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Alamat Ng Ampalaya
This is an original story on the legend of the bitter gourd. The story excites the imagination of children and warns them against the evil of envy and greed.
Isang orihinal na kuwento tungkol sa alamat ng ampalaya, pinupukaw nito ang imahinasyon ng mga bata at binbalaan sila sa kasamaang dulot ng pagkainggit at kasakiman.
Isang orihinal na kuwento tungkol sa alamat ng ampalaya, pinupukaw nito ang imahinasyon ng mga bata at binbalaan sila sa kasamaang dulot ng pagkainggit at kasakiman.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
95 people are currently reading
1228 people want to read
About the author
Augie Rivera
24 books48 followersAugie has written more than 15 stories for children and has repeatedly won recognition from the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. He is one of the founding members of KUTING (Kuwentista ng mga Tsikiting), a group of Filipino writers of children's stories.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 27, 2020
Nope. I didn't like it. I didn't like the promotion of self-destructive behavior. It's not a good message to the kids. The sudden shift of heart near the end was even worse; they didn't give the main character, an anti-hero, ample time to develop properly. Not to mention they've punished the ampalaya for being different. It screams repression and encourages gaslighting and self-sabotaging.
I was hoping they would turn the tables around and opt for positive reinforcement in the end but, alas, they didn't deliver. Painting an ampalaya in a negative light to suit someone else's narrative is problematic.
I was hoping they would turn the tables around and opt for positive reinforcement in the end but, alas, they didn't deliver. Painting an ampalaya in a negative light to suit someone else's narrative is problematic.
September 26, 2009
This is a very cute story about why a gourd has a very bitter taste. The gourd sprouted one day in the vegetable village and didn't like that he was bitter and plain so he figured out a plan on how to make his taste more interesting. One night, he stole the wonderful tastes from so many other vegetables. He was punished for doing this and therefore, became a wrinkled and bitter vegetable.
I really enjoyed reading this book online on the International digital library site. It was fun to use technology to read a story. I liked this story because it teaches a valuable lesson-do not be greedy! This is a great story where kids can read it online and it's more interactive.
I really enjoyed reading this book online on the International digital library site. It was fun to use technology to read a story. I liked this story because it teaches a valuable lesson-do not be greedy! This is a great story where kids can read it online and it's more interactive.
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June 6, 2013...
May 4, 2020
I found this book in the International Children's Digital Library under the categories of Award-winning books. It has its original text in Tagalog and the English translation right next to it. It won the best fiction for children in the 1995 National Writers Workshop of the University of the Philippines. Ang Alamat ng Ampalaya was available to read online directly from the website as its pages are scanned from the real book. I tried using it through the mobile version (visiting the site through my phone) at first, and the scans weren't ideal for mobile use. I would recommend reading it on a PC or laptop for a better reading experience. This legend follows the very bitter Ampalaya, who is jealous of the other vegetables' beauty and delicious taste. Ampalaya steals one characteristic from the other vegetables, and then he presented himself as a physically pretty vegetable that can change his taste. The other vegetables, first in awe, then realize it was Ampalaya and asked help from greater beings to punish him. The book's illustrations are imaginative and follow the color schemes of a vegetable garden. The book is a witty and whimsical way of giving a backstory to a vegetable that isn't that well-liked, motivating young readers to provide the vegetable with a second chance when it's presented in meals. The themes in the book are perfect for children aged 4-6, as it encourages readers to stay true to oneself and not be jealous of other personalities and physical appearances.
May 4, 2020
I found this book on the International Children's Digital Library website where books are directly scanned on to the site and it gives other pertinent information such as publication and awards. This book won Best Fiction for Children - National Writers Workshop of the University of the Philippines in the year 1995. I read the most recent publication in 2003 where the text offered the Tagalog and English translation so readers could choose which language to read. I thought the scans of the book or digital version (I am unsure which on this site) are very clear and easy to read and see the illustrations. It is clear that the English translation went into the natural empty space within each page.
*SPOILERS*
This book is a funny take on a fable of vegetables and specifically a gourd that is bland and colorless compared to the other vegetables. He was tired of being different and boring, so at night he went and stole their color and taste. The vegetables woke up to the most magical, colorful, and taste changing vegetable. They decided to bring this crime to the trial with judges of the sun, earth, water, and air. Those fairies decided he could keep all the colors and tastes, however, they were all mixed together. Thus, he turned out to be a wrinkly, bitter-tasting, dark green colored gourd. In the end, the author urges children to give this vegetable a second chance when eating due to the way he got his color and taste. This is a funny take on a way to get children to eat vegetables they do not prefer. This would be a cute read-aloud for young students. I am not sure I would recommend for independent reading due to the difficulties in pronouncing the names of the vegetables. Students can learn the lesson or theme of giving second chances or understanding where someone/something comes from.
