Pham Tuyen - The first musician to be 'appointed' as Knight of Crickets

Trao giải thưởng Thiếu nhi Dế Mèn lần 6 - 2025: — Top 10 Finalists of the 6th De Men Children's Award - 2025 received certificates and flowers from journalist Nguyen Thien Thuat, Editor-in-Chief of Sports and Culture Newspaper/Vietnam News Agency and poet Tran Dang Khoa, Chairman of the Jury.

1. Filled with emotions is probably the common feeling of anyone present at the 6th De Men Children's Awards Ceremony - 2025 taking place on the afternoon of May 28 at the National News Center (No. 5 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hanoi ). Each artist and author appearing at the ceremony brought their own story, but they all had in common a full love and constant desire for creativity for children.

That was the appearance of musician Nguyen Van Chung, the first Ambassador of the De Men Award. Opening the program, the two songs Continue writing the story of peace and Small dream of a child were sung, carrying clear and proud melodies, touching the hearts of listeners with the innocent and pure emotions of children.

This emotion was followed by the appearance of new faces, the winners of this year's De Men awards. The five De Men Aspiration awards were announced in turn: A series of paintings by child artist Pham Hai Nguyen (13 years old); There is a flat Earth in my eyes (manuscript of a poetry collection by Ly Thang Long); The ancient book of a goddess (story by Nguyen Hoang Dieu Thuy, Kim Dong Publishing House); Two books by Dy Duyen: From the vegetable fields at Cuc Cu farm (Dom Dom painted, Kim Dong Publishing House) and Things you use to fill a hole (Thanh Vu painted, Kim Dong Publishing House) and The farm at the end of the forest (story by Pham Cong Luan, Kim Dong Publishing House).

Notably, 4/5 awards went to young writers, authors who have just started writing for children or are children themselves. Each face, each story behind the award brings a unique color, creating a fresh picture of passion and creative aspirations for children.

That was the special appearance of Ly Thang Long (currently performing military service in Dong Nai) in a solemn military uniform but still revealing a poetic soul within. It turned out that the military environment was the place that nurtured the inspiration for poetry to flourish in Long.

The young soldier shared: "The manuscript of There's a Flat Earth in Your Eyes was written by me during my military service. During the nights standing guard, the days marching, I thought about the children, thought about the responsibility of a writer, thought about what I would do for children. And from those thoughts, poetry came to me."

Long shared that composing in a military environment is not easy. But that discipline and hard work is the "furnace" for will and courage, which Long believes is the foundation for him to "continue writing the story, writing dreams to send to children, and to those around him".

And then, that aspiration seemed to crystallize in the moment Long stood on the stage of De Men, reciting the poem When I Take Off : "When I take off/ The sky belongs to me/ The flock of seagulls and the stars belong to me.../ Tonight belongs to me/ And tomorrow also belongs to me/ The country lies in the spread wings/ Escaping the narrow runway/ Conquering the horizon"... like a manifesto expressing the creative aspiration for children of a young writer.

Or, the story of two female authors Nguyen Hoang Dieu Thuy and Dy Duyen is an inspiring proof of a creative journey that started late, but their aspiration for children has never been exhausted. They came to literature when their lives had entered another chapter, but from the beginning, the destination of each page of writing was the world of children.

Having been honored twice at the Cricket Aspiration Award (having won the Cricket Aspiration Award in 2022 with the story collection Swinging on the top of the Banyan tree ), Nguyen Hoang Dieu Thuy could not help but feel confused and emotional: "I picked up the pen quite late compared to many people. Even though I grew up and worked in an environment full of books and loved literary works, I still found creativity to be very strange. But perhaps because I had absorbed more words into myself than I thought, I started writing when I was no longer young."

The author of The Ancient Book of a Mother Goddess also expressed that she feels lucky that her writings bring joy and admiration to the children in her family, as well as loving responses from young readers everywhere. Then she said: "I believe that out there will be children who are always waiting for our stories."

Author Dy Duyen has two books honored at this year's awards, but few people know that she has only been writing for children since she was 29 years old. For her, "writing for children is not a choice for me. It is a simple, natural thing, something that was born with me, and over time, it is the way I am present in this world."

2. Stories about creative aspirations for children continue to be told on the stage of De Men. These stories not only come from adults who hold pens but are also nurtured early and persistently in young souls. The story of child artist Pham Hai Nguyen is a vivid example at this year's award ceremony.

At the award ceremony, Nguyen confided: "I often get inspiration from things around me or topics in life. Summer is the time when I am most inspired to draw, because then I am free and can devote all my time to drawing."

Coming to painting from such simple emotions, but Pham Hai Nguyen's journey to painting is much more special. On the De Men stage with her son, Ms. Ngoc Anh (Hai Nguyen's mother) choked up: "No one in my family pursues art, but painting has become my son's burning passion. Maybe to others, his paintings are strange. But to my family, they are very beautiful. We are really proud of him."

It is worth noting that Ms. Anh does not call her child's paintings talent - a title too big for a child. Instead, she confided: "My child may not have talent, but he has aspirations and dreams. And that is the most precious thing. Whether he succeeds or fails, we will always accompany him, so that he can live fully with his passion."

