A is No Longer For Apple, but For Alitaptap
It all began with a onesie. On that one fateful day, Anya Santos- Uy happened upon a child’s garment with a big, happy elephant print on the front, and thought, “How come I never see a Philippine eagle on baby stuff?”
That question propelled the boat that Anya would board on her long, but sweet journey of creating Alpabeto ng Kalisakan ( ANK).
At the start, the alphabet book, which features some of the most iconic Philippine animals and plants, was not even supposed to be a book.
When Santos- Uy became a mother, she noticed her son could easily identify a lion, a zebra, a giraffe, and even a rhino! He could name these animals early on because these were all over his diapers, his clothes, and his toys.
Santos- Uy has always been a lover of the natural world. She used to be a Membership Officer of Haribon Foundation, helping spread love for the country’s environmental treasures. She’s well aware of how rich and vast the Philippines is, so she wanted her son to also know about the tamaraw, dugong, and butanding. The problem was there was hardly any stuff ( baby or otherwise) with these animals on them, and so she set out to create a baby clothing line featuring Philippine wildlife. Then the whirlwind of motherhood happened and the precursor to ANK got shelved.
A few years and another daughter later, Santos-uy found illustrator Jay Javier on Facebook. He was posting artworks on his feed and the former was inspired, and so the clothing line evolved into what was essentially a 101 of Philippine flora and fauna.
The challenge was choosing the species that represent A to Z. This endeavor not only made Santos-uy seek help from her friends
at Haribon, but also pushed her to delve into the breadth of the country’s languages, searching for local terms and heirloom words.
It wasn’t easy, but she came out triumphant.
In the book, you’ll not only learn Tagalog/ Filipino terms but also Ivatan. The illustrations are fun and colorful but anatomically accurate. And to top it all off, Javier’s artworks are punctuated with the entry’s iteration in the elegant Filipino script known as Baybayin. This literal stroke of genius was made possible by collaborators Dustin Ancheta and Alain Austria.
This merging of nature, art, and culture makes ANK one of a kind. While one might worry that waning the vast natural world of the Philippines into just A to Z (including Ñ and Ng) would be an injustice, the book does the opposite.
At its core, ANK may be a children’s book, but it is so much more than that. It is a primer on Filipino heritage; a wonderful representation of the inexorable and intricate interplay between nature, language, art, and culture.
At the least, it is an accessible means to get children ( and adults) to know more about the country’s plants and animals. It is a journey in itself; an imaginary walk in nature where you can meet and greet some of the magnificent creatures who also call these 7,000 plus islands home.
At its very best, it is a poignant reminder of our country’s natural beauty, and that no matter what age, we must protect it at all cost.