The book "The Round Boy and the Ghost Who Loves Fried Chicken" opens with the main character - Cuong, nicknamed "Hat Mit" - a normal 6th grade student, living in the love of his family and the friendliness of his friends. Cuong especially loves fried chicken cooked by his mother, and surprisingly, he is not the only one who loves this dish, a "ghost" named Minh also shares the same hobby!
Not only existing beside Cuong in class and daily games, "ghost" Minh also becomes a companion, close and not scary at all. Author Moc An has built the image of "ghost" very ordinary, close and funny. This is the interesting intention of the author when writing for young readers.
Continuing the story is "The Half Ghost Teacher", with the central character being Mr. Dung - Cuong's teacher. In this book, the "ghost" element is exploited more deeply and richly. It turns out that Mr. Dung also has "half a ghost" inside him! Not only that, his room also has the presence of two "ghost girls" named Linh and Le, along with a series of strange characters such as Lac Luc Quan, Vo Xu Quan and even the "ghost kid" Minh from the previous book.
Although they exploit the theme of ghosts, both books are not too mystical or creepy. The “ghost” world in the stories is built innocently, innocently, and full of childishness - where the boundary between reality and fantasy is blurred to stimulate the imagination and emotions of young readers. Adults may wonder: “Why write ghost stories for children?”. But in modern children's literature, especially in many countries, characters such as witches, ghosts or magical creatures no longer represent evil, but become symbols of imagination, adventurous spirit and childhood psychological development.
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Author Moc An's real name is Nguyen Thi Nguyet Trinh, currently a lecturer at Quy Nhon University, one of the recent prominent writers in children's literature. She won the 2023 De Men Award with the novel "In a place with many dragons" and the 2024 National Book Prize B with the two novels "If one day we disappear" and "Street Musician". The special point in Moc An's writing is that it always opens up vast imaginative spaces for readers, not bound by old thinking patterns. Therefore, her works always attract children - those who are at the age of curiosity, love to explore and are easily moved by strange things.
According to writer Nguyen Huong Ly - editor of Kim Dong Publishing House - the trend of children's stories is shifting strongly towards works rich in imagination, expanding the range of emotions and thinking. Many training courses for young writers have been organized to support this trend and Moc An is a typical face of this new genre of writing.
Moc An's two books are not simply entertaining stories, but also a journey to discover friendship, teacher-student, family - very real things told through seemingly unreal things. That is also what makes them interesting and memorable in the hearts of young readers.
DUONG MY ANH
Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/202505/hai-cuon-sach-ky-thu-danh-cho-thieu-nhi-d333876/
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