My First Book of Vietnamese Words - (My First Words) by Phuoc Thi Minh Tran (Hardcover)

About the Book

An "illustrated book that introduces Vietnamese language and culture to young children through everyday words"--

Book Synopsis

*Winner Moonbeam Children's Book Award*
*Winner Creative Child Magazine Book of the Year Award*
*Freeman Book Award for Children's Literature*

My First Book of Vietnamese Words is a beautifully illustrated book that introduces Vietnamese language and culture to young children through everyday words.

This Vietnamese children's book teaches in a playful way--combining the familiar ABC rhyming structure with vivid illustrations to encourage young children's natural language learning abilities. Words kids use every day in English are joined by words unique to Vietnamese culture to give kids a glimpse of Vietnamese life and to show how, despite cultural differences, children all over the world have a lot in common.

Linguistic and cultural notes are added to enhance the kids' adventure in a land that's modern yet filled with beautiful traditions.

Review Quotes

"...informative on what the Vietnamese culture and language [is] about." -- Nouchi Xiong, MIA's Global Youth Exchange Program participant

"...this hardbound book will teach your child so much. While spending time together, you and your child will learn about Vietnamese culture and some new words along the way. A great addition to your child's library." --Texas Kitchen blog

"Alphabet books that reinforce the beauty and importance of learning about many languages and cultures." --Booklist

"Open up any one of these books and you'll see beautiful illustrations depicting the target culture, a fun and memorable rhyme, the foreign vocab in Roman letters, as well as in their native script." --Castle View Academy blog

"Readers gain a useful introduction to the Vietnamese language, alphabet, and culture in this companion to similar books on Indonesian, Chinese, Korean, and other Asian languages ... supplemental cultural details, included in brief asides, add valuable context to a book with few competitors on bookstore shelves." --Publishers Weekly

"Teaches the alphabet in a playful and cultural way by combining the familiar ABC rhyming structure with vivid illustrations to encourage young children's natural language learning abilities. Words kids use every day in English are joined by words unique to Vietnamese culture to give kids a glimpse of Vietnamese life and to show how, despite cultural differences, children all over the world have a lot in common. Linguistic and cultural notes are added to enhance the kids' adventure in a land that's modern yet filled with wonderful traditions." --Midwest Book Review

"The book guides visitors through the English alphabet with short rhymes and some contextual information..." --8Asians.com

"This book by the team that produced the award-winning Vietnamese Children's Favorite Stories, provides cultural tidbits, values, and traditions in captions, with rhymes (and occasionally strained meter) in large type for young readers ... Despite the challenges of Vietnamese language and uncertain meter, this book is a lovely tribute to a culture and its people. A valuable addition to a language and geography collections." --School Library Journal

About the Author

Phuoc Thi Minh Tran is the first Vietnamese-American librarian in Minnesota. A respected storyteller and award-winning author, her first book Vietnamese Children's Favorite Stories won the Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award, the Creative Child Magazine Book of the Year Award, and the Moonbeam Children's Book Gold Medal Award. This and her other books, My First Book of Vietnamese Words and All About Vietnam, are all published by Tuttle. She was selected as a 2023 Blue Ribbon Author by Alphabet Forest/Minnesota State Fair and a 2024 Featured Author by the Anoka County Library for her book All About Vietnam.

Nguyen Thi Hop & Nguyen Dong are the illustration team behind My First Book of Vietnamese Words, Vietnamese Children's Favorite Stories, All About Vietnam and Vietnamese Stories for Language Learners. Since beginning their careers as professional artists in Vietnam in the 1960s, they have exhibited their work and collaborated on book illustrations for publishers throughout Asia, Europe and the US. They live in California.