“The Adventures of Bella and Harry” published by Kim Dong Publishing House is a story about two fish brothers, Bella and Harry, who are gentle African fish and are often bullied. Bella and Harry grew up under the protection of their sister Sara and brother Mads, their only remaining relatives, but were soon separated.
The work tells about the lively 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 aggressive big fish. Bella and Harry have to move many times, all of which are life-and-death adventures, where the small fish must learn to love and become stronger to protect themselves and their loved ones in order to survive.
The most special thing about the book is the participation of Le Bao Han, daughter of author Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, in both illustration and content comments.
Author Nguyen Thi Thu Hien is a senior clinical scientist who has been living and working in Denmark with her family for 23 years. She shared that, not wanting her children to be stuck between two languages and two cultures, she and her husband brought along a lot of books to read to them while they were still in the womb.
Later, when their children were born, the couple always tried to spend at least 30 minutes a day reading and talking with them. And it was from those conversations and reading sessions, and from the famous story “The Adventures of a Cricket” by writer To Hoai, that the couple came up with the idea of doing something more special for their children.
“I suddenly thought that I also really like writing, so why not create a book with the participation of both mother and child. At that time, I thought that if both mother and child wrote together, surely the child would have a very special experience,” Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien shared.
The journey to create the book lasted about 1 year and it was a journey of love and discipline. "The mother and daughter worked together for exactly 1 year, 3 minutes each day, if we count the total working time, the mother and daughter worked together very seriously for 5 weeks and had a book like this," said the author.
Every day, mother and daughter spend about 30 minutes sitting together. Ms. Hien said that she outlines the content of the book, the chapters and the content of the chapters in advance. When sitting with her child, she will briefly tell her child about the content of that chapter first, if the child agrees with the content, she will start writing specifically and in detail.
When finished, mother and daughter read the chapter together, and Bao Han would draw right after reading. She drew a total of about 50 illustrations for the book.
There were also times when Bao Han did not agree with what her mother wrote. According to author Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, there were parts where she wanted to change the ending so that the story would not be sad. And thanks to that, “The Adventures of Bella and Harry” is a bright and very humane story.
The book is named after a mother and daughter, but the whole family contributed.
Ms. Hien shared that her husband was the one who corrected each stroke of her daughter's drawing and taught her to draw on the software, while her son was the one who read and gave comments to make the book more approachable, easier to read and understand for children. The book was rewritten many times and changed a lot. Initially, Ms. Hien wrote chapter 1 with a lot of scientific information about fish species, but when her children read it and commented that it was not suitable, she rewrote it. Even after sending the manuscript, she still asked to rewrite some parts to make it smoother. That's why there are extremely emotional chapters in the book, such as the story of how Bella and Harry were born, and how the mother protected her children.
The author shared that the material of the book was taken a lot from life. In addition to the mother and daughter having to read very carefully the documents and scientific information about fish species, the process of writing the book was also crystallized from real observations. The book is 20% based on reality and 80% on imagination.
“Normally, everyone thinks that goldfish are stupid and have small brains, but in fact they are very smart and affectionate. Every time we feed them, we see the goldfish come to us, wagging its tail happily,” Hien said.
Therefore, the book is like a miniature world full of life with every detail about how fish eat, reproduce, live, how children play or fight in the aquarium. The book also cleverly integrates lessons about biology, psychology, emotional education , while sending a message about empathy, kindness, and the right to live kindly, even with a small fish.
These are also the messages that the author's family not only conveys to their children, but also to young readers. "I often teach my children how to handle problems on their own and look at things from a more humane perspective. Each person, each life has its own suffering and difficulties. If we are tolerant enough to look at them, then maybe they will have a support to help them become better. I want to convey that message so that my children can receive it in the most gentle way," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/kham-pha-the-gioi-loai-ca-qua-cuoc-phieu-luu-cua-bella-va-harry-post897531.html
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