The Longest Banig

Karina must overcome her fear of heights to enter a contest for the longest banig

On the day of the Banig Festival, Karina wakes up to her whole neighborhood getting ready! After her nanay finishes weaving their banig, a colorful woven mat, Karina and her cousin pack it up in a kariton and take it into town. It will be sewn with the rest of their group's mats into one long banig and entered into a contest.

To get to the festival, Karina and her cousin must cross a very high, very rickety wooden bridge. Without her nanay to guide her across, Karina is frightened. She tries to cross inside the kariton, but that doesn't work. She tries to cross with her eyes closed, but she trips. Determined to make it to the festival, Karina comes up with an innovative idea--she rolls her nanay's banig onto the bridge to hide the scary gaps between the wooden slats. Then, she successfully crosses the bridge and makes it just in time for the contest.

On the way back home, Karina crosses the bridge without feeling afraid and declares that nanay's banig isn't the only winner of the day!

BETH PARROCHA loves to draw for children's picture books and has illustrated over fifty books that are beloved by Filipinos across generations. Her works have received awards and citations from the National Book Awards, Gintong Aklat Awards, the National Children's Book Awards, Noma Concours, Yahoo Asia, and AFCC Samsung KidsTime Awards. Beth lives in Manilla, Philippines.

MILA BONGCO-PHILIPZIG is a writer, visual artist, and community organizer. Her children's books, poems, essays, and podcasts have been published in Canada, the United States, the Philippines, and Germany. The diaspora of the global majority is a recurring theme in her writings, as well as her advocacy for social and human rights. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta.