By Juan Escandor Jr.
NAGA CITY---The Inquirer Read-Along event held here Saturday at the children’s section of the Raul S. Roco (RSR) Library in the City Hall compound has touched the hearts and minds of 70 pupils.
The activity also apparently boosted the continuing book-reading campaign here having for its guest readers a beauty queen and a book author.

Readers - Ms. Maria Venus Raj, Ms. Eco-Tourism 2008, and Kristian Sendon Cordero, read stories about the environment during the Read-Along event of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Naga City Government, Raul S. Roco Library, Concepcion Pequeña Elementary School and Jollibee.
It was perfect in the RSR Library’s children section, occupying a ground-floor area of 220 sq. m. and painted with bright colored murals and illustrations on the wall including the planetary system on the background. An elevated platform where the sofa chair of the reader was mounted facing the children who were huddled comfortably over a blue colored rubber mat.
Mostly students from the Concepcion Pequeña Elementary School, the participants to the one-hour interactive storytelling were glad to be entertained even as they expressed delight over questions being answered by them with token rewards given.
Judy Ann, Grade 5 pupil, said the read-along becomes enjoyable because of the group activity especially when there were rewards doled out for correct answers given.
Chito de la Vega, Inquirer Libre editor, laid down the conduct of the Read-Along which included listening, avoiding distractive movements and cooperating to make the activity an enjoyable learning experience for everybody which every pupil agreed as all of them enthusiastically responded “Opo.”
Welcoming the participants of the Read-Along event, Mayor Jesse Robredo enjoined the school children to self-initiate reading in order to learn important things that they could use in actual life and he thanked Jollibee for providing the token items, food and entertainment through the Jollibee mascot.
The first story was read by Kristian Sendon Cordero, a Palanca awardee and Bicol fictionist, poet and book author, which was about the journey of a tiny raindrop from the clouds to the land, rivers and dams --- an allegory to the importance of water to the living.
Cordero engaged the kids when he opened the story of “Ang Munting Patak ng Ulan (The Tiny Raindrop)” by Gloria Villaraza Guzman by asking them to raise their hands if they have taken a bath in the rain in their lifetime. Almost every one raised their hand yelling “Opo!”.
Nice, another Grade 5 pupil, loved the storytelling Maria Venus Raj, Miss Philippine Eco-Tourism 2008, delivered because she said it was “nicely done” and the story she told was easily understood because she said it cited important things regarding the environment.
Raj, who wowed the kids with her stunning beauty, stopping from time-to-time to ask and draw answers from her audience, delivered the story of “Emang Engkantada at Ang Tatlong Haragan (Emang the Fairy and the Three Rowdy Brats)”.
Drawing collective answers from her audience, the beauty queen effectively generated participation as she supplied clues and reiterated answers as she went along with the story of three rowdy brats who ran into the beautiful place of the fairy, destroying and wasting everything on their path until Emang Engkantada punished them. In the end the three rowdy brats named Pat Kalat, Pol Putol and Paz Waldas were able to change their ways and became responsible kids helping protect and preserve the environment.
Abel, a Grade 6 pupil, said he enjoyed the activity because it was challenging as it tested their ability to comprehend during the question and answer portion after each story.
The kids expressed elation when the Jollibee mascot came in dancing while hip-hop music was played. With smart dancing moves, the Jollibee mascot engaged the kids to a dance showdown with several of them responding. The kids and everyone else were treated for lunch by Jollibee which capped the Read-Along activity for the day. .
In appreciation of the participation and assistance extended by the guest readers and the city government, Robredo, Raj and Cordero were each given a wall clock with the INQUIRER masthead and the mascot Guyito, including two boxes of children’s books donated to the RSR Library.
Federico Vinluan, RSR librarian, said that read-along project of the INQUIRER is similar to Children’s Bookfest program of the library here that he said it targets pre-schoolers from the city’s Educare centers and elementary pupils up to Grade 2. Vinluan said the program which had been going-on for two years now select readers from the local officialdom, the academe, the business community and civic organizations who took turns in reading children’s books and amplifying them for the benefit of their young listeners.