Philippines

The arrival of children's books in the Philippines is intimately tied with its history of colonization. Though individuals like the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal, attempted to create a nascent tradition of children's literary texts (in translation), the main force that introduced and transformed children's literature and the circulation of children's books in the Philippines were the American colonial forces, who arrived in 1898 after the Treaty of Paris and only recognized the independence of the Philippines in 1946.