Daven Tamayo

'Trese' creator Budjette Tan writes storybook on beauty, power of wonder

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ABS-CBN Lifestyle

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:750px;display:block"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177192588021769688dfd8c1169ef26f8aeb4_budjette_post_12_29_2025_11_53_20 PM3798391709936808016.jpg" style="width:750px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Cover art for &quot;Ever Wonder&quot;</span></span></span></div><p>Do you remember the boundless wonder and imagination you possessed as a child? It&#x27;s a power that many of us carry into adulthood, one that fuels our creativity. </p><p>In &quot;Ever Wonder&quot; (Summit Books, 2026, 90 pages), a father shares with his son many ways of tapping into that inborn magic to tell stories. That father happens to be Budjette Tan, co-creator of the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/12/27/21/trese-at-vanguard-of-philippine-pop-culture-surge">&quot;Trese&quot; comics that became a Netflix hit show</a>.</p><p>Nine years ago, Tan was asked to write a letter to his newborn son, Seraph, for a book called &quot;Letters to my Children&quot;. He asked his childhood friend and Seraph’s godfather, Bow Guerrero, to help him turn it into a uniquely Pinoy book that’s both an illustration of and aid to powerful storytelling. </p><p>In an online interview, Tan and Guerrero share the story behind the storybook. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: You&#x27;ve been working on this book for a long time.  How does it feel to have finally launched it?</strong></div><p>Tan: &quot;Feels wonderful! (pun intended). Making a storybook was one of those things me and Bow talked about in the late &#x27;90s. To finally do it, inspired by Seraph and Bow&#x27;s nephew Alfons, just makes it a hundred times more fantastic!&quot;</p><p>Guerrero: &quot;It feels extremely fulfilling. Budj and I have talked about working on the book for so long, and seeing it take shape was just a mixture of child-like excitement and a bit of anxiety because we&#x27;ve never done anything like it before.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: Did you mean for it to be read aloud? If yes, to kids of what age?</strong></div><p>Guerrero: &quot;Budj meant for it to be read by parents to their kids, but I told him that it should also be a book aimed at adults… or that kid inside all of us.&quot;</p><p>Tan: &quot;I had intended it to be read aloud. When I was invited to do a couple of talks in the early 2020s, I added new sections to the letter. I tried to write it with the rhythm and cadence of a spoken word poem. I hope that when read aloud, kids and adults will like it.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: There&#x27;s a lot of browns and grays in the illustrations and a lot of the scenes are set at night or twilight. </strong></div><p>Guerrero: &quot;It has to do with the power of nostalgia. New visuals or new things can always capture the attention of people, but it&#x27;s nostalgia that keeps that attention forever. That’s why warm colors and grays work – they exude memories of the past. That’s how we aimed the art towards adults.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: There&#x27;s always a primary and a secondary audience for a book. Is &quot;Ever Wonder&quot; a children&#x27;s book that aims to also inspire adults?</strong></div><p>Tan: &quot;A big influence in writing this book was Dr. Seuss&#x27; &#x27;Oh, the Places You&#x27;ll Go!&#x27; [It&#x27;s] fun and silly when read by a kid, but will resonate with a teenager and mean so much to someone graduating from college. I hope that &#x27;Ever Wonder&#x27; will have the same feeling for readers who are 6, 16, or 36.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: What do you want parents to think, feel, and do after experiencing the book?  </strong></div><p>Guerrero: &quot;Not to get caught up with the unnecessary complexities of adulthood and the accumulation of useless psychological or physical things.  To keep life simple and think like a child.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: How about young adults or would-be writers of any age?</strong></div><p>Tan: &quot;I think most of the &#x27;writing tips&#x27; I wrote for the book are meant to be reminders for myself – hahaha! I think they apply to any creative or creator. They&#x27;re meant for anyone who lives a creative or entrepreneurial life.