 The picture book Chiec Dep That Lac (The Lost Sandal) has been nominated for the De Men Awards. (Photo baotintuc.vn) |
The book, entitled Chiec Dep That Lac (The Lost Sandal), is a picture book for children by Belgian writer Geralda De Vos and Swedish illustrator Sofia Holt. They are living and working in Vietnam.
The book is a story of a girl named Linh who loses one of her favourite sandals and her adventure to reclaim it.
De Vos came to Vietnam in 2017 and has participated in environmental protection activities such as plastic waste reduction and recycling activities. She has called on people to pick up and return people's lost items. She began picking up lost sandals on the street, which became her inspiration for the book, The Lost Sandal.
Illustrator Holt came to HCM City in 2014. The book was translated into Vietnamese by Kim Ngoc and published by Kim Đong Publishing House.
De Men Awards was launched by the Vietnam News Agency’s The Thao Van Hoa (Culture & Sport) newspaper in 2020 aiming at honouring the best works by and for children.
This year, most of the shortlisted works are long stories and only Nguyen Vu An Bang's is a short story collection. Bang is also the youngest writer at the award. She is nine years old from Quynh Loi Primary School.
Six-member jury panel is chaired by poet Tran Đang Khoa, deputy-president of Vietnam Writers’ Association. The awards will be announced on May 31 in Hanoi. An auction will be held at the award ceremony to raise funds for schools in the mountainous and remote areas.