*SPOILERS*
This book is a funny take on a fable of vegetables and specifically a gourd that is bland and colorless compared to the other vegetables. He was tired of being different and boring, so at night he went and stole their color and taste. The vegetables woke up to the most magical, colorful, and taste changing vegetable. They decided to bring this crime to the trial with judges of the sun, earth, water, and air. Those fairies decided he could keep all the colors and tastes, however, they were all mixed together. Thus, he turned out to be a wrinkly, bitter-tasting, dark green colored gourd. In the end, the author urges children to give this vegetable a second chance when eating due to the way he got his color and taste. This is a funny take on a way to get children to eat vegetables they do not prefer. This would be a cute read-aloud for young students. I am not sure I would recommend for independent reading due to the difficulties in pronouncing the names of the vegetables. Students can learn the lesson or theme of giving second chances or understanding where someone/something comes from.
May 25, 2020
This is an original story of the legend of the bitter gourd or AKA bitter melon. A vegetable that is very nutritious and is eaten and cooked in many Asian countries. The story is about a Melon that is mean and doesn’t have a taste, because of this, he steals the flavors of other vegetables and impersonates a new rich and beautiful vegetable. When the other vegetables discover his fraud he gets punished and becomes a dark green melon and bitter in flavor therefore the bittermelon or bitter gourd.
This story has many teachable moments where children can learn to get along and not be mean. Also not be bullied and learn to be truthful. I love that introduces native experiences to types of food eaten in the Phillipines, which is where the book was originally written. I found this book on the ICDL site. It was very well translated and I was able to keep my attention in the book as well as learning a tale about the well-know vegetable the bitter melon.
This story has many teachable moments where children can learn to get along and not be mean. Also not be bullied and learn to be truthful. I love that introduces native experiences to types of food eaten in the Phillipines, which is where the book was originally written. I found this book on the ICDL site. It was very well translated and I was able to keep my attention in the book as well as learning a tale about the well-know vegetable the bitter melon.
October 6, 2014
Sariwa pa rin sa aking isipan ang kwentong ito mula nang ipabasa sa amin ito noong elementarya. Naalala ko tuloy bigla ang silid-aklatan ng aking paaralan. Siguro ang librong ito ang maglalahad ng pinagmulan ng salitang "bitter". Isang patunay na hindi pa man laganap ang paggamit ng salitang "bitter" noon ay marami na nga talagang ampalaya. (Note: Nabasa ko 'to Grade 4 pa lang yata ako at ngayo'y 20 na ko.) Sadyang napakaganda ng mga akda galing sa Adarna. Talagang magugustuhan ito ng mga bata dahil sa nakaka-engganyong istorya, makulay na guhit, pinong pahina at mabangong libro (gusto kong inaamoy no'n ang mga libro ng Adarna dahil mabango nga.) Simple ang istorya ngunit kapupulutan ng aral! 'Wag maging ampalaya!
December 2, 2012
This story is very cute it is about a gourd Ampalaya who has a very bitter taste. He wants to change his taste. Ampalaya becomes very greedy and envious of all the other wonderful vegetable in Sariwa. So one night he stole the sweetness, the sourness, the vivid colors, etc of other vegetables. However, he got punished and he was turned into an old wrinkled gourd for his greediness. This story is great for 3 to 6 year olds to teach them to love yourself no matter what, to not be greedy, and to definitely never steal something that does not belong to you.
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August 23, 2017Beautiful
October 14, 2020
The text, ALAMAT NG AMPALAYA (The Legend of the Bitter Gourd) - Philippine by Augie D. Rivera and Kora D. Albano with a publication date of 2003 on the International Children Digital Library [ICDL]website. It is a bilingual Children's picture book written in Filipino/Tagalog, and English.
It can be read out loud to children ages 4-7, with the recommendation of age 7 for independent reading. It received Best Fiction for Children-National Writers Workshop of the University of the Philippines, 1995.
Themes that stood out was to be happy with what you have, we all are different and that is ok, and you might get what you ask for which may not be what you really want. Vocabulary includes words such as pale, sprouted, complexion, sweetness, color, foreign and remarkable.
