Preserving the "fairytale land"

The rapid rise of social media and artificial intelligence is posing unprecedented challenges to children's literature in retaining young readers. Nevertheless, the journey to keep children engaged with books continues to grow stronger every day. Children's literature is a "fairytale land" that nurtures imagination, compassion, and cultural values ​​for a generation growing up in the digital age.

Facing the "storm" of digital content

Having undergone nearly a century of formation and development, Vietnamese children's literature has always held a special place in the nation's spiritual life, accompanying children from the years of resistance and nation-building to the rhythm of life in today's digital age.

Students at Phu Lam Primary School in My Lam ward enjoy reading children's literature from the mobile library vehicle.

Like a gentle spring, children's literature quietly nurtures the souls of young children with love for their homeland, family, and aspirations for goodness. According to writer Chu Thi Minh Hue, Editor-in-Chief of Tuyen Quang Literature and Arts Magazine: "The most valuable aspect of this literary genre lies in its ability to educate without dogma, 'learning without feeling like being taught.' Lessons about kindness, sharing, or how to be a good person don't come from dry admonitions, but permeate children through relatable characters, emotionally rich stories, and imaginative narratives."

To attract young readers, children's literature publications are increasingly being invested in terms of design, with beautiful illustrations that better suit children's tastes. Many publishers are beginning to promote the digitization of books, developing audiobooks, e-books, and online reading platforms to bring children's literature closer to young readers in the digital environment. However, all these efforts to adapt are still struggling with a painful reality: Children can spend hours watching short videos or social media with their fast-paced, visually rich information consumption, but find it difficult to sit still for a few dozen minutes to read a book. This leads to a decline in their ability to read deeply and patiently with thick books.

According to literary critic Bui Viet Thang: In the period of 2025-2026, Vietnam will have more than 16 million students from primary to lower secondary school; if we include upper secondary school, the number of potential readers could reach 20 million. However, the paradox lies in the fact that the reading culture of Vietnamese people is still quite low. On average, a Vietnamese person reads only about 4 books per year, mostly textbooks, much lower than the average of about 20 books per person per year in Japan. Despite bearing the mission of revitalizing reading culture, domestic children's literature is somewhat "overshadowed" by the strong appeal of foreign works such as "Doraemon," "Harry Potter," or "Totto-chan by the Window," even though we once had classic works that have lived through many generations such as "The Adventures of Cricket" and "The Southern Forest Land"...

Dr. Trinh Dang Nguyen Huong (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences ) offered a more thoughtful perspective: Children reading less isn't necessarily due to a lack of good books, but rather because they are gradually losing the "space" dedicated to reading. A packed school schedule, pressure to achieve good grades, and family expectations leave many students constantly stressed and exhausted. When even rest time becomes scarce, picking up a book to read easily becomes the last thing on the list.

Nevertheless, amidst the "storm" of digital content, children's literature still possesses an enduring value that technology can hardly replace. That is its ability to touch the depths of the soul, nurture imagination, and provide children with a "cultural identity card" to enter the world of innocence, purity, and kindness.

Rediscovering the "fairy tale land" for children.

Unlike the boisterous nature of social media or the instant appeal of short videos, children's literature quietly touches children with the tenderness of its emotions and the power of its imagination.

Students at Quyet Tien Primary School in Quan Ba ​​commune are passionate about reading children's literature.

According to many writers, the most difficult aspect of children's literature is not writing for children to read, but writing in a way that children can believe. To achieve this, writers must maintain a pure and innocent soul, viewing life through the eyes of a child. As Associate Professor and writer Van Gia once concluded: "Without a pure heart, without an extremely sensitive connection to nature and creation, one cannot produce truly childlike literature."

Because of this demanding requirement, many new creative platforms have been opened to seek new voices for children's literature, such as the Kim Dong Literary Award, the Cricket Children's Award, and writing competitions on children's themes. Following this same path, in Tuyen Quang, there are many writers who quietly and persistently accompany the world of childhood. A prime example is writer Nguyen Tran Be. With his deep love for children, he has created emotionally rich literary works, conveying the values ​​of truth, goodness, and beauty through works such as "The Little Cat," "Summer Day on the Mountain," and "The Fairy Tale Forest"... Bui Bao An, from Ngoc Duong commune, shared: "I like Nguyen Tran Be's stories because they are very relatable and heartwarming. Each story makes me realize that the most precious thing is to live responsibly and love everyone."

Along with writer Nguyen Tran Be, authors like Hoang Thi Cap, Then Huong, and Duong Dinh Loc are quietly gathering the breath of the village, the sound of the flute calling friends, the golden color of ripening rice, and mountain memories to breathe life into their writings. From these simple stories, a unique "fairytale land" for children in the highlands is cherished and preserved. There, lessons about kindness, compassion, and love of life come to the children naturally, sweetly like sugar dissolving in a glass of lemonade on a summer day.

In reality, despite the strong appeal of digital content, children still enjoy reading if they live in a sufficiently welcoming and inspiring reading environment. According to Mr. Dang Tien Thanh, Deputy Director of the Tuyen Quang Provincial Library: “The most important thing is for families, schools, and society to work together to create an environment for children to maintain their reading habits. Because children's literature remains a sustainable path to nurturing emotions, imagination, and long-term thinking abilities in young children.” A clear example is that each year, the Tuyen Quang Provincial Library welcomes approximately 20,000 students; during the summer, the number of readers increases 5-6 times compared to the regular school year, with about 80% of students choosing to borrow children's literature. Notably, the Provincial Library also organizes 60-80 mobile library trips each year to bring books closer to children.

Simultaneously, from 2021 to the present, the entire province has built 15 full libraries and 10 partial libraries, creating opportunities for more than 9,000 primary school students to access the "Friendly Library" model. Furthermore, to foster sustainable reading habits in children, many schools maintain weekly library reading sessions, organize storytelling based on books, launch the "Reading Culture Ambassador" competition, and honor students who read the most books during the school year through the "Reading Star" program…

Amidst the "storm" of digital content, children's literature continues to quietly and persistently do its best: nurturing the souls of young children with kindness, love, and beautiful dreams. Because every childhood needs a "fairytale land" to take refuge in and grow up in.

Thu Phuong

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/van-hoa/giao-duc/202605/giu-mien-co-tich-5a470be/