Ho Huy Son writes books for children and thinks of joy to move forward

Writing for children is a long and continuous journey, so for me, this is a job that brings more joy and happiness. If it wasn’t fun, I probably wouldn’t have pursued it until now. Because if there are any difficulties, I often think of joy to move forward.

HO HUY SON

This young author is currently writing and working for a newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City.

Up to now, his literary legacy has reached dozens of works, including Sons and Daughters (Kim Dong Publishing House, 2007), Going through the golden seasons (Kim Dong Publishing House, 2017), Fragrant lamps (Literature Publishing House, 2022)...

* From the names with beautiful art , simple language. Because you aim this work at children?

- When reading publications with the spirit of "Beloved Vietnamese" by Kim Dong Publishing House, I enjoy the close, practical, and useful way of working with children.

Many people assume that books about language and Vietnamese must be written by cultural experts or language experts.

Academic publications are of course necessary, but to reach young readers, they need to be presented in a different way: intimate, beautiful, and, of course, interesting.

Only then can we create inspiration for children to learn, explore , and thereby love Vietnamese more.

* According to you, what are the difficulties in writing for children?

- Recently, I see that the atmosphere of writing and composing books for children has had positive changes. Children's books are not only unique in content but also "score points" in form.

That is thanks to publishers boldly investing and understanding the tastes of young readers today. Compared to foreign children's books, domestic children's books are now no less competitive.

However, in general, reading power and purchasing power are still low, causing authors in general and authors writing books for children in particular in Vietnam to not have much motivation.

Only a few publications have outstanding circulation numbers, the majority stop at 1,000 - 2,000 copies per print run.

Our country's population is over 100 million people, the age group from 0 - 14 accounts for 23.9% (2023 data). Obviously, the number of 1,000 - 2,000 books is nothing compared to the more than 20 million children in Vietnam.

I just re-read The Runaway Hen by Hwang Sun Mi. This is one of the most beloved books in Korean children's literature. But in my opinion, in Vietnam there are many works as good or better.

For example, The Adventures of a Cricket , and later, Eyes Closed, Window Opened, A Dreaming Story.

While The Runaway Hen was recommended by the Korean Ministryof Education , and was reprinted many times when published in Vietnam, we ourselves do not seem to have a similar policy or favor! If we did, I think it would create positive movements for both the writer and the reader.

Cuốn sách Từ những tên riêng — The Book From Proper Names

* As for children's poetry, is it true that today's poetry has fewer impressive poems than poems written for children in the past?

- Until now, after dozens of years have passed, my friends and I still mumble the poems we learned, feeling nostalgic.

Love for you (Tu Mo), Talk to me (Vu Quan Phuong), Send greetings to first grade (Huu Tuong), Teacher (Pham Ho), Fan for grandma to sleep (Thach Quy)... In the past, we were forced to memorize. Perhaps that's why the poems are deeply imprinted in our minds.

Nowadays, there are so many means of entertainment that concentration is scattered. Reading and remembering a poem seems to be a bit of a luxury. It seems a bit unfair to say that poetry today is less impressive than it used to be.

Recently, I have seen that adult poems are printed as gifts, but on the contrary, children's poetry collections are invested in by publishers, with beautiful illustrations and color printing; and of course, widely distributed.

It's just that times change, and reading poetry is also affected a lot. Being busy makes people not have much time to listen to poetry, if anything, they just skim through it.

* Ho Huy Son has a collection of children's poems?

- I have been writing for children since I was a student, almost 25 years now.

The children's literature works (including poetry and prose) that I enjoy are often written by authors who have a great love for children, and often they are people who still maintain their innocence, although everyone knows it is not easy.

Every day I remind myself to try to be less jealous, less calculating and to keep as much innocence as possible so that I can write for children.

Without innocence, I think it would be difficult to write for children. Readers today are very sophisticated, they can detect it right away, it's hard to hide!

Trong một thế giới trẻ trung luôn đổi khác

In a young world that is always changing

'I think writers always live a little lower than society's body temperature, so they are sober enough to perceive the problem. Having to be a beat slower or a beat faster, not being able to keep up with life, that is the characteristic of an artist'.

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