In reviewing this text, I will start off with a few strengths and then I will discuss a few concerns. I think the authors did a great job utilizing the setting-the natural environment of vegetables which is outdoors. I also think they provided a strong picture, through his actions, of Ampalaya’s (cucumber’s) character of envy and greed, and by turning him into a green pigmentation which is worse than what he was. I also think this is a good teaching text, where children through questioning can pick up the theme. I also think the plot was well executed and I liked that democracy by a review of his peers was also included in determining his punishment. Now here is where I have concerns and it has to do more with the visual representations not matching the theme.
Ampalaya is pale (white) and bland and doesn’t want to be this way, but when his peers become similar based on his actions, an opportunity to love being this way is not presented, even though they have reason to be upset because something was stolen from them; furthermore, although the text describes these wonderful vegetables with various pigments and beauty and taste, all of his judges including the sun is a white woman. Now how is the sun, the yellow beautiful sun, a white woman? And not only is she white but the air is white, the water is white, and the green earth is also white, so let’s look at this. All of these beautiful pigmented diverse vegetables need 4 white women to not only survive, but to dole out punishment against Ampalaya for taking the diversity of other vegetables. So these white women are not only ruling over the universe but also decide the faith of all wrong actions of diverse vegetables. The one thing we know about vegetables is that there are many of them, so why aren’t the other vegetables, the diverse vegetables who still possess their qualities not deciding his fate?
I guess I am wondering why the illustrations and the actions of characters do not support the beauty of diversity described in the text.
It can be read out loud to children ages 4-7, with the recommendation of age 7 for independent reading. It received Best Fiction for Children-National Writers Workshop of the University of the Philippines, 1995.
Themes that stood out was to be happy with what you have, we all are different and that is ok, and you might get what you ask for which may not be what you really want. Vocabulary includes words such as pale, sprouted, complexion, sweetness, color, foreign and remarkable.
In reviewing this text, I will start off with a few strengths and then I will discuss a few concerns. I think the authors did a great job utilizing the setting-the natural environment of vegetables which is outdoors. I also think they provided a strong picture, through his actions, of Ampalaya’s (cucumber’s) character of envy and greed, and by turning him into a green pigmentation which is worse than what he was. I also think this is a good teaching text, where children through questioning can pick up the theme. I also think the plot was well executed and I liked that democracy by a review of his peers was also included in determining his punishment. Now here is where I have concerns and it has to do more with the visual representations not matching the theme.
Ampalaya is pale (white) and bland and doesn’t want to be this way, but when his peers become similar based on his actions, an opportunity to love being this way is not presented, even though they have reason to be upset because something was stolen from them; furthermore, although the text describes these wonderful vegetables with various pigments and beauty and taste, all of his judges including the sun is a white woman. Now how is the sun, the yellow beautiful sun, a white woman? And not only is she white but the air is white, the water is white, and the green earth is also white, so let’s look at this. All of these beautiful pigmented diverse vegetables need 4 white women to not only survive, but to dole out punishment against Ampalaya for taking the diversity of other vegetables. So these white women are not only ruling over the universe but also decide the faith of all wrong actions of diverse vegetables. The one thing we know about vegetables is that there are many of them, so why aren’t the other vegetables, the diverse vegetables who still possess their qualities not deciding his fate?
I guess I am wondering why the illustrations and the actions of characters do not support the beauty of diversity described in the text.
July 26, 2017
From ICDL, International Children's Digital Library website http://en-childrenslibrary.org
A wonderful original adaptation of the legend of the bitter gourd. A tale of envy, greed, community, and vegetables! Filipino author Augie Rivera has created Ampalaya, a bland vegetable "proven guilty of a crime against the law of vegetables and the law of nature." Children and middle grade students will enjoy reading this traditional tale via the website. The Fountas & Pinnell reading level is P-Z.
Characteristic of genre: The story is written first in Filipino, and then in a different font for English that expands the traditional reading experience.
.
Characteristic of genre: The earthy, expressive illustrations are well-suited for this format of reading. It includes a lovely page at the end listing the rights of Filipino children including "IX. Every Child has the right to live in peaceful society."
It serves its audience of young readers well with providing a pleasing book to read online.
Awards
Best Fiction for Children - National Writers Workshop of the University of the Philippines, 1995
No published reviews known.
A wonderful original adaptation of the legend of the bitter gourd. A tale of envy, greed, community, and vegetables! Filipino author Augie Rivera has created Ampalaya, a bland vegetable "proven guilty of a crime against the law of vegetables and the law of nature." Children and middle grade students will enjoy reading this traditional tale via the website. The Fountas & Pinnell reading level is P-Z.
Characteristic of genre: The story is written first in Filipino, and then in a different font for English that expands the traditional reading experience.
.