3. The story of Cricket Aspirations seems to carry a new creative vitality for children, pure, inspiring and filled with love. That vitality seemed to spread even more strongly when musician Pham Tuyen appeared emotionally at the end of the award ceremony.

The great tree of Vietnamese music is present in the moment when his immortal children's songs are sung, as a tribute and continuation. Singing under the emotional sky of Hanoi , the medley of Ganh gai gong gong and Rhenh rhenh seems to open up a whole area of happy, vivid childhood memories, mixed with nostalgia.

Throughout his life and career, musician Pham Tuyen has devoted all his love and creativity to children through timeless songs. Honoring him with the Cricket Knight Award this year is therefore not only a worthy recognition, but also a tribute to his great contributions to children.

Journalist Vu Viet Trang, General Director of Vietnam News Agency (far left) and poet Tran Dang Khoa present the "Knight of Crickets" award to musician Pham Tuyen.

It should also be mentioned that previously, the title of Knight of Crickets was awarded to big names in literature such as Nguyen Nhat Anh (2020), Tran Duc Tien (2023), Ly Lan (2024), musician Pham Tuyen is the first author in the music field to be honored in this highest category of the award.

Knight De Men Pham Tuyen, at the age of 96, although his health has gradually weakened, he is still present radiantly with a gentle smile in the arms of beloved children. His eyes shine with emotion, the light of love and lifelong attachment to children. Without the need for words, this image itself conveys a quiet but intense source of energy, a warm message for the generation of artists to continue the path of creativity for children.

Participating in this year's award with the book project Children's nursery rhymes , along with his daughter Pham Hong Tuyen, the children's music heritage of musician Pham Tuyen was revealed with another special treasure: 41 songs set to music from ancient nursery rhymes.

On behalf of his father, journalist Pham Hong Tuyen shared his feelings at the award ceremony: 2025 is an extremely meaningful year for musician Pham Tuyen. Earlier this year, he celebrated his 95th birthday. Not long before that, his song Nhu co Bac trong ngay vien resounded throughout the country, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the historic victory. These are all special milestones of happiness, marking the deep affection of the public for him - a musician of the people.

Ms. Tuyen also emphasized that the fact that musician Pham Tuyen was honored as the Knight of Crickets this year continues to be a great joy, fully recognizing his entire career of composing for children that he has devoted himself to cultivating.

"Perhaps his career composing for children is the part he loves the most. At home, he has a Vietnamese record certificate with the title: "Musician who composed the most widely popular children's songs". The phrase "most widely popular" is what he cherishes and loves the most" - Ms. Tuyen expressed - "International Children's Day is coming, and receiving this award, he must be extremely happy".

Musician Pham Tuyen once wrote in the song "Children's Swallows": "A small swallow does not make a spring...". Musician Pham Tuyen's daughter hopes that not only her family but also the whole community will join hands to contribute so that his children's music legacy will continue to live on, spreading widely to future generations.

The 2025 De Men Season has ended, but the emotions still remain, that is the freshness in each De Men Aspiration, the warm and touching image of a 6-year-old De Men Knight, the belief that the artistic journey will always be continued by young people. For example, the presence of 2 generations of musicians at the award ceremony at the same time, from young musician Nguyen Van Chung (first season of De Men Aspiration) to the monument Pham Tuyen created a powerful inspirational image: from Aspiration to Knight, from present to future, creativity for children will always be a persistent and inspiring flow in today's artistic life.

RESULTS OF THE 6TH DE MEN CHILDREN'S AWARD - 2025

I. The Cricket Knight Award was given to musician Pham Tuyen for his lifelong dedication and career to children with timeless musical works, including the book Ve que - Khuc hoc chua cua be (co-authored by Pham Hong Tuyen), which was a finalist this year.

II. Cricket Aspiration Award (5 awards, ranked in order of a, b, c of the work's name)

1. Paintings by child artist Pham Hai Nguyen (13 years old)

2. There is a flat Earth in your eyes (draft of Ly Thang Long's poetry collection)

3. The ancient book of a goddess (story by Nguyen Hoang Dieu Thuy, Kim Dong Publishing House)

4. Two books by Dy Duyen: From the vegetable fields at Cuc Cu farm (Drawn by Dot Dot, Kim Dong Publishing House) and Things you use to fill a hole (Drawn by Thanh Vu, Kim Dong Publishing House)

5. The Farm at the End of the Forest (story by Pham Cong Luan, Kim Dong Publishing House)

III. Certificate of Finalist for the Cricket Awards

1. 120 Years of Wandering of the Greek Gray-Black Turtle (draft of a novel by Dang Chuong Ngan)

2. A Oh (draft of a poetry collection by Vu Thi Thanh Tam, illustrated by Windy Truc Hoang)

3. The Adventures of Captain Sinbad: The Mermaid War (comic by artist Quang Thao and Comicola Studio, Dan Tri Publishing House)

4. Railway Housing Area (short story by Dang Ngoc Hung, Tre Publishing House)