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"The Friends" is a picture book (Ehon).(The illustrated story (for preschool children or those under 10 years old) revolves around the sincere friendship between Brown Bear and Black Cat, who meet after Brown Bear gets lost during a picnic with Mai's family. The Vietnamese translation of "Friends" was first published in Vietnam by Kim Dong Publishing House in 2020.
After the book was licensed and published in Vietnam, the renowned author Aihara Hiroyuki expressed his desire for a Vietnamese artist to illustrate his work when it was published in Japan.
"Friends" in Vietnamese (left) and Japanese (right).
"The artist Dot Dot has expressed my feelings through her wonderful paintings. I really like her paintings and I hope you do too," Aihara Hiroyuki shared.
In the "Letter to Readers" included in this edition, author Aihara Hiroyuki stated that Vietnam is a beautiful country with optimistic and warm-hearted people. He expressed: "As a Japanese person, I hope to become friends with Vietnamese readers, and perhaps travel together to explore Vietnam's nature, just like the two main characters, Brown Bear and Black Cat, in this story."
"Do you see the image of the Japanese in the calm Brown Bear and the image of the Vietnamese in the brave Black Cat? From a chance encounter, through their journey, they gradually came to understand, help, and ultimately trust each other completely. I would be very happy if, in the future, children of both countries could also have such a strong bond, a bond of friendship."
The artwork by artist Dom Dom illustrates the story "The Friends".
Dom Dom is the pen name of Vu Thuy Ngoc Ha, a young artist specializing in illustrating children's books and comics. She won first prize at the 2019 Scholastic Picture Book Award with her work "The Girl on the Roof and the Boy on the Beach." This book was recently published in 2021 by Scholastic, a publishing company based in the United States with over 100 years of history.
