PBBY Wordless Book Wins a White Ravens Award

In 2018, Harry Monzon won PBBY's first Wordless Book Prize for Pagkatapos ng Unos (After the Storm). In 2021, this book was included in the prestigious White Ravens Catalogue published by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany. Featured in this post is a copy of the official citation:

Monzon, Harry (illus.)

Pagkatapos ng Unos

(After the storm)

Quezon City: Philippine Board on Books for Young

People (PBBY), 2020. – [28] p. ISBN 978-621-962-930-0

This book won the first Wordless Book Prize awarded by the Philippine section of the International Board on Books for Young People in 2018. Its beautifully drawn pictures tell a story that is captivating to readers, even without any background knowledge of Typhoon Ondoy, which devastated the Philippines in 2009 and left the author’s family uncertain how their lives would continue. In this story, a man fills his boat with all his belongings when his house becomes flooded. With his oars, he rescues a little dog floating alone in a dipper from imminent attack by a crocodile. Then his oars are lost, and he has to paddle with his hands while casting off his remaining possessions. After saving a mangrove sapling, he finds a large branch attached to it and can row to a small island, where he plants the little tree—a cliché, as Monzon admits, but a symbol for the will to piece a life back together after calamity. This is a story about climate change, and about how much people are willing to sacrifice in order to help others. (Age: 7+) [LO]

Learn more about this prestigious award by visiting the International Youth Library website: https://www.ijb.de/en/home

Download a copy of the 2021 White Ravens catalog here.