The 34th Manila International Book Fair

The country’s biggest and longest-running book fair kicks off it's 34th year today at the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia Complex with the theme:

"Words Without Borders"

MIBF offers the largest and most varied collection of literature from e-books and general references to rare titles and graphic novels at the most affordable prices.

Also, in case you get hungry from all the book-shopping you just did, there are several food concessionaires in the area so you won't have to go out for a break!

This year, the book fair is jam-packed with several seminars and events for everyone:

Day 1 (Wednesday, September 11)

9:30 A.M. – 10:30 A.M. / Stage Area

Eucharistic Celebration

10:30 A.M. – 12:00 NN / Stage Area

Opening Ceremonies

Day 2 (Thursday, September 12)

10:30 A.M. – 12:45 P.M. / Stage Area

“How we amassed 300,000 fans and 100 million reads:

Meet Wattpad’s hottest young writers”

Speakers: Allen Lau (Wattpad's co-founder), Denny (HaveYouSeenThisGirL), Louisse (fallenbabybubu), Ciara (seeyara), Janelle (greenwriter) and Ate Casper (mercy_jhigz)

Day 3 (Friday, September 13)

10:00 A.M. – 12:00 NN / Stage Area
Storytelling Session with Vibal Publishing House, Inc.

2:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. / Stage Area
ETL & Lampara Storytelling and Fun Games with Kids

Day 4 (Saturday, September 14)

6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M. / Meeting Room 8 to 9
How to Write Your Own Book
Speaker: Dr. Isagani Cruz

Day 5 (Sunday, September 15)

1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. / Stage Area
2013 Lampara Children’s Storytelling Competition

A more detailed list of events is posted at MIBF's official website. See you there!

(DLA Las Piñas HS LRC) September Book of the Month - 101 Filipino Icons

Australia has the world famous Sydney Opera House, United Kingdom has the British Royal Family, and China has chow mein... Just like other countries, there will always be things that make our beloved country unique -- people, places, events that we have, in time, called icons that every Filipino should know.

Adarna House and Bench have worked together to produce this wonderful reference book of 101 noteworthy icons of our heritage. Colorful and in easy-to-read format, every page features an icon representing a facet of the Filipino persona, a part of Filipino history, and an aspect of culture that should make each of us discover pride in our roots.

As many Filipinos have constantly look to other places for better things, 101 Filipino Icons grounds us back again on Filipino's rich soil amidst the riot that the country has become (ridiculous politics and the still rising prices of anything under the scorching sun). This book should be just the thing to pull at our heartstrings and bring somewhat of a hope to the future generations.

Come check out 101 Filipino Icons and its sequel (because the first cannot simply cover everything there is!), 101 Filipino Icons Volume II, at the Learning Resource Center in Divine Light Academy Las Piñas. If you're having difficulty finding the book or you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask the librarians or staff members present. We'd be more than willing to assist!

(DLA Las Piñas HS LRC) September Author of the Month - John Green

John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American writer of young adult fiction and a YouTube vlogger and educator. His books have been published in more than a dozen languages.

Green was born in Indianapolis and his family moved three weeks after to Orlando, Florida. He attended Indian Springs School, a boarding and day school outside of Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from Kenyon College in 2000 with a double major in English and Religious Studies.

He lived for several years in Chicago where he worked for the book review journal Booklist as a publishing assistant and production editor while writing Looking for Alaska, his first novel. Green later lived in New York City for two years while his wife, Sarah (also known as "The Yeti" in his video blogs, coined due to her request not to be seen on camera), attended graduate school.

Today, he lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with Sarah, his children - Henry and Alice, and his dog, a West Highland Terrier named Willy (full name: Fireball Wilson Roberts).

Looking for Alaska (2005), An Abundance of Katherines (2006), Paper Towns (2008), and The Fault in Our Stars (2012) are all available at the High School Learning Resource Center in Divine Light Academy Las Piñas. Will Grayson, Will Grayson (a problem novel he co-wrote with David Levithan in 2010) has also been recently acquired and is currently on display at the fREADom Hub.

If you're having trouble looking for the books or if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask any of the librarians or staff members available. It would be awesome if we could help!

For more details on the New York Times bestselling author and his work, visit his official website here.

(DLA Las Piñas GS LRC) September Book of the Month - Matilda

People around the world celebrate annually with a wonderful array of events (like storytelling, facepainting, tours, and Dahlicious Dress Up Day) centred around Roald Dahl's birthday on the 13th - the official Roald Dahl Day. This year, we're celebrating the commemorative and festive occasion by featuring one of the author's most famous books about a child who is gifted with magical powers and precocity but her wealthy, dimwitted parents are oblivious to her prodigious skills, viewing her as a foolish and idiotic girl instead.

The extraordinary five year old genius Matilda Wormwood is having a great time driving her idiot mom and dad crazy but it's different at school when there's Miss Trunchbull, the horrible two hundred menacing pounds of kid-hating headmistress who is a bully making life difficult for Miss Honey (Matilda's teacher) and her friends.

The novel won the Children's Book Award shortly after it was published in 1988 (around the same time of the birth of Dahl's fourth grandchild) by Jonathan Cape in London with 232 pages and illustrations by the notable Quentin Blake, and it has continued to delight audiences ever since. Early drafts of the story were very different to the one we now know. At first, the protagonist was a wicked girl who eventually used her powers to do good. In the end though, it became the magical story now known to children the world over. Matilda was the writer's last long children's book.

It was adapted into an audio reading by Joely Richardson, a film version released in 1996 directed by Danny DeVito who also starred as Mr Wormwood alongside Mara Wilson as Matilda and Pam Ferris as Trunchbull (the film went on to become a cult classic), and a two-part adaptation for BBC Radio 4. In 2010, The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Matilda The Musical opened to great critical acclaim.

The children's novel can be found at the fREADom hub at the Grade School Learning Resource Center of Divine Light Academy Las Piñas. In 2014, we're celebrating the 50th anniversary of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory so that's what we're featuring on the same month next year. Make sure to go grab something sweet and stay tuned!