Read to understand and empathize.

With his creative and thoughtful writing style, following the success of his two popular poetry collections, "This Sky Is Too Beautiful to Be Sad - This Life Is Too Beautiful Yet Sad" and "At the End of the Day, Everyone Needs Something to Believe In," young author Le Hoai Dang (born in 1994) has shifted his writing focus to children's literature with his novel "The Story of the Straw Dog," leaving a positive impression on readers.

Born and raised in a peaceful countryside, from a young age, Rom had a close bond with humans, enjoying playing with his grandmother, observing and listening to their stories. The tranquil days in the village passed by until one day, Rom was captured by thieves and taken to the city.

From here, Rơm had to traverse every nook and cranny, from pubs and garbage dumps to underpasses, old apartment buildings, roadside shrines, and pet spas... Rơm encountered many bizarre and unfortunate situations, both pitiable and hateful. However, these situations clearly revealed Rơm's "character," such as not stealing food from a pub despite being starving; gathering the courage to rescue dogs from a dog-stealing operation despite imminent danger; helping the mother and calico cat fight against the Black Cat gang in the old apartment building; and helping Sparrow rescue her "family" from cages of birds being sold in front of a temple for release...

"The Story of the Straw Dog" is written in clear, simple language, with a natural, witty tone that will make readers laugh many times. Each chapter is presented by the author as an independent short story with a beginning, a climax, and a poignant ending... some things are not difficult to predict, but they are told in a captivating way.

It was during his wanderings that Rơm came to understand many things about his own kind, humanity, and other species... And that was also the journey from understanding to compassion between "humans and animals," as depicted in each page of the story.

Le Hoai Dang shared about his writing journey: “I like writing children's stories simply because I love children and want them to have stories to read, stories that are simple and pleasant, like eating a cake, drinking a cool sip of water, or enjoying a cool summer breeze. Whenever I think of the image of readers reading this book, I often imagine a child helping their mother sell bread or noodles, helping their father sell candy, helping their grandmother set up a sticky rice stall, or children who are both studying and helping their parents with chores at home. I always hope that children can read stories in which they can see themselves, helping them appreciate the small things about all things... so that through that, they learn to cherish and love, dare to trust and protect what is good. I believe that every child with a loving heart will grow up to be a gentle and kind adult.”

One creative plus point for "Straw Dog Story" is the meticulous illustration, with a series of vivid drawings clearly depicting the image of each character, closely following the progression and setting of each chapter.

Phuong Hoa (According to hanoimoi.vn)

Source: http://baovinhphuc.com.vn/Multimedia/Images/Id/127844/Doc-de-hieu-va-thuong