many nice stories, poems and plays but my favorite ones are these two children's stories:

1. Ang Batang Galit sa Umaga about a boy who hates mornings because both of his parents work as teachers. He only becomes happy when they come home late in the afternoon from work. He does not want to sleep because he misses the attention, games and laughter that he gets from his parents. Only one day when he is supposed to attend the same school when it is his turn to start schooling.

2. Ang Karunungan ng Pusang Itim tells the story of a family that leaves the town where the nuclear power plant is built. Villanueva wrote this during the height of the Bataan Nuclear Plant debates. This proved that Villanueva was a writer who made stands on some current issues when he was still alive. He was not like many of the local authors who only wrote to entertain.

I like this book better than some of his works.