Book #3288

The Mats

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The Mats

By Francisco Arcellana
Illustrated by Hermès Alègrè
1999, 20 pages, Hardback.

Book Description from Back Cover
About the Author

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Book Description from Back Cover

Marcelina's father returns from a trip to the southern province with a bundle of sleeping mats for his family. Each mat has the child's name woven into it. Each mat is designed to suit the child's personality.

But three additional mats remain in Father's bundle...

In this landmark adaptation, evocative of Philippine culture, Francisco Arcellana's classic story "The Mats" remains as fresh and as powerful as when it first appeared more than fifty years ago. The mats serve as a metaphor for the bitter sweet mix of love, laughter and loss woven into the fabric of everyday life. Hermès Alègrè's palette illuminates each scene with brilliant splashes of color sure to make this book a lasting treasure to be shared by the entire family.

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Background on Author and Illustrator

Francisco "Franz" Arcellana was born in 1916 in Santa Cruz, Manila, the fourth of eighteen children. After studying philosophy at the University of the Philippines, he worked briefly as a journalist before becoming a teacher and a writer of fiction. Collections of his work include Selected Stories (1962), Fifteen Stories: Storymaster 5 (1973) and The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990). His stories have been translated into several languages. In 1990 he was declared a National Artist for Literature by President Corazon Aquino. He lives with his wife in Diliman, Quezon City, in the Philippines.

Hermès Alègrè was born in Daet, Camarines Norte in 1968. He set out to become an artist at an early age, drawing pictures on the sand which his playmates would often proceed to erase. Undaunted, he studied art in the Philippine Women's University. After receiving his degree in fine arts, he decided to paint full time. His first picture book, Bahay Kubo, was published in 1993. His work has appeared in over thirty galleries. He lives in Las Pinas, Metro Manila.

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