Stunning Vietnamese Children's Book Wins

Stunning Vietnamese Children’s Book Wins Asia-Wide Prize

• Nghệ sỹ Việt Nam ở nước ngoài

Posted on 02/11/2015

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Original post on Saigoneer: Stunning Vietnamese Children’s Book Wins Asia-Wide Prize

When it comes to reading materials for kids, Vietnam is full of small, inexpensive paperbacks, but seldom does the country produce a colorful, high-quality storybook like The First Journey.

Created in just two weeks by author-illustrator team Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Kim Lien, the children’s book recently took home the Scholastic Picture Book Award, an Asia-wide honor presented by the National Book Development Council of Singapore and Scholastic Asia. Their unpublished story, filled with dramatic, vivid illustrations of the Mekong, beat out 135 other entries from across the continent.

The First Journey tells the story of An, a young boy who crosses the Mekong Delta for the first time on his way to school, encountering floods, snakes and a mysterious forest with a giant crocodile.

Through workshops and collaborations with Room to Read, a nonprofit organization which works to promote children’s literacy in developing countries around the world, the duo were able to complete the book and submit it to the contest for consideration.

Since winning the honor, Quang and Lien have managed to become independent authors, creating their own high-quality childrens’ books in a country where engaging and age-appropriate reading material is hard to come by.

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VN Civilisation Book, 20 yrs of research, 6 yrs in writing

VN civilisation depicted in book

June 3, 2011  about Features, In depth

LookAtVietnam - A book about the material civilisation of the
Vietnamese people by painter and fine arts researcher Phan Cam Thuong has been
available to readers in Ha Noi.

Entitled Van Minh Vat Chat Cua Nguoi Viet (Material
Civilisation of Vietnamese People), the book is the product of 20 years of
research and six years of writing. The completed book is 664 pages.

With 959 photos and 505 illustrations, the book features
stories about several objects made and used by the Vietnamese people.

Humans have created a material world through objects and
continue to shape this world. The material civilisation of objects plays a
significant role in the human development process, according to the author.

To collect the necessary material for the book, Thuong
conducted several field studies in different regions across the country. He
travelled from the northern Hong (Red) River Delta, to the central and southern
regions. He also visited China, Japan and the US for his research.

“Many countries pay significant attention to the role of the
material civilisation in historical process, while we haven’t.

People give
prominence to agricultural tools in Asian countries, while in the US, people
appreciate the electric generator. It is evidence that Americans and Europeans
tend to invent motorised machines while Asians have a closer attachment to
manual tools,” said the author.

According to fine arts critic Nguyen Quan, the Material
Civilisation of Vietnamese People is a unique book. “A writing style mixing
scientific judgement and artistic feeling, it is an interesting book that
contains great value. The book is really worth reading.”

Painter Le Thiet Cuong: “It is an important book because
nothing similar has been published in Viet Nam. Several different historical
periods of the country can be seen through the objects mentioned in the book.”

Thuong devotes the book to the youth. “Through the book, they
can learn about how their forbearers lived, thus understand Vietnamese culture.”

The Material Civilisation of Vietnamese People costs VND165,000
(US$8) and is available at the Tri Thuc (Knowledge) Publishing House, 53 Nguyen
Du Street, Ha Noi, and at the Phuong Nam bookstores nationwide.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 8/5 Vietnam

Book on Dien Bien Phu victory published in France; Over 300 journalists to attend 2010 Hue Festival; Hanoi to host National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010; World cuisine festival attracts 50 countries

Book on Dien Bien Phu victory published in France

A book entitled “Dien Bien Phu – seen from the other side” has been published in France by the World Publishing House (Nouveau Monde).

The book, written in French, reviews the memories of those who participated in or witnessed the battle and mentions the historical documents relating to France’s war in Vietnam.

It is a valuable book which provides French people with the truth about the war won by Vietnamese people after enduring so many sufferings and inflicting heavy losses on the French, says historic professor Jean Pierre Roux.

Professor Roux emphasised that the victory at Dien Bien Phu was praised around the world and had an important influence on other French colonies in Asia, Africa and South America.

Overseas professor Ngo Manh Lan says that the book reflects the war in a very objective way and that it is very important in order to influence French public opinion.

The book has received a lot of attention in France.

Over 300 journalists to attend 2010 Hue Festival

Three hundred journalists from 43 domestic and foreign press agencies have registered to cover the 2010 Hue Festival.

In recent times, wide coverage has been given by domestic press agencies, including Radio the Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam Television, the Thanh Nien (Young People), Tuoi Tre (Youth) and Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspapers.

