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by Bianca Lagdameo | November 5, 2024
The Plaza Books Children's line was developed in early 2024 and launched within the same year. Our goal was simple-- to publish books that would resonate with parents across different generations and promote the traditional family values which strongly influenced our own childhood.
It was my own thoughts, feelings and experiences with parenthood which gave inspiration to the words behind the first title, Everything's Magic to Me.
In the trenches of newborn life, my husband and I would talk about the struggles of raising children coupled with the unrealistic portrayal by social media and the media in general in dictating what good parents and a good childhood looked like. Parents (especially first timers) constantly wonder whether or not they are doing a good job. After all, parenting does not come with a guide book or a score card. Everything's Magic to Me is a reminder to parents that they are enough and that their children are living magical lives, whether or not it looks like it from their perspective.
My cousin, Miguel Josemaria Alba, was able to beautifully breathe life into our words with his illustrations in a style of art that is uniquely his.
We released the book in August of this year and one of my favorite reviews reads, "For all parents that doubt if they are doing enough or if what they are doing is good enough, this is a hug in a book." That is exactly what we envisioned the book to be. Everything's Magic to Me is currently available on Amazon for e-book and international paperback purchases as well as through the Plaza Books Order form for Philippine orders.
As our children grew and our first born became more involved in our nightly prayers, it became a routine of hers to say, "Hello, Jesus! Thank you for today!" It was this line that lent inspiration to the next set of books that we will be releasing this November, Good Night, Jesus! I had a great day! and Good Night, Jesus! I had a hard day.
We knew how important it was to read to our children on a daily basis and equally important to us was being able to pray with our children as well.
On some days we only have the energy to do one of those things so we envisioned a book and prayer in one. We also acknowledged that kids don't always have a good day so we felt it was important to release both the great day and hard day books together. The Good Night, Jesus! books read like an examen for children helping them to process the events of the day but can also be read straight through as a prayer for those with younger children who may not yet be able to share their thoughts and feelings. We hope that these books will help jumpstart a routine between children and their parents or guardians to pray together before bed each night.
For this series, we collaborated with my high school batchmate and friend, Maria Abesa as well as other friends of Plaza Books to help create the eye-catching illustrations that children are sure to enjoy.
The e-book version of the Good Night, Jesus! series is now available for pre-order on Amazon and will be delivered to your kindle devices or e-book readers by November 15th. Paperback copies will also be available for purchase on Amazon and through the Plaza Books Order page by November 15th. Philippine delivery of the Good Night, Jesus! books will begin on the 3rd week of November.
Watch out for more titles in the children's book line which will be released next year!
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