The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales — Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales is a collection of 18 folktales from Laos (Hmong), the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Sumatra, Bali, India, China, Korea. This children's book was originally published in 1995, as a project of PAWWA (Philippine American Women Writers and Artists) a small group of Filipina writers in Southern California. The group used a grant from the California Arts Council to fund the publication of two books: this one and an earlier book entitled, Seven Stories from Seven Sisters: A Collection of Philippine Folktales (also reprinted by PALH in 2022). The writers who retold the folktales in The Beginning and Other Asian Folktales include: Ceres S. C. Alabado, Valorie Slaughter Bejarano, Mariko Kitamura Bird, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Fe Panalingan Koons, Susan N. Montepio, Cecilia Caguinguin Ochoa, and Marianne Villanueva.The artist who did the 18 illustrations is Estela Ocampo Fernandez. PRAISEThe Beginning and Other Asian Folktales is an excellent educational resource not only for the younger generation but also for everyone whose hearts and minds are willing to embrace the uniqueness of each individual in their midst. There is a refereshing theme in each of the stories, many of which evoke the value of hard work, persistence, respect for elders, neighbors, among others. ~ Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke This collection presents a wealth of materials to inspire our children to appreciate their culture and those of others around them … truly a gift to the diverse population of Los Angeles! – State Senator Hilda Solis This fine collection of folktales reminds us of another please and another time – a commonality of themes from Asian cultures resonate of family, tradition, and belief. Such themes are a must-read to be shared with our video generation children to balance their daily video inputs with a compelling collection of Asian myths, missed with a hard dose of superstition and mysticism.  Honorable Casimiro U. Tolentino