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Recently, Macmillan Children's Books acquired the publishing rights to the illustrated children's book series "Chang the Wild." The series is written by Trang Nguyen, founder of WildAct and a prominent contributor to conservation efforts in Vietnam.
According to an agreement with Kim Dong Publishing House, MacMillan will have exclusive rights to release all other language versions except Vietnamese. The rights to the book have already been transferred to several countries, including the United States, South Korea, China, Norway, and Türkiye.
Based on the true story of the courageous and daring journey of Trang Nguyen, a wildlife conservationist, and the creativity and dedication of artist Jeet Zdung, the picture book "Chang the Wild - Bear" is a powerful message about the value of nature, the life of the Earth, and all living things.
A true story about a wildlife conservation journey.
"Chang the Wild - Bear" is the first part of a series about the natural world. In the story, at the age of 8, Chang witnessed a bear being tortured for its bile. That heartbreaking image was deeply etched in her mind, and from then on, Chang vowed to pursue her passion for protecting animals. After meeting Sorya, a sun bear successfully rescued by the Bear Rescue Center from wildlife traffickers, Chang resolved to return Sorya to Mother Nature.
Not only is "Chang the Wild - Bears" packed with information about bears in particular and forest flora and fauna in general, it also helps readers visualize the exceptionally arduous profession, seemingly beyond the endurance of a woman, of wildlife conservation.
The author shared that she hopes "readers of all ages can learn more about our country's diverse ecosystem, and that everyone can participate in conservation and environmental work in Vietnam."
She added, “Human activities such as consuming bear bile, deforestation, and overpopulation are pushing bears to the brink of extinction. Trang hopes her book series can inspire people to take action.”
Trang also hopes that the image of the young but courageous girl Chang will inspire 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 "Wild Chang" leaves a deep impression on readers because it is based on real events. Trang recounts that the truth is, Sorya the sun bear was only 8 weeks old when she was rescued by the Free the Bear organization. "Sorya's mother may have been hunted by traffickers, or sent to some bear bile farm."
Connecting people with the magnificent world of nature.
To create the picture book project "Chang in the Wild," artist Jeet Zdung spent two months personally surveying the forest. From these real-life experiences, through observation and sketching of flora and fauna, the artist created realistic and emotionally rich watercolor illustrations of the characters.
The author stated that the second part of the series, titled "Wild Chang - Elephants," will also be released in 2022. This time, readers will meet a grown-up Chang and follow her as she rescues H'non, an elephant that has been held captive for over five decades to carry timber and tourists.
The English version of the book will be officially released in September 2021.
