Muon Thi VanBesprekingen

I love this book because I read it. Because I love this book I will read it again and again.

Little Linh introduces herself as "the cleverest little witch on Mãi Mãi Island," but like many ordinary little girls, she has a problem...her little brother, Baby Phu, who ruins everything. Linh tries to give him away, to no avail; then she tries to transform him, but he's eaten part of the spell from her book and it goes awry. Eventually, Baby Phu turns into a dragon (not a goldfish, as intended), but when he rescues Linh, she feels lucky to have a baby brother after all. (Mostly.) Bright, tropical colors in paint and colored pencil make for a lively story.

Words are difficult to express the beauty of this incredible book which deals with a little girl's perspective being a refugee moving with her family to another country. Fleeing Vietnam in a boat that doesn't appear large enough, with a sky that is dark, and a long, scary journey of the unknown ahead.

As the girl, her mother and baby brother board the crowded boat, there are many wishes, including those the little girl imagines the objects might also have.

Perhaps the sun wishes it wasn't as hot, the journey wishes it wasn't so long, the girls heart wishes it was stronger, perhaps the path wishes it was shorter, and in the end when they arrive, she doesn't need to wish anymore.

This book brought tears. I couldn't help but wish that those who do not want to accept refugees might find a different perspective and open their hearts, putting themselves in the place of those in the boat.

The illustrations are incredible! The text is heart felt, and the wishes for a safe journey and a safe life are expressed sparsely with a lot of depth of feeling.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

If You Were Night is a unique children's book that really peaked my interest.

If you were night, what would you do? That is the general idea and theme behind this book. It's poetic, beautifully written and has a kind of Tim Burton essence for how interesting it is. It has it's own style and I'm truly amazed.

I think six year olds and up would enjoy this. Since this book has a little more thought processing behind it, I wouldn't recommend very little readers picking this book up. I do think adults reading it with their children will appreciate this book. It has an adult feel to it as well, since it asks some questions about what you would do if you were night.

The paper cut pictures are AMAZING. Honestly, it really stood out and just blew my mind when I realized what the pictures were made of. I highly recommend picking it up just to see this unique illustration style!

Overall, I'm totally in love with this book! It is so cool and I'd highly recommend it. Even as an adult, seeing a book as unique as this is totally worth it.

Five out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book follows a young witch that is trying to get rid of her brother. When no one wants him, she ends up accidentally turning him into a dragon.

I like the concept, but I think it could have been done better.

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

Beautiful and affecting book. Shows the hardships that could lead a family to become refugees / illegal immigrants. May be disturbing to very young readers. Parents/readers should be prepared for questions about food scarcity, poverty, and danger.

Wonderful art and poetical words.

Gorgeous illustrations, and a quiet, spare story. Just lovely, and I appreciate the unfamiliar (to me) interiors.

A beautiful and emotional tale of refugees fleeing Vietnam. A spare but evocative script works with the pictures to tell a story so much bigger and deeper than you'd think 75 words could manage.

(Another project! I'm reading all the picture books and graphic novels from NPR's Books We Love 2021: Kids’ Books list.)

A refugee story that is both specific and universal: a young girl and part of her family leave home and make a dangerous journey. Things and places along the way are anthropomorphized in the text ("The boat wished it was bigger. The sea wished it was calmer"), taking a unique perspective; at the end, as the refugees are rescued from their small boat by the coast guard and look upon the skyline of Hong Kong, it shifts to first person ("And I wished I didn't have to wish anymore"). Author's note, artist's note.

See also: A Different Pond

75 words have never meant so much as they do in this immigration story. The Caldacot worthy illustrations are as much a part of the story as the heart wrenching words. This story is beautiful and heartbreaking, and very needed in libraries now.

With a sparse but powerful text from author Mượn Thị Văn and gorgeously expressive artwork from illustrator Victo Ngai, this moving picture-book explores the experience of one refugee family, fleeing Vietnam on a boat, late one night. The visual narrative centers around a little girl, watching as her mother, grandfather and other relatives prepare, and then following as she and her mother and baby brother board a boat. The text imagines what all manner of inanimate objects might wish, in relation to the journey—the sun wishes it were less hot, home wishes it were not so far away—but the girl's own wish remains unspoken but understood, as the text reads "I didn't have to wish...anymore," as the hoped-for destination comes into view...

Wishes is the third picture-book I have read from Mượn Thị Văn, following upon her debut, In a Village By the Sea, and her more recent Clever Little Witch, but it is the first I have encountered from Victo Ngai. I found the marriage of text and image here almost flawless, and was moved to tears by the end. Sometimes, less is more, and Văn and Ngai understand this, using simple words and understated (but beautiful) images to communicate their story. I appreciated the thoughtful notes from both author and artist, included at the rear, and the knowledge that both story and illustration spring from their creators' own lives. Although Văn speaks of the things one can do to help refugees, in her own brief note, her narrative itself is utterly non-didactic, simply setting out one little girl's experiences in a big, frightening world, and letting the reader come to their own conclusion. Highly, highly recommend, to all picture-book readers looking for refugee stories, or for beautiful artwork.

