Hello inspired readers!
Children’s book author of Vietnamese heritage Muon Thi Van is a writer of distinction whose books are well worth exploring.
Like the many Vietnamese immigrant families, her family left Vietnam by boat and arrived in the US when she was 2 years old. This journey undoubted made it into her writing, as well as the decision to keep the Vietnamese diacritics marks in her name. She started to fill the market gap by telling stories that reflect her formative experiences.
I have often read Muon’s uniquely concise and lyrical writing offering a completely new perspective, wondering if anyone could do it justice and translate her books WELL in Vietnamese…until I discovered her translated books!
I'm ecstatic to share a special Q&A with award-winning children’s author Mượn Thị Văn, known for her elegant, minimalist writing style that captures deep emotion in just a few words. Her lyrical books celebrate identity, culture, and connection — and have touched the hearts of readers around the world.
Her book Wishes with illustrator Victo Ngai, received numerous accolades, including the Margaret Wise Brown Prize, the German Children's Literature Award, and Best Picture Book of the Year by BookPage.
🌟 Q1: Three of your books were translated from English into Vietnamese by Crabit Kidbooks:
In a Village by the Sea | Ở một ngôi làng ven biển
One Is a Lot | Một đã là nhiều
If You Were Night | Nếu em là đêm
Could you share with us how the translation process began?
Mượn :
About four years ago, my Canadian publisher Kids Can Press shared the news that One Is a Lot and If You Were Night were going to be translated into Vietnamese and published in Việt Nam by Crabit Kidbooks. It was one of the best emails I have ever received.
Crabit worked with translators in Việt Nam for those two books and also for In a Village by the Sea, and they were very generous and allowed me to see and review the translations for all three books. Crabit was great to work with throughout the entire process, and I'm very fortunate to have them as my publisher!
🌟 Q2: Your family left Vietnam along with the mass exodus of boat people, and you arrived in the U.S. at the age of 2. Vietnamese was your first spoken language, but you learned to read in English first. How did it feel to hold the Vietnamese version of your books for the first time?
Mượn :
It felt incredible. It couldn't even be called a dream come true because I had never dared to dream that dream. Even after I had become a published author in the U.S., I still didn't consider a Vietnamese translation of any of my works a possibility.
Vietnamese may be the language closest to my heart, so to be able to read my stories in Vietnamese feels like things have come full circle. However, my village dialect of Vietnamese is my true first language, so I would like to see future translations of my work draw from that dialect more.
🌟 Q3: You made a brave and risky decision to use the Vietnamese diacritics in your name as an author. Who named you Văn Thị Mượn, and what was the reason behind the name?
Mượn :
My mom said my dad chose the name “Mượn” simply because he liked it. He’s no longer around so I can’t ask him about it.
I ultimately chose the name I was born with as my author name because it is my real and original name, and because it’d be difficult for a reader (familiar with Vietnamese) to know how to pronounce my name if it were spelled otherwise.
I hope seeing my name on books will help readers feel more comfortable and proud of their own names, and more welcoming of others’ names — no matter how unique or different the names may appear.
🌟 Q4: Your award-winning book Wishes received a lot of praise in the Vietnamese media in Vietnam and among the Vietnamese diaspora. Will Wishes or your other books be translated into Vietnamese?
Mượn :
Wishes has been translated into several languages, but I am not aware of any planned Vietnamese translation.
I'm hoping that my newest book, You Make the World, will one day be published in Việt Nam since that's where Huỳnh Kim Liên and Phùng Nguyên Quang, the illustrators, work and live!
Thank you so much chị Mượn for opening up to help our readers gain a deeper understanding of you as an author!
Valued readers, you can buy a copy of Mượn's books through VietCan Books, links below!
In a Village by the Sea | Ở một ngôi làng ven biển
One Is a Lot | Một đã là nhiều
If You Were Night | Nếu em là đêm
Mượn Thị Văn's 3 translated book combo
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Happy reading!
Tam