“Tuko, the Tenor Wannabe” is a story that defines expectation versus reality. 
Author Nemah Hermosa gave us Tuko, who badly wants to be a singer. He went to music school and dreamed of being in the opera. But he just not cut out for it because… he does not have the beautiful voice to boot. To be blunt, he is off key and annoying to listen to. But he is persistent and stubborn refusing to listen to anyone, even his mother.
With fun illustrations by artist Ruben de Jesus, this story takes us into the amusing journey of Tuko — and how he realized that he just have to give up singing so he can keep his friends.
This is a story that I first encountered nine years ago during an Inquirer Read-along session. I did not like it at first. I cannot quite remember why. Maybe because I was 23 years old then with little knowledge about what storybooks are appropriate for children. I saw a copy of this again in 2017 when I was browsing through the shelves of National Bookstore, in search for a unique storybook. I found this book, read it, and loved it! This is a perfect material to use to teach children the value of humility; to accept their weaknesses and choosing to channel their energies into other endeavors.
Starting with this edition of our Book Reviews in this site, I decided to record myself (audio or video, whichever works) reading the story along with a copy of the book. For this edition, I have my daughter, Antoinette, help me out. She can now read sight words and four-letter to five-letter words so I am using this book to help her improve her reading skills as well.
Watch the video here :
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Thanks for reading and watching!
