BOOKS FOR KIDS: Children and parents seek their favourite books at the HCM City Book Fair for Children. Photo courtesy of Book Street Company

HCM CITY — History, fiction, and self-development are the main topics of books which children today love to read.

Huỳnh Anh Thư from the Nguyễn Du Secondary School in Gò Vấp District has fallen in love with books on the history of Việt Nam, resistance wars against invaders, and national heroes.

“The patriotism, solidarity, brave soldiers and love for the people from these books appeals to me,” said Thư.

She chose books according to the title and cover, saying, “if the cover is beautiful and attractive, it will catch our attention immediately.”

Participating in a recent forum on kids’ books in HCM City, Quách Thu Nguyệt, former editor-in-chief of Trẻ Publishing House, expressed her happiness and joy that young people today still love reading history books.

“I hope authors and publishers can listen to young people’s thoughts and rethink that our books are interesting enough,” Nguyệt said.

She added, “history is not boring. It should be transferred to readers through interesting stories.”

Apart from history, young people today care about self-development and self-help books.

Đặng Trần Huyền Thư, a student of the Hoa Lư Secondary School in Thủ Đức city, likes to read books on skills and self-development which are helpful for her studies and daily life.

Her favourite books include Tuổi Trẻ Đáng Giá Bao Nhiêu (How Much Does Youth Cost) by author Rosie Nguyễn on her journey of self-discovery.

Thư said: “It’s not too soon for a self-development book because it conveys useful knowledge which motivates me to complete myself.”

“Although those books are for people aged over 18, we can understand and learn a little bit. I’m hoping to have self-development books which are suitable for my age,” she added.

Trần Thủy Tiên, a student of the Minh Đức Secondary School in District 1, has interest in psychology books.

She has just finished the Vietnamese version of Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right by Chinese author Gao Ming.

“I think someday people around me, like friends or relatives in my family, could have psychology issues and I could help them,” Tiên said.

She also hoped publishers would release more books for youngsters so children could have more choices.

Meanwhile, many children asked publishers to release various kinds of publications such as e-books and audio books so they could approach books easily.

They also hoped parents and schools could listen to their thoughts and opinions to help them to find books which were appropriate for their ages.

Lê Văn Thành, deputy director of the Kim Đồng Publishing House - HCM City branch, said it was very helpful to hear from child readers so publishers could make plans to introduce more quality books to children. — VNS