• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kampuchea Crossings

Bump to baby on the beaten expat track

  • Home
  • Public Health Portfolio
  • Work Posts
  • Contact

Tagalog book: Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut)

4 June 2014 by Nathalie Abejero 4 Comments

Bahay Kubo(2)

This folk song is a catchy tune (in tagalog), and my son picked up the lyrics in a very short time. He was 2 years old then and spoke no Tagalog. It’s a good introduction to the language and culture of the Philippines.

Anak Books has a great description of the book, so I copy it below in its entirety from their website. Please visit them because it also features a lot of great books in both Tagalog and bilingual Tagalog/English.

The classic Tagalog folktale ‘Bahay Kubo’ is lovingly told and beautifully illustrated through classic Filipino vignettes. This book includes lyrics and score. “Bahay Kubo” is perhaps the best-known and best-loved folk song in the Philipines. Its composer is unknown. Its Tagalog lyrics have been passed down through the generations by way of the oral tradition. The words and music which appear in this book represent but one of the many versions of this folk song. The song’s diatonic melody and walts-like rhythm suggest European influences. The lyrics include plants which are not indegenous to the Philippines, such as peanuts (mani), eggplant (talong), and mustard (mustasa). These foreign elements could mean that the folk song originated or evolved during colonial times. Bahay Kubo tells of a family living in a small nipa hut, surrounded by a garden filled with vegetables. It is a song that celebrates the bounty of our land.

 

This post is for the Read Around the World Summer Reading Series from Multicultural Kid Blogs!  Now through August, bloggers from all over the world will share their recommendations of great multicultural books for the entire family!  For more details and the full schedule, visit the series main page.  You can also follow along on our Summer Reading Pinterest Board!

Filed Under: Life, Travels Tagged With: bahay kubo, book, filipino, folk song, folk tale, kids, multicultural kid blogs, nipa hut, preschool, read around the world summer reading series, reading, Tagalog, traditional song

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Becky says

    30 June 2017 at 09:42

    What a beautiful book! I have to add this one to my “must read” list :)

    Reply
    • Nathalie Abejero says

      19 July 2017 at 19:29

      It’s a classic in this household, and gets put into the rotation of the kids’ reading list, even years later :-)

      Reply
  2. Marie-Claude Leroux says

    5 June 2014 at 09:04

    I just love it when songs get turned into picture books – and this is that much better being a folk song relating culture and heritage! Great recommendation for Read Around World Series :)

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Read Around the World Summer Reading Series from Multicultural Kid Blogs (and friends!) - Jump Into A Book says:
    10 June 2014 at 18:00

    […] just the first week our reviews have taken us to Bali, the Philippines, and China! Soon we’ll also go to Lebanon, Argentina, and […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Marie-Claude Leroux Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Those little feet pitter-pattering about rule our lives lately. But on the occasional free moment I get to tap out scatterbrained bursts of consciousness about raising toddlers in Cambodia, traveling with them and working abroad. These posts are my personal updates to friends and family. But since you’re here, have a look around. Thanks for stopping by…

Read More…

Tweets by nabejero

Blog Post Categories

  • Interests
  • Life
  • Travels
  • Work

Latest posts

  • Kids project: Micro-loans to women entrepreneurs
  • I ran the 50th NYC Marathon!
  • Bok l’hong with Margaritas or, memories from the Mekong
  • Getting the kids to like ampalaya (bitter gourd)
  • Gender differences in athletic training
  • Commuting and office work in the time of Covid
  • Until Covid-19 messaging improves, who do you turn to?
  • Filipino snack

Tags

aid baby Bangkok bush Cambodia christmas coconut covid-19 cuisine delivery development expat expatriate Filipino food food foreign aid holiday hurricane inauguration katrina Khmer Khmer cuisine Khmer food Khmer New Year kids levy louisiana mango Manila medical tourism mekong new orleans nola nyc obama parenthood parenting Philippines Phnom Penh Poipet running Thailand travel US xmas
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in