The Adventures of the Wind Crab

The Adventures of the Blue-Clouded Crab (by author Le Duc Duong, published by Kim Dong Publishing House in 2024) on the blue seashore is a meaningful gift for children during the summer of 2024. The story also revives childhood memories for many parents: a time of barefoot play, chasing mischievous crabs on the sandy shore. The author gently evokes love for small creatures like crabs, lizards, sparrows… and emphasizes that all things in nature need equal and happy living space.

With 20 chapters revolving around the physical growth and cognitive development of the Crab, the story contains many humanistic lessons for children. Knowledge about the animal world and lessons about behavior in life are "wrapped" in a whimsical language, making it easy to touch the hearts of young children. The Crab is the central character, with its entire journey of growth. The Crab was born on the shores of a dreamy blue sea. When it first hatched, the Crab was called "Cúc." It was tiny, round like a sea louse, with short legs, living buried in the sand. Cúc befriended Vích, a species of sea turtle also born in the sand. The two friends embark on a challenging adventure returning to the mysterious ocean, even though the sea is their homeland. Cúc and Vích experienced many new things and a range of emotions, from Cúc's ridicule and contempt to the tragic story of Vích's mother being caught in torn fishing nets thrown into the sea by humans, helplessly waiting to die. The story of maternal love and compassion evokes empathy in the reader... The gentle writing resonates in the young soul, instilling an awareness of marine conservation. When we are moved by the wondrous beauty of the marine world and its diverse life, and witness the suffering of animals due to human indifference, we realize the lesson: "Life is only beautiful when our existence does not harm the existence of other species."

The author creates a vibrant world of characters. When Cúc returns to the sandy beach where she was born, she continues to endure many hardships and dangers to become a strong Wind Crab. It is touching and heartwarming to see the kind feelings of the Hermit Crab, the Brown Sparrows, and the other Crabs who protected and sheltered the Wind Crab on many occasions. She was discovered by the Tiger-Faced Crab, who recognized her noble appearance and her shell with jade-like patterns resembling a green dragon, and was therefore named the Green-Clouded Wind Crab.

In most of writer Le Duc Duong's fables, children absorb biological knowledge, natural laws, moral lessons, and life skills in a gentle way, as if observing life itself. The writer simply guides them to the world of diverse creatures and lets them play there, discovering values for themselves, rather than lecturing or formulaizing dry theories.

The literary quality and appeal of the story are built upon a setting that is half fantastical and half very realistic. It's Nha Trang beach, where at the corner of Mr. Tư's house there's a carpet of lush green sea morning glory and a row of vibrant purple tigon flowers. Beautiful descriptions of the sky, the night sea with its countless twinkling stars, the crescent moon hanging in the sky, and the gentle sound of the waves... Readers will be deeply moved as they experience the vibrant ocean space and the thrilling adventure of the valiant Green Cloud Crab.

THU THUY

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