Characteristic of genre: The earthy, expressive illustrations are well-suited for this format of reading. It includes a lovely page at the end listing the rights of Filipino children including "IX. Every Child has the right to live in peaceful society."
It serves its audience of young readers well with providing a pleasing book to read online.
Awards
Best Fiction for Children - National Writers Workshop of the University of the Philippines, 1995
No published reviews known.
April 29, 2018
Ang Alamat ng Ampalaya won the Best Fiction for Children-National Writers Workshop of the University of Philippines in 1995. This children's book teaches about how greediness can lead to you a bad path and what may happen. It reminds me of many folktales with a cautionary tale of greed. Ampalaya is envious of other vegetables because he lacks the beautiful color and taste that they have. He devises an evil plan to take away their color and taste, creating an ultimate super vegetable. But in the end, he realizes his mistake and must live with it forever. Even though there were many unfamiliar names and cultural references, the details did not defer me to the message of the story: greed will lead you to a bad ending.
October 1, 2017
It really amazing
October 22, 2017
This was my favorite Adarna book. I read it until I was in the fourth grade, and even though it's been years since I last read this, I still remember most of the book.
March 11, 2019
let me read it first
January 9, 2020
I liked this story a lot.
January 21, 2021
I cant read it
November 7, 2021
Iniisip ko na parang may kulang sa kuwento...
October 28, 2022
Maganda naman yun kuwento subalit mabilis nagbago yun ugali ng ampalaya dahil naiingit siya sa mga kaibigan nya na gulay. Ang ganda ng disenyo ng mga karakter at iba pa.
March 15, 2023
this is why i hate ampalaya
November 13, 2025
Good book
October 6, 2022
Nice book
February 24, 2017
Rivera, Auggie. Alamat Ng Ampalaya. Quezon City: Adarna House, 1995.
Young readers will eat up this delicious Filipino tale where the green eye-monster takes the form of a vegetable. In the small town of Sariwa where all the vegetables live happily, a newly sprouted vegetable, Ampalaya, creates a great deal of negative energy with his poor attitude. One night, Ampalaya formulates an evil plan to take all the positive attributes from the other vegetables. When the vegetables discover this beautiful new visitor is actually the irritable Ampalaya, his punishment transforms him into a tasteless bitter vegetable. The story cautions readers about greediness, but simultaneously teaches understanding as the legend urges readers to try and forgive him for his mistakes; while he may not taste good, he is still nutritious, instilling the importance of taking the good with the bad. The images in this story prove quite effective for readers. I read the story the first time through in Filipino and while I understood it more thoroughly the second time around with the English translation, I was able to grasp the majority of events solely on the pictures. The vegetables lack color once they are robbed, providing evident context clues that something had in fact been taken from them. Animated facial expressions on the vegetables will be surely assist young readers’ comprehension. Winner of the National Writers Workshop of the University of the Philippines (1995), this story serves as an excellent way to teach young children to be happy with who they are by showing them the disastrous effects envy can yield—happy harvest!
Target Audience: Ages 4-7
Young readers will eat up this delicious Filipino tale where the green eye-monster takes the form of a vegetable. In the small town of Sariwa where all the vegetables live happily, a newly sprouted vegetable, Ampalaya, creates a great deal of negative energy with his poor attitude. One night, Ampalaya formulates an evil plan to take all the positive attributes from the other vegetables. When the vegetables discover this beautiful new visitor is actually the irritable Ampalaya, his punishment transforms him into a tasteless bitter vegetable. The story cautions readers about greediness, but simultaneously teaches understanding as the legend urges readers to try and forgive him for his mistakes; while he may not taste good, he is still nutritious, instilling the importance of taking the good with the bad. The images in this story prove quite effective for readers. I read the story the first time through in Filipino and while I understood it more thoroughly the second time around with the English translation, I was able to grasp the majority of events solely on the pictures. The vegetables lack color once they are robbed, providing evident context clues that something had in fact been taken from them. Animated facial expressions on the vegetables will be surely assist young readers’ comprehension. Winner of the National Writers Workshop of the University of the Philippines (1995), this story serves as an excellent way to teach young children to be happy with who they are by showing them the disastrous effects envy can yield—happy harvest!
Target Audience: Ages 4-7
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October 21, 2009wag maging inggitin
Read
August 1, 2010be satisfied of the blessing given to us.
February 27, 2014
so Good to read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
November 29, 2015its nice
December 16, 2015
Its nice nice nice
October 14, 2023
Read this as a kid, when people telling me how maldita, maarte I am.
This impacted my pov as a child.
This impacted my pov as a child.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews