Two students from Dasmariñas, Cavite proved recently that literary classics are not beyond the grasp of young Filipinos.

Toni Maristella Braza, a Grade VI student of Grace Baptist Christian School, and Neil Ryan T. Nuñez, freshman at the Paliparan National High School, topped the Third Seamen’s Village Literary Pop Quiz in their respective categories.

The competition was hosted by Saint Pancras Academy located at the Seamen’s Village in Dasmarinas, Cavite.

Braza won a trip for 10 people to a theme park of her choice in the Metro Manila or Southern Tagalog area. Nuñez, also last year’s winner in the elementary level, received a trip for two to Hong Kong Disneyland.

For the competition, contestants prepared by reading more than two dozen literary classics. Grades IV-VI elementary school pupils familiarized themselves with 25 titles such as Cornelia Funke’s “Inkheart”, Frank L. Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz”, Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women”, H. G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds”, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers”, Antoine de Saint Exupery’s “The Little Prince”, and E. B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web”.

The 38-item reading list in the high school category included Dante Alighieri’s “The Inferno”, Homer’s “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad”, Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist”, Fyodor Dostoyevski’s “Crime and Punishment”, J. D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”, Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”, John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row”, James Joyce’s “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”, George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”, Pearl S. Buck’s “The Good Earth”, William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude”.

Contestants in both categories were asked to answer 30 questions in the elimination round. The top 10 scorers moved to the finals where they answered 15 questions.

Maria Socorro Oca, president of GIG and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation, Inc. and the Saint Pancras Academy, said the competition aims to encourage students to read, particularly the classics, as early as possible.

An initiative Oca introduced at Saint Pancras Academny is a special reading program where both teachers and parents are encouraged to promote reading in school and at home. She advises parents to find time to read to their children 20 minutes at bedtime. Pupils and teachers at Saint Pancras Academy are reading quite a lot. Oca emphasizes that wide readers make better teachers.

Readers who do not know what to do with old books may donate them to the Saint Pancras Library. Books may be dropped off at the Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation Inc.’s HQ at Suite 600, The Gregorian Bldg., 2178 Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila or text 0915-346 6251.