During the 9-day festival, major events will be held in Thua Thien-Hue province to turn it into a festival city.

Ngo Hoa, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee and head of the organising board, said he hopes that the festival will receive extensive coverage.

Hanoi to host National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010

The National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010 will be held at the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts in Hanoi from November 30 to December 20.

The event is organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the Vietnam Fine Arts Association.

This exhibition representing Vietnam’s fine arts industry is one link in the chain of big festivals Vietnam is celebrating in 2010.

On display will be representative works from the 5-year period 2006-2010 to gauge fine arts development during the process of national industrialisation and modernisation towards global integration.

German books exhibited in Hanoi

An exhibition of more than 400 German books opened in Hanoi on May 5.

On display are books about literature, art, philosophy and economics written by famous authors from Germany, Switzerland and Austria – all translated into Vietnamese.

The exhibition, organised by the Goethe Institute and the National Library, creates an opportunity for translators and publishers to promote cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Germany.

The Head of the Goethe Institute, Almuth Meyer Zollitsch, says the exhibition aims to help Vietnamese readers, especially students, better understand German literature, culture and society.

Responsible Tourism Initiatives introduced in Vietnam

40 travel agencies and leaders of the Hanoi, Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri provincial Departments for Culture, Sports and Tourism attended a seminar on “the introduction of Responsible Tourism Initiatives in Vietnam” in Hue City on May 4.

The seminar, organized by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), is designed to respond to challenge facing the developing tourism industry.

It is also aimed at providing information on environment management and attracting the participation of poor people in cultural and tourist activities.

A recent SNV survey of five major tourist attractions in Vietnam shows the visitors’ satisfaction at high level, but also their concern about tourist-related problems like garbage dumping in public places, environmental pollution and benefits poor people.

World cuisine festival attracts 50 countries

The World Cuisine Festival will be held in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province from July 21-25.

Almost 50 countries and territories from around the world and three provinces and cities in Vietnam have registered to take part in the event.

It will take place along a 3km stretch of Vung Tau beach. The organising board hopes that the festival will be listed as a Guinness world record as the culinary festival occupies a wide space and that it will become an annual event for Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

Visitors will have the chance to taste special dishes and enjoy live concerts featuring different cultures around the world.

“Don’t burn” screened in Paris

“Don’t burn!” – a film by director Dang Nhat Minh, was shown on May 1 at the Vietnam Culture Centre in Paris, a Vietnamese and French audience.

After the film, they had the opportunity to join in discussions with the director. They expressed a great respect for Dang Thuy Tram, the central character and also the army doctor who dedicated her life to the country during the American war.

The film was premiered in France late last month during the Vietnamese film festival to celebrate the country’s 35th anniversary of Southern Liberation and National Reunification.

“Don’t burn” is expected to be screened in other large cities around France such as Lyon and Toulouse.

Old man owns over 5 million books

With over 5 million books of all kinds, Nguyen Hong Sanh in the southern city of Vung Tau owns the highest number of books in Vietnam. Anyone who goes to Sanh’s house to seek books or search for data is warmly welcomed. Everyday he receives hundreds of people from everywhere.
When did you begin collecting books?
I studied literature at the Saigon Teacher Training College so I love reading and collecting books. Books are the greatest and closest teachers. They are also enthusiastic teachers. Even at 2-3 in the morning, if I need some knowledge, this teacher is ready. I don’t want to have only one enthusiastic teacher in my house, so I received one by one to my house…

In 1986, when the country entered the Doi Moi period, I was able to collect books. Each day I tried to buy books, both old and new, with all of my money. I tried to buy valuable books at any cost, even though I had to sell something in my house or I had to borrow money from somebody. All of my income was spent of books.

It is lucky that my wife could support my children. Apart from my salary, I also write songs and tuong and cheo scripts to support my family. I presently have around 70 scripts of tuong and cheo arts and around 8,000 moral songs.

Besides collecting books, do you have any other pleasure?

Yes, that’s don ca tai tu (traditional southern music). I was born in the southwestern region so I loved don ca tai tu when I was a child. Every Friday night, my friends would gather in my house to listen to my songs. I have around 50 don ca tai tu students.

What difficulties do you face in preserving your books?

In 1990 I lost up to 1,500 books within one night because of worms. After that accident, I had to rebuild the ground and buried dozens of kilos of worm-killing chemicals.

It is also very difficult to classify books. Sometimes someone comes to my house to borrow a book that I know clearly that I have it but I need several days to find it.

You have 5 million books. Are you still collecting books?

The number of books is increasing and decreasing every day. But now I don’t buy a lot of books because my house is small so I only choose valuable ones.