HCM CITY — Popular children's book writer Nguyen Nhat Anh has sold the rights to Thailand-based Nanmee Books Publishing House for translation of one of his best-selling books into Thai.
Cho Toi Xin Mot Ve Di Tuoi Tho (Give Me a Ticket Back to Childhood) is a narration by an urban boy named Mui of the events in his and three friends' lives.
The book received a sensational reception from critics and readers of all ages, selling a record – for children's books – 20,000 copies within a week of being published in 2008.
It was reprinted by the Tre (Youth) Publishing House.
Translator Montira Rato will work to get the Thai version published in August to mark 35 years of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Thailand.
Last year the Viet Nam Writers Association nominated the book for the Southeast Asian Writers Award instituted by the Thai royal family, and it duly won the prize.
The HCM City-based Anh began writing in 1984 and is known for his simple style and accurately depicting the purity and sensitivity of children's minds.
His other famous books include Toi La Be To (I'm Be To) and Dao Mong Mo (The Dreamlike Island), both about young girls and boys. Both have seen reprints.
His latest book, Toi Thay Hoa Vang Tren Co Xanh (I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass), sold 32,000 copies in just two months of publication last year.
Co Gai Den Tu Hom Qua (The Girl Comes from Yesterday), which Tre published in 1995, remains one of the country's best-selling kids' books.
Moscow University recently included it in the curriculum for Vietnamese-language students.
It is also expected to be translated into Russian. — VNS