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Doctor of Education Nguyen Thuy Anh is the founder and Head of the Reading with Children Club. Perhaps because she interacts with children every day, her inspiration for children is always abundant, and the two poetry collections The Witch is Afraid of Ghosts and The Counting Kitten are proof of this.
1. In 2014, poet Nguyen Thuy Anh released a collection of four poetry books: Nhim nhim nhim nhim; Mother Tiger, gentle; Yesterday, today, tomorrow; Fun with Vietnamese, published by Tre Publishing House. A year later, this collection of poems was awarded the bronze prize at the Vietnam Book Award (now the National Book Award). Recently, she "gave birth" to two poetry collections, The Witch is Afraid of Ghosts (Kim Dong Publishing House) and The Little Cat Counts Its Age (Tre Publishing House).
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Dr. Nguyen Thuy Anh in a reading session with children at the Reading Club with child |
The poetry collection The Witch is Afraid of Ghosts with 36 lovely poems, opens up a spiritual world that is both joyful and warm, and captures the emotions and psychology of children. The definition of love has certainly been mentioned by many people, but through the perspective and explanation of Dr. Nguyen Thuy Anh, love is not far away, but right in daily life. That is when we want to: "Be next to someone/ Like that person to smile/ Fear that person to cry (...) When we wake up/ The person's name on our lips..." (Love nursery rhyme).
The most prominent in the collection of poems The Witch is Afraid of Ghosts is the mother's affectionate and sacred feelings. The poems Love Rhymes, Writing Practice, The Witch is Afraid of Ghosts, Bird's Nest, Mother Cricket Tells Cricket Stories, Guess My Mother ... help readers, including children, feel more clearly about the mother's feelings, about the role and significance of the mother in the growth of her children. The poem chosen as the title of the entire collection almost speaks for itself. Like many children, the witch in this poem is also... afraid of ghosts. Yet, just by calling "Mom! Mom!", she is immediately no longer afraid. Mother is present so closely and magically. This is probably an interesting and subtle praise, which only those close to the children's souls have this ability.
Also released in this period is the poetry collection Counting Ages by Kittens . Interestingly, all 16 poems in the collection choose cats as the “main character”. This would certainly be a big challenge for the writer, but Dr. Nguyen Thuy Anh overcame it, and not only that, he was very talented so that 16 poems, although written on the same topic, do not repeat themselves. Cats appear in many different situations, sometimes as “goalkeepers”, sometimes “checking the calendar”, sometimes playing with tangled yarn… And especially, through the mischievous but also affectionate cats, the author skillfully awakens in the children’s souls compassion for cats: “Cats have no place to live/ Standing shivering in the corner of the garden/ Falling leaves are also afraid…/ How pitiful!” (Kittens). And of course, that compassion, from being reserved only for cats, will be expanded and gradually grown, for humans as well as other animals.
2. Not everyone who writes poetry or knows how to write poetry can write poetry for children. But perhaps, thanks to the convergence of passion and love for children's poetry, as well as love for children, Dr. Nguyen Thuy Anh can still properly become one of the most notable children's poetry writers today. Although published by 2 different units, The Witch is Afraid of Ghosts and The Counting Age Cat are both printed in color and illustrated by artist Kim Duẩn. It can be said that artist Kim Duẩn has "read" poetry and devoted himself to artistic creation, thereby bringing beautiful paintings in both composition and color, creating pages of books that are both vivid and soaring between poetry and painting.
The Reading with Children Club was established in 2010 in Hanoi. This is an organization that supports family reading culture, provides parents with methods to approach children and helps children practice reading skills, self-study and other social skills. More than 10 years have passed, and many children have grown up with books. For Dr. Nguyen Thuy Anh, that time is the remaining emotions, conveyed in children's poems.
Talking about the influence of poetry on young children, Dr. Nguyen Thuy Anh shared: “Children come to poetry naturally. From the rhythm of their mother’s gentle steps while carrying her baby in her arms, children have poetry. From a strange view of life, children think of poetry, live poetry. From the efforts to express new concepts, poetic ideas are formed… And reciting poetry is something that children are closest to! At the Reading with Children Club, I always feel deeply moved when I hear children read poetry and innocently share hundreds of lovely little things that poetry reminds them of.”
“Miss Thuy Anh is certainly not a “master of magic” but she is definitely a “master of psychology”. Only a master of psychology can understand that for children, mother is the safest shelter, a more magical power than any spell. I like the poem “The Witch is Afraid of Ghosts” so much that I can’t resist quoting the whole poem. This is probably the most typical poem of Thuy Anh’s style: Close, lovely, funny and especially the ending always brings interesting surprises to the reader”, writer Nguyen Nhat Anh commented.
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