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1771925955756Budj and Bow 2.JPEG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">&quot;Ever Wonder&quot; creators Budjette Tan and Bow Guerrero</span></span></span></div><div><strong>Q: The book also talks about Community: &quot;You might find companions on the same path, in search of new characters for their comics, a conclusion for their novel, or a word for their poem.&quot;  Which communities nurtured you? </strong></div><p>Guerrero: &quot;When I was in the College of Fine Arts, it was Ilustrador ng Kabataan. Right after college, it was Alamat.  But throughout my life it was a small group of very close friends.&quot;</p><p>Tan: &quot;Bow was part of my high school barkada. We&#x27;d watch all types of movies and then we&#x27;d talk about it: &#x27;So, how would you make that movie better?&#x27; Or &#x27;If you could write the sequel, what would happen?&#x27; That made me a better storyteller.&quot;</p><p>&quot;In the mid-1990s, when the Alamat Comics group was formed, some of us got to hang out at a café near one of the comic book stores. Other comic book creators started coming over to chat with us and that community became a source of learning and inspiration.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: There&#x27;s also lots of tips for dealing with &quot;creative block&quot;. Are those recommendations from experience? Which one works best for you?</strong></div><p>Guerrero: &quot;All of them.  Budj is clearly drawing them from experience. And I&#x27;ve used those tips a lot because in my day job I was a writer for many, many years.&quot;</p><p>Tan: &quot;I feel impostor syndrome creeping up on me since I haven’t finished &#x27;Trese&#x27; Book 9, haha! Going for a walk works for me… Even a short walk helps new ideas bubble up or untangles a problem. Writing &#x27;Ever Wonder&#x27; and my other new book &#x27;Kwentoys&#x27; became my output when I couldn&#x27;t figure out how to write the next &#x27;Trese&#x27; story. I needed to keep writing. These days, my audience is my son and I needed to write something for him.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: What&#x27;s the nicest feedback you&#x27;ve received so far? </strong></div><p>Guerrero: &quot;I&#x27;ve heard some parents who have read it would tear up and say it touched their hearts.&quot;</p><p>Tan: &quot;That was not the intention, but I guess it goes to show that it did make a connection to them. Fellow storyteller Russell Molina said, &#x27;This is not just a book to read, but one to return to, again and again, whenever you need to slow down, dream a little bigger, and remember that wondering is something we never outgrow.&#x27;&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: What did Seraph say?</strong></div><p>Tan: &quot;He loves it! He&#x27;s proud of it. During the book launch, he sat down with us to autograph books. One of the first things that he did when we got back to Denmark was to donate a copy of the book to his school library. And of course, he autographed it.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q: There&#x27;s a wonderful line in the end, &quot;Fill your life with the most wonderful stories that only you can tell.&quot;  Is that your way of saying anyone can write stories?</strong></div><p>Tan: &quot;A story can be in the form of words, drawings, digital art, photos, paintings, sculptures. Or it could be as simple as the things you post on social media, the photos you upload, the anecdotes or reflections you write and share with the world.&quot;</p><p>&quot;One of my favorite comic book writers, Grant Morrison said, &#x27;Remember in the entire history of the universe, you&#x27;re the only &#x27;you&#x27; that  has ever existed and ever will exist. There&#x27;s nobody in existence who is you, and no one can ever see the world the way you see it and can tell the rest of us how it looks. And it might be so different and so beautiful that it changes everything.&#x27;&quot;</p><p>&quot;Ever Wonder&quot; is available at National Bookstore and Fully Booked, and through Summit Books on Lazada and Shopee.</p>

<p>Do you remember the boundless wonder and imagination you possessed as a child? It's a power that many of us carry into adulthood, one that fuels our creativity.</p>

Do you remember the boundless wonder and imagination you possessed as a child? It's a power that many of us carry into adulthood, one that fuels our creativity.

'Trese' creator Budjette Tan writes storybook on beauty, power of wonder

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'Trese' creator Budjette Tan writes storybook on beauty, power of wonder

ABS-CBN Lifestyle,

Vanessa Bicomong

Published Feb 24, 2026 05:47 PM PHT

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