Female PhD writes book to teach children Vietnamese in foreign land

The book, written by Ms. Thu Hien and illustrated by her daughter (then 9 years old), has just been introduced to readers by Kim Dong Publishing House.

At the book launch last weekend in Hanoi , the story of the mother reading the story to her daughter while she sat there illustrating it touched many readers.

Ms. Thu Hien said that she and her husband have lived abroad for 23 years. But both husband and wife believe that their children are Vietnamese, so they cannot let them not know Vietnamese.

"A child who is aware of his or her origins will develop more brilliantly and deeply," said Ms. Hien.

Every day, the couple spends at least 30 minutes speaking Vietnamese with their children. They bring many books from Vietnam to Denmark to read to their children, including The Adventures of a Cricket by To Hoai.

One day, Ms. Thu Hien thought that she also loves literature, so why not create a book with her child so that she can not only learn Vietnamese but also learn many life lessons there with her child, and learn to pursue her dreams.

She wants to teach her children to dream big and to be committed to their dreams.

In June 2023, the whole family attended the Summit in Copenhagen (Denmark) and had a meeting with a best-selling author.

At that moment, Thu Hien decided to write a children's book with her child. Although she was very busy with her work as a scientist , she had a desire to write, record, and tell about her experiences and observations about life and daily emotions.

She was determined to spend 30 minutes a day with her daughter to make a book. The mother and daughter worked together for a year to complete the book, which was based on real life. Le Bao Han's daughter drew 50 illustrations for the book, completely freehand.

The Adventures of Bella and Harry tells the story of two shy little fish who grow up together with love and courage.

The work opens up a vivid aquatic world with characters such as the gentle Mr. Wise fish, the old Mrs. Laura, the kind Maria and Jonas.

But there is no shortage of "bullies" like old Thomas or the gang of aggressive big fish.

Bella and Harry have had to move many times, all of which are life-and-death adventures, where small fish must learn to love and become stronger to protect themselves and their loved ones in order to survive.