Filipino storybook apps for the iPad

Pagpagayuk and Mariang Sinukuan on the iPad

This is a post wherein many of my worlds collide--my work, my book blogging, and--only a tad bit--my family.

Anyway, the educational publisher I work for, Vibal Publishing House, Inc., has released its first set of interactive storybook apps for the iPad and for the Android! And they're the first storybook apps for the iPad developed entirely in the Philippines by a publishing house! And they're the first Filipino-English bilingual storybook apps in the world! Yes, those are exclamation points because I'm very proud of having been part of the process of their development.

So, this is not a review because I can't review something that I helped make. This is, obviously, shameless plugging.

There are five storybooks from Vibal's Chikiting books imprint developed into apps. These are:

Amansinaya: Goddess of the Sea
Story by Eugene Evasco
Illustrated by Jomike Tejido

Mariang Sinukuan: The Goddess and Keeper of Mt. Arayat (image above)
Retold by Eugene Evasco
Illustrated by Leo Cultura

Pagpagayuk: The Magical Bird of Bukidnon (image above)
Retold by Eugene Evasco
Illustrated by Pia Constantino

The Magical Shirt
Story by Eugene Evasco
Illustrated by Ghani Madueno

Yummy Fly Pie
Story and Illustration by Jomike Tejido


The first three are available for the iPad ($1.99), and the last two are available both for the iPad and the Android (for free). Most of the stories are written by Eugene Evasco, a member of the Palanca Awards Hall of Fame. The Palanca Awards is the Philippines' most prestigious literary award, and only writers who have won five first prizes in any of the Palanca Awards categories are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Evasco has distinguished himself in writing for children, of course, but mostly in Filipino. So with these storybook apps, Eugene Evasco, together with the other illustrators and writers, can get worldwide exposure.

We're also hoping to let the world know more Filipino myths and legends, which is why those first three stories up there are retellings of local myths. In fact, in the recent Asian Festival for Children's Content, these storybook apps were presented. We like to think of these apps as our contribution to spreading "Asian content for the world's children".

So, what did I do to help with the development? To be honest, not much. Well, unless you count the English voice-over. Yep, in the event that you do download these apps and listen to that voice reading the English text--that would be me.

Apart from that though, as one of the in-house editors and elearning specialists, I took a look at the apps at various stages of development and gave comments about how I'd like them to function. I wasn't trained for any of this and I'm really just learning more about technology now. However, I gave comments based on what I'd like to give my children, as a parent, and what I'd like kids to do with the story, as a teacher.

One of the first television features for our apps. Guess who's the girl at the center?:)

I was never a tech geek when I started to work with the company. All I was was a curious teacher who liked going online. I'm still not a tech geek, but I've learned many things when it comes to publishing and how publishing is evolving. I've also learned how coming up with something beneficial instructionally is heavily dependent on budget, manpower, schedule, and know-how.

And so, I know that coming up with an interactive storybook app is a struggle when one is still trying to learn how and when a lot of people around you don't understand what is being done. But I am proud of the people who worked on this because they were willing to experiment and try something, even if there were grave constraints on manpower and budget. And I'm glad to be working in a place where people are brave enough to try new things.

Now, if you do try out these apps, you should judge them based on their own merits. The developers, including myself, are very open to comments and suggestions because we do know there are many things that we can still work on. Nevertheless, this knowledge doesn't make me less proud of these first few storybook apps. And we can only hope that we'll keep doing better.