2023-10-05 16:08:06
One morning when I arrived at the office, I was suddenly thrust into my hands a beautiful book of poetry. The author smiled and stood next to him: “That’s your poem, just published, about to be released.” Can’t express my surprise. How could I imagine the girl next to me, who only spent every day compiling her homework, never publishing a single poem, and then publishing an entire book of poems one day?
Author Nguyet Cat (Journalist Ha Thi Hang) and her first poem “Baby, baby!”.
And then, I was even more surprised, as I turned each page, page by page, I was fascinated. A clear, restless feeling rushed over. Emotion. It was as if I was reunited with my own childhood, in poems filled with countryside scenery, countryside smells, and family affection that was so loving and warm.
“The baby was born in the street
Do not inhale the countryside smell
All day long I hear car horns
Living in a tiny house
The little piece of sky I can see
Just a beautiful little space
Through the small blue window
The moon also often goes into hiding.” (Baby, baby!)
“The little sky I see/It’s just a pretty little space” (Baby, baby!).
“Baby, baby, baby!” Authors Nguyet Cat consisting of 20 poems, begins with the story of a baby born in the street, whose childhood was cramped in a tiny house, listening to car horns all day, nature being just a small piece of beautiful sky through a small window, The Moon also often hides.
However, because the mother was on a business trip and the father was busy, the child was sent back to his hometown to live with his grandparents. The child experienced a completely different childhood. A whole magical world opens up with colors, sounds, scents, light from nature and all things. Everything is lively and close, from trees, flowers, sunlight, birds, dogs, cats, chickens and pigs… they also know how to work, rest, play around… just like humans, like babies.
A whole magical world opens up with colors, sounds, scents, light from nature and all things when the baby returns home.
My grandparents’ house with a large brick yard is very different from the small house in the city. The moon no longer hides, but can spread out a mat and wait for the moon to rise:
“My house has a very large yard
The red brick color is so beautiful
The baby trotted front and back
I haven’t gotten bored after a few rounds
The yard welcomes the morning sun
At night, sit and wait for the moon to rise
The mat she spread on the porch
Grandpa sat drinking tea and looking after his grandchildren” (Home yard)
Nature is full of colors, sunshine, and plants are mischievous and play just like children:
“The sun dances on the melon trellis
Running on the tomato beds
Roll on the flowers
Glittering smile with blue beans” (Morning sunshine)
Instead of car horns in the city, at dawn in the countryside there is the sound of roosters crowing and the bustling sounds of so many animals entering a new day.
As for the sunrise scene, it’s so bustling. Instead of the car horns you hear all day long like in the city, here there’s only the sound of roosters crowing in the morning, and the animals enter a new day in their own way:
“The sow is gurgling
I slept all night hungry
Carrying a boiling belly
Wait until breakfast time
Cats also wake up very early
Sit and wash your face and stroke your beard
The bee flew over to say hello
Hurry to get honey
Uncle is a very old man
The harvest is finished
Now you just lie down and rest
Chew straw and eat grass
The limp dog lies there
Be careful, you’re tired
Guard the gate all night
So I still sleep in the morning” (Dawn)
Is writing for children difficult? Many people admit that it is very difficult. Because seeing the world through the eyes of a child is not simple. A 5-year-old neighbor girl once came to my garden to play, saw an apple tree and asked: “What tree is this?”. When receiving the answer: “It’s a wild apple tree”, the child continued to ask: “Where is the wise apple tree?”, a surprising and interesting way of thinking for children that cannot be imitated or thought of.
However, in “Baby, Baby!”, we encounter many of those interesting things. Each poem is like a pampering and conversation between family members and the “little one” on a daily basis, recording the baby’s growing up journey and memories. All things and events are viewed and told through the lens of love of grandparents, parents… towards the child. But at the same time, children’s eyes sparkle in every feeling.
Readers are led into the world of childhood naturally, with clear views, full of newness, surprise, and excitement. This is also what makes the book special: it is attractive to both readers, children and adults.
For children, they will feel a magical yet close world of childhood, with everything like cute friends around them. Children can open their souls, feel the beauty of nature, the world around them and can see themselves in every image of a baby, very close.
You will also feel how much love your loved ones have for you, that is your family. The grandfather did not know how to lull the baby, but still tried to “sing a lullaby to the baby and keep him awake”. Her hands cherished “each piece of porridge, spoon of rice/fragrant milk bottle/she coaxed the baby to drink”. She went to farm far away, encountered a heavy rain, and when she came home, she still “had a favorite gift/a tiny crab” for her baby. As for mothers, I love everything from the fragrant hands to the smell of the baby…
Cool breeze from grandfather’s hand.
Many lessons are also cleverly integrated into the poems, such as knowing how to wash fragrant hands before each meal, when eating, having to invite, the mother telling the child to “just kiss the forehead”, “don’t kiss the lips/ Oi bacteria/It’s so scary”…
The verses are easy to remember, easy to memorize, and the beautiful and vivid illustrations will definitely make children excited.
For adults, fathers and mothers will find in each poem the sympathy of infinite love for their children, every step of their growth, from learning to talk, learning to walk, to pulling out beautiful teeth. , then go to school… Along with that, is the emotion and gratitude towards my parents, who worked hard to raise me, and now still wholeheartedly love and help my grandchildren. Perhaps, many children have encountered their own feelings in verses like this:
“Every day I wish
Returning to my grandmother’s hometown to visit my grandmother
The boy is now gone
She must be very sad alone
She loves her white hair
The hands are now wrinkled
I love the grandmother I once cherished
Holding the baby when it’s red” (Grandmother).
Childhood was happy with her.
And one special thing, for generations who were born in the countryside, “Baby, baby!” It also makes readers feel like they have relived their childhood. From simple poems, to illustrations of a crowing rooster, a cat lying on a luffa trellis, a grandfather fanning a hammock for a baby to sleep, a banana tree with a gable end… the reader suddenly feels excited. Like seeing old textbook pages again. Familiar images remind us of love for the homeland, villages, places of birth, cherishing family affection…
Close and familiar images in many generations’ childhood memories.
Author Nguyet Cat shared, she wrote “Baby, baby!” Very quickly, emotions rushed back to the time she sent her children back home. The poetry collection is like a gift for her beloved children and relatives. Because it was my first work, there was a lot of confusion.
Indeed, when reading “Baby, baby!”, we will not encounter linguistic techniques or elaborate expressions. But it is the simplicity, the innocence and purity that brings its own beauty and appeal to each poem. Along with that, the love hidden in every word makes each poem touch the reader’s emotions.
“Wake up every morning
Green bamboo mounds whisper
Bamboo tops are curved
Pull up the sun”
When reading “Baby, baby!”, I suddenly remembered the poems I learned from my childhood with beautiful memories. The 20 poems in “Baby, Baby” bring a feeling of peace and happiness. Closing the book, a pure flower suddenly seemed to smile in my heart.
Nguyet Cat is the pen name of journalist Ha Thi Hang. She was born in 1986, from Thanh Hoa. The author has many years of experience working in the cultural and entertainment field. Currently, she composes for children while working in Hanoi.
We invite readers to watch the video: The baby reads the poem “Grandma” in the poetry collection “Baby, baby!” by author Nguyet Cat. The baby shared that he really enjoyed reading this book of poems. Video made by Knowledge and Life PV.
#Reminiscing #childhood #Baby #baby