Viet Nam News
By Thu Anh
HCM CITY — Young readers will have more opportunities to learn about Vietnamese history after the release this week of new books by poet and reporter Le Minh Quoc.
The comic collection, titled Hien Tai Nuoc Viet (Vietnamese Great Men), includes 10 books on Vietnamese history in different periods.
The works feature Vietnamese kings, generals, national heroes and scholars such as General Truong Han Sieu, revolutionary Cao Ba Quat, and scholars Mac Dinh Chi and Le Quy Don.
The pictures were created by Pham Ngoc Tuan.
Hien Tai Nuoc Viet is part of a long-term programme launched this year by publishing houses Dong A and Dan Tri on history books for children and teenagers.
The programme invited authors, cultural researchers and historians to compile stories from different sources to offer useful and entertaining books.
Unlike previous years, publishers have decided to add history books to their lists for the summer season instead of works on love, supermen and adventures.
"We see many young people becoming excited about history by reading about and appreciating their own traditional culture,” said Quoc, who has more than 30 years experience as a writer.
Quoc said there was a shortage of new books and comics on Viet Nam’s history each summer. “I wanted to play a role in changing this situation,” he said.
According to lecturer and educator Tran Huu Ta, who has written history books appreciated by younger readers, it is difficult for publishers and authors to offer such books because they must strike a balance between social responsibility and profit.
"Children prefer comics and cartoons about fighting, while teenagers enjoy romantic stories. History is not their favourite."
Ta said that social organisations and publishing houses should work with authors and editors to publish more books featuring historical events, national heroes and heroic martyrs.
Tre (Youth) Publishing House, one of the city’s biggest publishers, has attracted a staff of several well-known authors and historians creating books for young people. The authors include Tran Dang Khoa, Quach Tho, Nguyen Nghiep and Nguyen Thuy Kha.
The publisher’s two best-selling history books, Lich Su Viet Nam (The History of Viet Nam) and Lich Su Nuoc Ta (Our Country’s History), have been reprinted and sold in many bookstores around the city, receiving a warm response from young readers.
While Tre prefers to publish books featuring the country’s ancient history, its competitor, the Kim Dong Publishing House, tends to print modern history books by well-known authors like To Hoai and Nguyen Huy Tuong.
Books about the life and military career of generals Vo Nguyen Giap and Nguyen Chi Thanh, published by the Army Publishing House, have attracted many adult readers.
New comics in the collection Hien Tai Nuoc Viet are available in bookstores and online websites. — VNS