14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Can you spot an ordinary thing when a riddle makes it sound like something else?
A Little Book of Filipino Riddles brings together traditional brain teasers from the islands of the Philippines, gathered and edited by Frederick Starr. Each puzzle hides something familiar behind a strange description. Your task is simple: look past the disguise and guess what it is.
The clues lead into everyday island life: plants, animals, tools, household objects, food and weather. Behind these small puzzles lies a shared pleasure in wordplay across many peoples and languages. Read slowly, say the words aloud, and explore how a familiar world becomes a guessing game.
What you’ll discover
- The plain becomes strange Meet riddles that turn common things into puzzles by describing them in unexpected ways.
- Clues from island life Look for answers among the houses, fields, yards and kitchens that supply the riddles.
- Many tongues, shared play Explore a taste of the Philippines’ variety through a shared habit of playful questioning.
- Words worth saying aloud Let each riddle reach your ear, giving its strange description time to take shape.
- A fresh way to look Enjoy the challenge of seeing familiar plants, animals and objects through a different description.
Who will love it
This book suits lovers of folklore and word games, teachers and parents who try riddles on children, and readers curious about Philippine village life and customs.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Familiar things hide behind strange pictures
- Young speakers helped gather the riddles
- True riddles point without naming
- Local life shapes borrowed ideas
- Poetic disguises turn objects into people
- Everyday objects become hidden pictures
- Living things reveal themselves through action
- Church life enters the guessing game
- Riddles make occasions for shared wit
Formats and delivery
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- Large print hardcover
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A Little Book of Filipino Riddles in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
A Little Book of Filipino Riddles
Schoolboys hand a folklorist riddles about bats, bells and papayas, and each answer hides in plain sight.
Easy readUnder 2 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with easy classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
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In short
What creature of God sleeps with its head down? A bat.
A Little Book of Filipino Riddles at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 10 min55 min fast, 1 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 16,300 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Starr gathered riddles from schoolboys across many islands
Frederick Starr saw a gap in what scholars knew. In 1909 he noted that riddles from Malay peoples had been badly neglected. He could find only two earlier references, so he set out to collect riddles himself.
His first firsthand knowledge came from George Shoens, a teacher among the Bisayans, who had gathered about fifty riddles. Starr then collected about two hundred from Ilocano boys in Union Province. Later he added riddles from Pangasinan, Gaddang, Pampangan, Bisayan and Tagal sources.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 1 h 10 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
A Little Book of Filipino Riddles. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-little-book-of-filipino-riddles.
A little book of Filipino riddles. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-little-book-of-filipino-riddles
A Little Book of Filipino Riddles. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-little-book-of-filipino-riddles.
@book{anonymous2026little,
title = {A Little Book of Filipino Riddles},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-little-book-of-filipino-riddles}
}
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What is A Little Book of Filipino Riddles about?
It is a collection of more than four hundred traditional riddles from several Philippine peoples, which Frederick Starr gathered chiefly with schoolboys' help. Each riddle comes with its answer and, where needed, a note explaining a local custom, plant or tool.
What does bugtong mean?
Bugtong is the Tagal and Pampangan word for a riddle. In Ilocano the word is burburtia, in Pangasinan boniqueo, and in Bisayan tugmahanon. The book uses these names for riddles, which include poetic descriptions, trick questions and religious paradoxes.
Who collected the riddles in this book?
Frederick Starr, an American anthropologist, collected them with help from schoolboys in Union Province, Malolos, Manila and other places; George Shoens's work on about fifty Bisayan riddles supplied his first firsthand knowledge. Starr wrote the introduction and notes.
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