VFI Set to Publish Visual Guides to the Philippines

With a deep Asian background and a pronounced Western tradition, the Philippine culture is rich and diverse. From the beliefs and traditions Filipinos practice, to various dishes to eat⁠—and even the games they play⁠—the country is endowed with one of the most interesting ways of life in the world.This year, Vibal Foundation (VFI) focuses on the vibrantly rich cultural, historical, and geographical landscapes of the Philippines in VFI’s Visual Guide series. These books are lavishly illustrated and packed with scholarly facts, literary stories, and all sorts of interesting trivia. 

Backed with reliable research and sound sources, the facts and historical background are presented by lovable characters, through vivid pictures and informative graphics, and accompanied by fun activities and games to help facilitate learning. The Visual Guide series is published under Vibal Group’s Referencia imprint, which aims to deliver informative and enjoyable books on Philippine culture. There are seven books in the series that centers on flora, fauna, food, games, folklore, precolonial Philippines, and Philippine geography.

Referencia Moderna: A Visual Guide to Philippine Food

This book aims to present a wide array of food using mouth-watering images, well-designed infographics, and storytelling illustrations. The book hopes to reach the younger generation to make them more well-versed with the dishes that they may or may not be familiar with.

Referencia Moderna: A Visual Guide to Philippine Games

A veritable manual of games originating from the Philippines or created by a Filipino. It aims to ignite the interest of every kid and kid at heart in these colorful and exciting recreational activities. This book will encourage readers to actually try and enjoy these games, and discover and experience what a fun Pinoy childhood is all about.

Referencia Moderna: A Visual Guide to Philippine Fauna

A colorful collection of facts and data about the country’s animal life. It aims to give both the young and the “young at heart” a complete picture of the country’s endemic wildlife, its distribution, and its conservation status.

Referencia Moderna: A Visual Guide to Philippine Flora

The newest resource of information about the country’s rich and diverse endemic plant species includes flowering and nonflowering plants as well as ferns. Aside from the discussion about plants endemic in the Philippines and other facts, the book also contains information about specific plant uses, as well as conservation efforts by both government and nongovernment agencies.

Referencia Moderna: A Visual Guide to Philippine Folklore

This book reflects an array of the diverse and rich variety of traditional Filipino beliefs, wisdom, customs, rituals, songs, and stories. Presented from historical, geographical, and cultural perspectives and in a manner suitable to young and young adult readers, the contents of the book offer an experience that’s both personal and communal, underlining the fact that Philippine folklore gives an insight into the working of the minds of a people bound by a common identity.

Referencia Moderna: A Visual Guide to Precolonial Philippines 

The book aims to give the youth of today a different perspective in presenting the history of the Filipino people before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers. Reading through this visual guide can make us proud of our ancestors and everything that they have done, their creativity, and ingenuity. It also allows us to realize how our past guides our actions in the present and guides our future outlook and inspiration.

Referencia Moderna: A Visual Guide to Philippine Geography 

The book presents the country’s breathtaking and diverse landforms and water forms such as several tourist destinations and natural wonders that the country and its people are proud of. Inside this book, the readers can read into the physical description of some of the notable landforms and bodies of water in the Philippines and their role in the communities where they are found.

The series sparks the imagination of adventurous young readers who are eager to explore the country as they browse the book pages. Other titles under the Referencia banner include A Visual Guide to the Manila-Acapulco Galleons and the Ang Aking Unang Diksiyonaryo-Katon series, which is aimed at early readers in the different mother tongue languages of the Philippines.

Follow Vibal Group’s (VGI) social media pages to be updated for the release of the books. You may also check VGI’s online shop, Shopee, and Lazada pages to check out other VGI and VFI titles.

To stay updated on VFI book launches and latest announcements, head on to VFI's Facebook page or to VGI's Facebook page. You may also check VFI books at Vibal Online Shop, Lazada, or Shopee.