All about Vietnam: Projects & Activities for Kids - by Phuoc Thi Minh Tran (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Children will get an inside look at Vietnam's vibrant culture, while learning through fun, hands-on games, songs, and activities! This multicultural children's book is perfect for story time at home or in a classroom, and is one children will come back to time and again.

Young readers are introduced to many different aspects of Vietnamese culture, including:

• A brief look at the nation's history, from its mythological beginnings to its famous kings and heroes
• Tours of picturesque Halong Bay, the teeming streets of Hanoi and Saigon, the sand dunes of Mui Ne, the Dragon Bridge in Da Nang, the imperial palace in Hue, and many more colorful places!
• Try your hand at making authentic Vietnamese dishes including a Banh Mi sandwich, Fresh Spring Rolls and Moon Cakes to accompany the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration
• Re-live popular folktales and legends like "The Legend of the Areca Nut and the Betel Leaves" and "The Legend of Trong Com"
• Learn the beloved folk song "The Rice Drum" and the lively dance that accompanies it
• Experience the sights and sounds of the Tet New Year's celebration as well as other colorful festivals like the Feast of the Wandering Souls, the Mooncake Festival, the Kitchen God Festival, and the Hoi An Lantern Festival
• Learn to speak a few words of Vietnamese, including greetings and the proper way to say goodbye
• Make a beaded dragonfly; learn about Vietnamese manners and superstitions; celebrate birthdays, weddings, and important events; and taste the local fruits and delicious street food dishes!

Award-winning author Phuoc Thi Minh Tran is a Vietnamese librarian and storyteller who opens windows onto a culture she knows intimately in this lavishly-illustrated book. The charming full-color illustrations and photographs bring Vietnam's history and culture vividly to life.

Review Quotes

"Check out All About Vietnam: Projects & Activities for Kids and your kids will delight in the fun activities and colorful illustrations.[...] I highly recommend this entertaining and educational book to kids and their families to learn about another culture." --San Francisco Book Review

"In this lavishly detailed picture book, children will get an inside look at Vietnam's vibrant culture, while learning through fun, hands-on games, songs, and activities. This multicultural children's book is a great fit for story time at home or in a classroom." --International Examiner

"This book shares the creation legend of Vietnam as well as magical creatures, information about the land and about the language. It also gives a brief history of Vietnam. [...] The book shares some of the special things about different parts of Vietnam. It has beautiful photographs from all over Vietnam." --Crafty Moms Share, blog

"The All About Asia series is the children's version of a folklore handbook, a user-friendly encyclopedia, a DIY manual for experiencing an Asian country's culture from a youth's point of view." --AsianFortuneNews.com

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.