Children's book about islands wins national award

We, literary friends of Quyen's generation, often tell each other that, hidden behind the thin, gentle figure of that journalist and writer is a tremendous inner strength. As an active writer of the 8X generation, in recent years, Bui Tieu Quyen has made her mark and become familiar to readers through 8 collections of stories and essays such as Going against the flow of love, Grass on the Eastern hills, Open doors, Widespread wild grass, Is the river ever straight...

And recently, her first children's book, the novella "Hot Coffee Traveling to Truong Sa" (Kim Dong Publishing House) made a mark with 3 awards: the 2022 National Book Award presented in Hanoi on the evening of October 3, the Mai Vang Award (Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper), and the Children's Literature Award of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association.

Hot Coffee Book Travels to Truong Sa.

“I want to tell my little friends about Truong Sa, about the islands of our Fatherland, through the journey of a camera. Tell it like a child born and raised in the delta who once had dreams about the sea. Tell it like an adult who has learned to understand and love his country more than his old dreams. Hopefully, the work will help the little ones understand a little more about the Truong Sa archipelago, knowledge about the sea, about nature, and all species. From there, they can locate their dreams in the magical world of their age. And love the sea.” - Bui Tieu Quyen shared.

Writer and journalist Bui Tieu Quyen tells about the opportunity that led her to write this work: In April 2019, Tieu Quyen, as a reporter for the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Newspaper, began a voyage to visit Truong Sa with working group No. 7 - a trip of the Party Committee, government and people of Ho Chi Minh City. Right from the moment she received the decision to go on a business trip, she hoped that on the day she returned, she would write a book dedicated to Truong Sa - the sacred archipelago of the Fatherland, where millions of Vietnamese hearts still turn to every day. But how to write? Many writers and journalists have come to this archipelago and countless papers and ink have been written about this place. But it is never enough. After much thought and concern, Bui Tieu Quyen decided to write for the children.

Writing for children is difficult, writing about the sea and islands for children is certainly even more difficult. If you are not alert and skillful enough, you will easily fall into propaganda, dogma, and rigidity. Fortunately, Bui Tieu Quyen, in her first time writing a book for children, has approached the sea and islands in a very cute, lively, and natural way through the way she builds characters. The character Ca Nong in the story is a Canon camera with a funny misname, which luckily joins the reporters on a special voyage: Visiting Truong Sa. Along with Ca Nong are other cameras, with Uncle Te Le, Ni, So, Leica... Through the perspective and narrative of the personified cameras, from the features that can take close-up and far-away shots, wide-angle and narrow-angle shots, panoramas, close-ups..., the voyage becomes more novel and attractive than the hundreds and thousands of articles that have told about journeys to Truong Sa.

Author Bui Tieu Quyen plays with children on Sinh Ton Island.

Readers of “Hot Coffee Traveling to Truong Sa” will enjoy the activities on the deck, the excitement of the cameras and reporters before the experiences that may never happen again, gradually opening up before their eyes. The destinations are the islands, from Song Tu Tay, Nam Yet, Tien Nu, Da Nam, Co Lin, Sinh Ton, Truong Sa Lon... to the offshore rigs; from the square banyan trees, the phong ba trees to the children, the dogs, the schools, the pagodas on the islands; from the dolphins dancing on the waves to the seagulls and larks welcoming in the sky; going back to the past with the Truong Sa Navy of the Nguyen Dynasty, silently commemorating the soldiers who sacrificed on Gac Ma Island...

Talking about the children's book that has won this award, writer Tran Duc Tien said: "Winning an award once may not convince many readers. But winning three times in two years, all awards with important voices in the country's literary and artistic activities, the work must have something. "That something", in my opinion, is simply good. That's all"!

“Hot Coffee Traveling to Truong Sa” contains knowledge about the sea, islands, astronomy, history… but it is not dry, but appears very natural, even has passages like… fairy tales, full of charm. Horizons of knowledge open up. Emotions vibrate with the sacred sea and islands of the Fatherland, with historical stories.

In particular, Truong Sa archipelago becomes more sparkling and closer through the elaborate color illustrations of artist Dinh Nguyen Hoang to create the mark of a sparkling sea and island book for children.

The theme of islands in Vietnamese literature has been exploited by many authors. Especially in recent years, when the islands are hotter than ever. But there is not much real literature, especially prose, that can remain. Perhaps only the works "Sunken Island" by Tran Dang Khoa and "Green Sea of ​​Leaves" by Nguyen Xuan Thuy are significant, lasting longer up to now; works for children are extremely few. And now, "Hot Coffee Traveling to Truong Sa" by Bui Tieu Quyen - an 8X author recognized by prestigious awards is a very happy signal showing that the theme of islands always has a generation of writers to continue and is always welcomed by readers. The book will be like a milestone that the author established on the East Sea, contributing to protecting the sea and sky of the Fatherland. And each book that reaches readers is like another solid milestone on the East Sea established in people's hearts.