A Book that Redefines the Importance of Agriculture for Children
Rice science and nutrition, for example, are knowledge-intensive subjects that unlike the three “Fs” mentioned above that have been handed down for generations as a unique form of entertainment and cultural heritage, that writing a children’s book is as challenging as writing a script for a sci-fi movie.
Just recently, the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) launched a children’s book titled Popong eats his rice by Chat Garrido-Ocampo, manager of the Community and Employee Relations of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and author of the book Random thoughts on rice, science, technology, etc. (Insights from a non S&T insider).
Written in a very simple style, Ocampo wrote the story for her two sons-Anthony Manuel and Alvin Carlos-who barely make a dent in eating rice at every meal. It is in this scenario that the story of Popong revolves.
Five-year-old Popong does not always finish his rice at every meal and refuses to obey her mother’s admonitions until one night the rice prince appears in his dream telling him: “Popong, you have to eat your rice! You must not waste rice because a lot of work was done so that you will have rice on your plate.”
Thereupon, the book tells young readers why “planting rice is never fun”-from harrowing the soil, seedbed preparation, transplanting, growing, pest management, the need for irrigation, and harvesting to postharvest activities like drying and milling-a masterstroke in presenting a complex scientific process that young readers can easily understand and relate to.
Through the happy “voices” of the milled rice grains that excitingly wait for the day they are sold in the market and served on the dining table, the author and the illustrator combined their talents in capturing the rice production cycle.
Illustrator Grace Dy, a graduating Development Communication student from Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, rendered a signature, exuberant, and magical artwork that made each 32 pages of the book burst with energy. The resultant pictures thus spark the imagination and allow young children to follow along the minimum number of words used by the author.
In a manner of speaking, the book is written in the “mother knows best” tradition that is aligned with human values like love, understanding, responsibility, compassion, and safeguarding a child’s innocence.
The book is not only written for novelty’s sake but a dreadful reminder of what might have been in the face of the endemic “hidden hunger” called malnutrition among children in the Philippines and elsewhere in the world.
The author has appended at the end of the book nutritional facts about rice - brown and white - and multicolored activity pages that asks the questions: Where does rice come from? Where is Popong’s plate of rice?
Brilliant for reading aloud, the book is an excellent literacy support for teachers and a springboard for a discussion on the value of rice among children. It also redefines for a whole new generation of young readers the importance of agriculture, specifically rice production.
The book is also a huge blessing for busy parents like the author as it provides more opportunity for them to have an open communication with their children.
Above all, Popong eats his rice is ftin and easy to read as it is a charming, reassuring, highly acceptable and engaging book that will surely delight young children. Indeed, this is one picture book for second graders and up crowd that deserves a niche on your bookshelves and school libraries.
