Stories about family togetherness through happy or hard times were the focus of the Inquirer Read-Along special session on Saturday held in celebration of national reading month and as part of the festivities leading up to Inquirer’s 33rd anniversary next month.

The session, meant to foster love of reading, had a theme #SarapMagbasa and featured young actress Angelica Ulip and veteran storyteller Rich Rodriguez of Ang Pinoy Storytellers.

The special Read-Along session was made possible with the support of partners National Bookstore, Resorts World Manila and Inquirer Property section.

Ulip narrated how she got interested in reading books, telling the kids how she would read stories to her stuffed toys.

But reading to the kids was much more fun, she said, because of how they reacted to the story.

Ulip, a first-time Read-Along storyteller, read to the kids the book “Tight Times,” a story by Jeanette Patindol about how a family of rats coped and remained grateful amid economic hardship.

“I like to read and I always spend time in our library especially when I wait for my mommy to pick me up from school,” said Ulip, a Grade 3 student.

Rodriguez read Russell Molina’s “Sandosenang Kuya,” a story about a boy describing the times he shared with his 12 older brothers in an unusual but happy home and “Si Pilong Patago-tago” by Kristine Canon, which is about a mischievous boy who loves to play hide and seek.

Some 80 children from Good Shepherd Montessori School of Pasig, Inc., PNOWA Child Learning Center and J. Zamora Elementary School attended the session and received books from National Bookstore and Resort World Manila.

The session also featured dance performances from Ulip and Inquirer mascot Guyito. /jpv