Thinking about Vietnam

One of my favorite blogs to read is this one. I think I love it so much because I love to hear about other parts of the world and hope some day to travel with my kids, even if we never actually bike across Europe or trek through Tunisia like this family does. Lately, they have been exploring Thailand, and this post in particular grabbed me. It's about the killing fields in Cambodia, and I realized how little I know about this part of the world and it's history. This, in spite of having had a stepfather who flew missions in the Vietnam war.

I went on a search of some books to help me educate myself and also possibly share with my kids, and I did find several. Coincidentally, my kids got their latest issue of Faces, and guess what it was about?

There is a great variety of information in here in small snippets. It's great overview of the country as it is now with a little bit about it's past.

The first book I read was in Juvenile Literature. I'm always going through the Juvenile Lit books for reading material for my daughter, so all of the books here will be books for kids. I do intend to delve into some more adult books on the subject soon (any suggestions?) but for now, here are some great kid-based resources.

 Inside Out and Back Again is an interesting book for several reasons. The writing is done in very narrow strips, and short, one page chapters that almost look like poetry. The perspective is of a young girl in Vietnam who finds herself a refugee and a transplant to a very different world; small town Louisiana. Her perspective on being a smart kid, an immigrant, is in itself illuminating, because there are so many things we take for granted in American culture that she found bewildering, and the local people assumed she was dumb because she couldn't speak English. Meanwhile, she missed so much from her home. I read this book in an afternoon and am very glad for it.

Another terrific kids chapter book is "Water Buffalo Days: Growing Up in Vietnam" by Huynh Quang Nhuong. It's an autobiography, and here is the most amazing thing about this book...

you fall in love with a water buffalo.

My kids were luke-warm about reading a book about a boy and a water buffalo, but trust me on this. It will grab you in unexpected ways. A marvelous read for young kids that illuminates rural life in the hills of Vietnam before the war.

Huynh Quang Nhuong also wrote The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam. I haven't read it yet, but it seems like some of the same stories but for an older audience. I did read a couple of reviews and it looks good.

Leaving Vietnam: The True Story of Tuan Ngo by Sarah Kilborne is a Ready-to-Read Level 3 kids book, which tells the true journey of a young refugee boy and his journey from Vietnam to America. The book describes the fear and extreme thirst and hunger they endured followed by months of uncertainty in refugee camps. For an early reader book, I found it to be surprisingly sad. At one point an old man goes crazy on the boat and tries to kill himself. I'm glad to for the truth of this story, but I also think parents should probably be aware of these situations when choosing reading material for their kids.

A flipped perspective comes from a book called When Heaven Fell by Carolyn Marsden. This chapter book for juvenile readers is told from the perspective of a poor young girl in modern Vietnam who gets a visit from a long lost relative from America. There is a value in seeing how the culture of her family works and how they live, and also the misguided expectations she and her family have about people in America. Judging by the American movies she's seen, all Americans are rich and dress in fancy clothes and have parties all of the time. Vietnamese history is also touched upon in a very gentle and personal way.




If you are looking for a picture book on this subject, a good one I found is called Going Home, Coming Home by Truong Tran. The story is printed in both Vietnamese and English and tells the story of a little Vietnamese-American girl who goes with her parents back to Vietnam for the first time to visit her relatives there. At first she is upset and angry about all the the "normal" things she can't have, but she comes to love her family and way of life in Vietnam as much as she loves her typical American life at home.

I found a lovely listing of children's books about Vietnam here. Some I have not read yet, so take a look if you want more ideas. There are also books on Vietnamese stories and wildlife, but I'll leave that for another post. Also, if you have good suggestions, please comment. I'd love to add to this list.