Captivating fairy tales illustrated by artists Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong

Ha Giang/Nguoi Viet Daily News

For now, only the author and the two artists have in their possession the few copies of these precious books, still hot off the press. However, customers can pre-order the book at Amazon at a discounted rate.

It took the artist and illustrators nearly 15 months to complete the book, the 100 pages beautifully presented in hardcover and containing 15 familiar Vietnamese fairy tales.

Titles such as “Son Tinh anh Thuy Tinh” – “The Mountain Lord and The Sea Lord” – “The Story of Tam and Cam,” “The Legend of Banh Chung and Banh Day” and “Mai An Tiem and the Watermelon Seeds” bring the readers’ childhood memories alive, shimmering on every page. And the stories are presented beautifully; each illustration is a painting, with Nguyen Thi Hop’s delicate strokes combined with Nguyen Dong’s decisive touches. The images revive Vietnamese legendary characters buried deep in the memories of Vietnamese expatriates through the stories of  “The Celestial King Phu Dong and the Iron Horse” and “Le Loi and the Magic Sword.”

Author Tran Thi Minh Phuoc, a librarian and a storyteller, said  the 15 stories presented in “Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories” are Vietnamese fairy tales closest to her heart. Every story is a picture of a world that values the five great virtues: nhan (compassion), le (rituals), nghia (righteousness), tri (wisdom), and tin (trust), the essence of values in Vietnamese culture.

“It is my hope that these stories – and the stories of all peoples – will foster bonds between generations and become a vehicle for bridging gaps between cultures as well,” the author wrote in the introduction  of her book.

To Nguoi Viet Daily News, she revealed: “Holding the book in my hands, I wish my mother was still here so I could read the stories that she often  told us, just like in the old days.  The same feeling I had when holding my Master of Library and Information Sciences degree, I wished that my daddy was there to see my success in America.”

Prior to settling in the United States, Tran Thi Minh Phuoc spent 10 months in a refugee camp in Malaysia. In 1984, after a 50-hour Greyhound trip from California to Minnesota, she found the most precious treasures in life: education and a safe environment. She became the first Vietnamese American librarian in Minnesota and has been a passionate storyteller for over 20 years.

Recalling the early days when she first embarked on this project, artist Nguyen Thi Hop, a member of Nguoi Viet Daily News’ art department, said, “We were so happy when Tuttle Publishing, after reviewing some of our samples, agreed to have us illustrate the book. We are especially excited to illustrate a children’s book since Tuttle has published many books for children in Southeast Asia, but no book on Vietnam!”

One page in Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories, illustrating the story of Tam and Cam.
(Photo: Nguoi Viet)

Artist Nguyen Dong, who also works in Nguoi Viet Daily News’ art department, has always stood by his partner, both at work and while painting, and explained the process of illustrating a book.

“Tuttle’s editor let us know about the book project, i.e. how many pages, the size of the book,  how many stories, how many pictures in each story, and an estimate of how many full-page, half-page or one third-page images,” he said. “And then as each story was finished, it was sent to us for illustration. Once each painting was done, we sent it to the author for review, modifications if needed, and finally for approval.”

Even at a young age, Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong were well-known artists in South Vietnam in the 1960s. Their paintings have been exhibited in Paris, Taiwan and different cities in Germany and the United States, as well as in Saigon. They have illustrated books published in numerous countries and have frequently illustrated the work of renowned Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Artists Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong in their own world, while working on paintings
for Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories. (Photo: Danchi)

When asked to declare their favorite illustrations for the book, Nguyen Thi Hop said, “We had to read each story, find out what needed to be illustrated; we like all of the images because we painted all of them. But we found illustrations for these stories most interesting: “Son Tinh anh Thuy Tinh,” “The Celestial King Phu Dong and the Iron Horse” and “Le Loi and the Magic Sword.”

With Tran Thi Minh Phuoc’s storytelling skills and vivid illustrations by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong, “English Children’s Favorite Stories” is a charming collection of Vietnamese fairy tales and folk tales. This book enables children of Vietnamese origin to find out more about the depth and beauty of  Vietnamese culture, and it is an opportunity for Vietnamese American families to pass the treasures of Vietnamese fairy tales to the next generation.

“Vietnamese Children’s Favorite Stories” deserves a special place on every family’s bookshelf.

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Contact the writer: hagiang@nguoi-viet.com