Picture books provoke kids’ interest in traditional crafts

CRAFTSMANSHIP - The Kim Đồng Publishing House has released a picture book series entitled Vang Danh Nghề Cổ (Honouring Traditional Crafts), which encourages children to learn more about traditional crafts in Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of the publisher

HCM CITY — The Kim Đồng Publishing House, the country’s leading publisher of children’s books, has released a picture book series encouraging children to learn more about traditional crafts in Việt Nam.

The series, Vang Danh Nghề Cổ (Honouring Traditional Crafts), consists of six books that feature the history, cultural values, and development of traditional craft villages.

The books tell stories about a trip of a little girl named An and her grandparents and parents to explore traditional craft villages across Việt Nam. The seven-year-old girl has a chance to meet and talk with local artisans to learn about craft production and the changes in traditional craft villages in today's society.

They highlight Lãnh Mỹ A silk coming from Tân Châu Silk Village in the southern province of An Giang, which flourished during the 1950s and 1960s, the Chàng Sơn carpentry village in Thạch Thất District of Hà Nội, which is famous for wood engraving and wood joinery, and the 600-year-old Đồng Xâm silver carving village in Kiến Xương District of Thái Bình Province.

The works also introduce the 700-year-old Vân Chàng blacksmith village in Nam Trực District of Nam Định Province established 700 years ago, the art of making fish sauce in Phú Quốc Island of Kiên Giang Province, and the Bàu Trúc Pottery Village in Ninh Phước District of Ninh Thuận Province, one of the oldest pottery villages in Southeast Asia.

All the books are compiled by cultural researchers Thành Nguyễn, Phương Bùi, Kim Dung and Liber.

Thành Nguyễn, editor-in-chief of the series, emphasised that each craft village had its history and culture.

He said, “When working on this series, we wanted to not only discuss the crafting process but also help young readers appreciate local artisans’ talent and understand the culture, belief and traditions of different regions across the country.”

The publications are illustrated by painters Bùi Xuân Quỳnh, NGART, and Ruốc Đặng, who spent time researching and reading documents to ensure the accuracy of the pictures and help children easily understand the books and provoke their interest and respect for Vietnamese traditional crafts.

According to the publisher, they will soon publish four more books in the series, depicting the Phú Mỹ basket boat weaving village in Tuy An District of the central province of Phú Yên, the Đọi Tam drum-making village in Duy Tiên Commune of Hà Nam Province, the bronze casting village in Huế City, and the art of making traditional dó (poonah) paper of the Dao ethnic minority group at Sưng Village of Hòa Bình Province.

Six books from the Vang Danh Nghề Cổ series are now available at bookstores nationwide. – VNS