How Ninoy And Cory Aquino Taught Their Son Noynoy To Dream Big And Never Give Up

• Former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III died today, June 24, 2021, at 61 years old.

  According to his sisters, the former president “died peacefully in his sleep” at 6:30 a.m. due to renal disease secondary to diabetes.

  Before he was a president, Noynoy was also a son — the third child of democratic icons Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and Cory Aquino. 

  Noynoy grew up in a time of turmoil. His dad was jailed for eight years at the height of martial law, and then the entire family went into exile in the United States.

  Then, when Ninoy flew back to the Philippines, he was murdered on the airport tarmac. His mom, a housewife at the time, had to step into the political stage, and became the first female president of the Philippines in 1986.

  These experiences surely shaped Noynoy as he was growing up. He pursued a career in politics, and in 2010, only a year after the death of Cory, he was finally elected as the 15th president of the country.

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  Noynoy then became “PNoy”, and fulfilled the legacy of his parents.

  In 2012, Summit Books published the story of the family in an inspiring children’s book called, simply, Ninoy, Cory, and Noynoy. It’s a story about how Ninoy and Cory taught their son, their daughters, and the rest of their country the value of dreaming big, fighting hard, and standing up for what they believe in.

  

  This children’s book was part of the Dream Big book series and was first published in 2012.

  PHOTO BY Courtesy of Summit Books

  As it lays out the history of those chaotic years in clear and simple language, it’s also an essential book if your kids are interested in history.

  It’s also a heartwarming and touching story about fighting hard and never giving up. At the end of the book, the publishers even reprinted a letter from Ninoy to Noynoy, written in his jail cell in 1973.

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  Ninoy wrote this letter to his son Noynoy while in his prison cell.

  PHOTO BY Courtesy of Summit Books

  Ninoy, Cory, and Noynoy was published in 2012, and was written by Yvette Fernandez and illustrated by Abi Goy. It is part of the Dream Big imprint of children’s books, featuring biographies of inspiring personalities, retold in an all-ages format.

  Speaking on the day of his death, author Yvette said, “While writing the book, I realized that Noynoy’s life was not his alone. He had been born into a family whose legacy was to fight for freedom and to nurture our democracy.

  “Like his parents before him, it was his destiny to serve the Filipino people. And he did it as well as he could. Thank you, Mr. President.”

  The book was written with the cooperation of Noynoy’s sisters Ballsy and Pinky, as well as the Office of the President. At the time, proceeds of the book sales went to Aklat, Gabay, Aruga Tungo sa Pag-Angat at Pag-Asa, a project that promoted literacy and early childhood development in public schools.

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  If you or your kids want to read it, it’s available online in e-book form for FREE from today, June 24, all the way until July 8 at 11:59 p.m. Download it here. 

  Read the official statement of the Aquino family on the passing of Noynoy Aquino here.

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How Ninoy And Cory Aquino Taught Their Son Noynoy To Dream Big And Never Give Up
Source: Progress Pinas