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In many storybooks in the Philippines, the presence of a sibling is a commonplace in writing the child protagonist's world. More specifically, the kuya, which is the Filipino term for older brother, is a male character that can influence the child protagonists. In this chapter, my goal is to analyse the positionalities of the kuya as male characters in four storybooks from the Philippines that feature the bond between a younger child and the older brother/s. These storybooks are Salo-Salo Para Kay Kuya (A Feast for Big Brother), Sandosenang Kuya (A Dozen Big Brothers), Ang Kuya Kong Zombie (My Big Brother Zombie) and Ang Misteryo ng Patong-Patong na Damit ni Hulyan (The Mystery Behind Hulyan's Layered Clothes).

Through this chapter, I aim to theorise the roles that male characters play vis-à-vis their relationships with their younger siblings. The male characters' narrative journeys, character developments and roles in the context of the story are analysed through what Michael White calls ‘subordinate storylines’, which is character information that cannot be accessed by mere conversation among children. Thus, in the chapter, I investigate the values; intensions; knowledge and skills; and social, relational and cultural genesis of the male characters vis-à-vis the narratives and their interplay with the child protagonists in the story.

This section begins with the story of Raul, a young homeless man who dwells in the streets of Buenos Aires city. Raul is 25 years old and has four children who live with his former wife. Divorced because of a problem with drinking, he sleeps here, there, and everywhere but prefers bus stations or tourist destinations. In this way, he not only feels safer but also lives on the charity of foreign tourists. Hotels or bus stations offer safe shelter in case of rain or the ruthless winter. Because of the currency exchange gap between pesos and dollars, tourist destinations are targeted by many homeless men in Buenos Aires City. Having said this, he works as “reciclador urbano – urban recycling” a new nomenclature associated with persons who sort trash to collect recyclables. Known as cartoneros (litter-pickers) as well, these persons started to become a part of Buenos Aires city. At first glimpse, many cartoneros never come back to their homes, located in Provincia de Buenos Aires they sleep and live roaming Buenos Aires traversing from one to another point of the city. The opposite is equally true, like Raul, Buenos Aires airport has turned into an unofficial homeless shelter receiving more than 50 persons each night.