Children's poetry continues to attract readers.

Việt Nam•26/02/2024

Not long ago, social media was abuzz with both praise and criticism regarding a children's poem chosen for inclusion in the current 6th-grade textbook.

Numerous articles, arguments, and examples about children's poetry have been published... showing one thing: children's poetry continues to receive attention from readers.

The children's poetry collection "The Witch Who Fears Ghosts" by author Thuy Anh is printed in a large format, beautifully illustrated, and features eye-catching colors.

For children, rhyming poems with a moderate length are always easy to understand, remember, and learn. Over the years, well-known children's poetry collections such as "Corner of the Yard and the Sky" by Tran Dang Khoa, "Who Wakes Up Early" by Vo Quang, "Little Poems" by Pham Ho, "The Sky in an Egg" by Xuan Quynh, and "Song of the Earth" by Dinh Hai... have been reprinted many times. This shows the considerable interest of readers in children's poetry, especially in good and famous works. However, amidst the rapidly developing publishing market in recent years, children's poetry remains less prominent compared to many other genres and themes, despite some promising developments.

We can "list" some of the "bright spots" in children's poetry that have been loved by readers in recent years, such as "Little Kids" by Hoa Cúc and Mel Mel, "Picking Up Sunshine in the Garden" by Nguyễn Thế Hoàng Linh, "The Sea is a Child" and "My Childhood Days" by Huỳnh Mai Liên, "Hello Mornings" and "The Chairs in the Little Kitchen" by Nguyễn Phong Việt, "Knocking on Heaven's Door" by Bảo Ngọc, "Morning Dream" by Nguyễn Lãm Thắng, "Hello World, Now I've Arrived" by Lê Minh Quốc, "The Witch Who Fears Ghosts" by Thụy Anh, "Fragrant Lamps" by Hồ Huy Sơn...

Among them, the poem "Bullying" from Nguyen The Hoang Linh's poetry collection "Picking Up Sunshine in the Garden" is a work that has caused much controversy on social media. Many readers consider the poem naive and disjointed, but many others believe it is relatable, witty, creative, has a theme that resonates with the times, and offers a perspective easily accessible to students.

In fact, there have been many wonderful children's poems about homeland, country, family, nature, animals, friendship, love... but many of them are difficult for children today to understand, especially urban children. Therefore, there is a great need for poems that are closer to the lives of children today, such as "One day, the old man took the child / On a yellow bus / The air conditioning blew cool air / In the scorching sun / A boy stood up / To give his seat to two people / The old man thanked him / And the boy just smiled...".

According to poet Nguyen Van Thang, "writing for children is very difficult, because you can't just 'try to be youthful' and expect to write well. I believe that if you always live innocently and purely in the world of childhood, then all the things and phenomena around you can become poetry."

Responding to practical needs, many authors and publishers are paying increasing attention to children's poetry. Kim Dong Publishing House, a pioneer in the field of children's books, regularly releases new authors and works such as "You Are the Morning Light" by Nguyen Hai Ly, "Contributing Sunshine to the Trees" by Le Ky Thuong, "Saigon Has a Few Cicadas Left" by Trung Dung KQD, "Childhood in the Color of Glass Paper" by Le Nguyen Khoi, "Our Home Is the Happiest" by Huynh Mai Lien, "To the Little Boy Who Cries Often" by Nguyen Van Thang, "The Mooncake" by Lam Ngoc Quynh Anh, "Giving the Child Four Seasons" by Le Thi Lien Huong, and the narrative poem "Spotted Dog and Striped Cat" by Minh Ngoc...

Publishers such as Tre Publishing House, Vietnam Women's Publishing House, Nha Nam, Dong A, Linh Lan Books, Crabit Kidbooks... also introduce to readers children's poetry collections such as "If There Were No Children" by Thuc Linh, "The Sparkling Bridge" by Moc An, "Stories of Four Seasons" and "When Will the Sun Rise?" by Mai Quyen, "Little Ones Learning to Be Adults" and "The Green Garden" by Chau An Khoi, "Little Ones Calling the Moon" and "The Dance of the Rope" by Bui Minh Hue , "Warm and Whimsical" and "Innocent Childhood" by Pham Anh Xuan, "The Secret Little Kingdom" by La Thanh Ha, the "Good Poems for Children Learning to Speak" series by Doan Van Mat - Lu Mai...

National Book Awards, the Cricket Award, and various writing competitions have honored several children's poetry collections such as "Hello World, I've Arrived Now" by poet Le Minh Quoc, "Taking Mom Out for a Walk" by author Mai Quyen, and "Here & Now" by Dang Huy Giang... demonstrating the interest in children's literature in general and children's poetry in particular. However, besides the quality of the works' content, it seems that the communication aspect for children's poetry has not been truly prioritized by publishing houses and authors. Some works published long ago only truly gained widespread recognition after being nominated for awards.

In the age of internet connectivity and multi-directional social media, if authors and publishers possess effective communication strategies, they can reach readers faster and more widely, while also receiving feedback and suggestions for their works.

Nguyen Phuong (according to hanoimoi.vn)

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