Two ex-pats living in Vietnam, writer Geralda De Vos, from Belgum, and illustrator Sofia Holt, from Sweden, have created a bilingual storybook for children. Told in Vietnamese and English, it’s the tale of a young girl called Linh, who loses her sandal when she falls asleep on the back of a motorcycle. Set in Vietnam, The Lost Sandal shares a dual message of looking after your possessions and sharing what you have with others. It might also encourage its readers to recognise words in both English and Vietnamese.
“A lot of Vietnamese children are very eager to practise their English,” says Geralda. “And a lot of parents are looking for opportunities for their children to speak and learn English. That’s also the reason why we insisted on making an audiobook too, so that children can listen to a native speaker reading the story.
“We have sold many books to teachers and English teachers for the purpose of using it in class. One of our customers asked us to make a larger format to use during his language classes, another one convinced her school to buy 30 copies so that they can read it simultaneously with the whole class.”
And, for English speakers, the Vietnamese words and evocative illustrations are a way of connecting with the local culture, so the book works through either language.