While a mother and child - not to mention the family dog and an artistic cricket! - wait in a small house by the sea in this lovely picture-book, their fisherman husband and father sits on his boat, waiting out a storm and thinking of them. The simple text from author Muon Von, almost in the style of a song or nursery rhyme, is paired with beautifully expressive artwork from illustrator Amy Chu...

Inspired by Muon Van's fisherman father, and by her ancestral village of An Bằng, in Vietnam, In a Village by the Sea is a beautifully atmospheric and expressive work, one which captures the loving closeness of this fishing family, and the natural rhythms - some gentle, some tumultuous - that shape their lives. This is the second picture-book I have read from Van, following upon her more recent Clever Little Witch (published under the name Muon Thi Van), and it is in a totally different vein than that other book, focusing on family and place. The artwork from Amy Chu is simply delightful, capturing the natural beauty around this family, and the charm of the family members themselves, and of their animal companions. I found the family dog particularly winsome, and loved his expressive face! The cricket, who connects home and sea through his artwork, was an interesting touch. This is also my second title from Chu, whose artwork I also enjoyed in Andrew Weiner's Down by the River. I think I will have to seek out more from both author and artist! Recommended to picture-book readers looking for stories about families and/or fishing communities, or that have a Vietnamese cultural setting, as well as to those who just appreciate gorgeous illustrations.

very sparse text; perfect illustrations.
The story of emigration out of Vietnam.

Every once in awhile I come across a perfectly written and illustrated picture book, and wishes is one of those. In a mere 75 words, this is the lyrically-told story of a young girl's emigration journey, under difficult circumstance using a brilliant conceit, of inanimate objects wishing ("the night wished it was quieter; the bag wished it was deeper, etc). Don't miss this wonderful book.

The illustrations for this picture book are amazing. Unfortunately, they are the best part of the book. The story asks the reader "if you were night and experienced certain things, what would you do?". I never felt the responses were deep and meaningful. There was no rising action. It was just words to go along with great illustrations.

It depends on what you're counting: crumbs of bread, the sun, a tree, a nut, a dog, acorns, a squirrel...
Using only 0, 1, and 2, this is the story of a day in the park.

See also: Is 2 A Lot?½

The cleverest little witch on Mãi Mãi Island, Little Linh isn't quite prepared when her baby brother Phu arrives. Eventually getting fed up with the chaos he causes, she attempts to get rid of him - offering him to the local troll, trying to drop him off at the Orphanage for Lost and Magical Creatures - but has no success. Then she hits on the idea of turning him into something less objectionable with her magic. Her efforts only lead to more chaos however, with Phu eventually transformed into a dragon. Fortunately, Phu loves Little Linh, even when he is in dragon form, and his actions convince her that having a little brother isn't such a bad thing...

A charming witchy take on a classic childhood experience - namely, the mixed feelings an older sibling can sometimes have, at the arrival of a younger brother or sister - Clever Little Witch pairs an engaging story from author Mượn Thị Văn with gorgeous artwork from illustrator Hyewon Yum. As someone with an interest in the depiction of witches in picture-books and early readers, I have read hundreds of titles at this point, but this is the first I have encountered featuring Asian characters. I found the story engaging, and the artwork absolutely delightful. I loved the bright use of color, so different from many other witchy tales I have read, and the depiction of Little Linh's adorable winged-mouse familiar. Recommended to young children struggling with the advent of a new sibling, and to anyone who enjoys witchy fare of the gentler variety.½

This story is about a father who works away from home. The family is waiting for him to return. I thought that this book was pretty interesting. It has some fictional parts of it, there is a bug that is painting the drawing that leads the story to talk about the father. I think that it teaches a good lesson, always appreciate what your family does for you. I think that would be the big picture here that someone would take away from this.

This book was calling my name when I pulled it off the bookshelf. This story is written about a family located in central Hue, Vietnam. The exact village, An Bang, is about a 10 minute drive on mo-ped from where my mother and father were born. A lot of Vietnamese people had hard labor jobs as fisherman. That is why when they immigrated to America, they moved to places like New Orleans or Hawaii in search of jobs. I knew this book was based in Vietnam because of the illustrations. Straw hats, the food, and house gave it away. The illustrations of this book are amazing and so realistic. The text itself does not give it away. I wished the author had incorporated that the family was Vietnamese into the text. However, the story reminds me a bit of David Wisner where the readers leave the book and enter imagination.

What other jobs required one of the parents to travel? Military, flight attendants, truck drivers, etc. What are some ways you can help out around the house when he/she is gone?

In a village by the sea, there is a house. This is the story of everything in it.

This would be a wonderful story for teaching making inferences from the text. A fun writing assignment for teaching elaboration would be to have older students take the simple words and turn it into a more detailed story without pictures.

This book starts with a house and makes its way all the way to a man in a boat who is wanting to go back to that house to see his family.