Recently, Macmillan Children's Books has acquired the rights to publish a series of illustrated books for children called "Wild Chang". The book series was written by author Trang Nguyen, founder of WildAct and a person who has made positive contributions to conservation work in Vietnam.
Under the agreement with Kim Dong Publishing House, MacMillan will have exclusive rights to publish all other language versions, except Vietnamese. The copyright of the book has been transferred in many countries, including the US, Korea, China, Norway and Türkiye.
From the true story of the brave and daring journey of wildlife conservationist Trang Nguyen, the creativity and dedication of artist Jeet Zdung, the picture book "Wild Chang - Bear" is a strong message about the value of nature, life on Earth and all species.
true story of wildlife conservation journey
"Wild Chang - Bear" is the first part of a series about the natural world. In the story, when she was only 8 years old, Chang witnessed a bear being tortured for its bile. That heartbreaking image was deeply engraved in her mind and from then on, Chang promised herself to pursue her passion for protecting animals. After meeting Sorya, a sun bear successfully rescued from the hands of wildlife traffickers by the Bear Rescue Center, Chang was determined to bring Sorya back to Mother Nature.
Not only is it full of information about bears in particular and animals and plants in the forest in general, "Wild Bears" also helps readers visualize a particularly difficult profession, seemingly beyond the endurance of a woman, which is wildlife conservation.
The author shared that she hopes “readers of all ages can learn more about our country’s diverse ecosystem, and everyone can participate in conservation and environmental work in Vietnam.”
She added: “Human activities such as bear bile consumption, deforestation and overpopulation are pushing bears to the brink of extinction. Trang hopes her book series can inspire people to join hands to take action.”
Trang also hopes that the image of the young but brave Chang will be the motivation for parents to encourage their daughters to pursue their dreams: “When they grow up, they can become scientists, geologists or astronauts. They can do extraordinary things if we give them the opportunity.”
The book series "Chang is Wild" leaves a deep impression on readers because it is based on real events. Trang said that the truth is that Sorya the sun bear was only 8 weeks old when she was rescued by the organization Free the Bear. "Sorya's mother could have been hunted by smugglers, or sent to a bear bile farm."
Connecting people with the majestic natural world
To carry out the picture book project "Wild Chang", artist Jeet Zdung directly surveyed the forest for two months. From real experiences, through the process of observing and sketching flora and fauna, the artist created realistic and emotional watercolor drawings of characters.
The author said that the second part of the series, titled "Wild Chang - Elephant", will also be released in 2022. This time, readers will meet a grown-up Chang and follow her in rescuing H'non, an elephant who has been imprisoned for more than five decades to carry timber and tourists.
The English version of the book will be officially released in September 2021.
