Vietnamese Folk Tales

From Pragmatic Mom:

With a country origination belief steeped in dragons and fairies, it’s not surprising that Vietnam has a rich culture of folk tales. Unfortunately, there are not many folktale picture books in the United States that tell these stories but there are some great compilations of Vietnamese Folk Tales that I’ve included below.

Vietnamese Folk Tales for Kids

Children of the Dragon: Selected Tales from Vietnam by Sherry Garland, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

Use this folktale compilation as an introduction not just to Vietnamese folktales, but also Vietnamese history and culture. At the end of each folktale, Garland includes notes related each of the six folk tales about how this ties into modern-day Vietnam including flora and fauna, animals, and holidays. Compare The Boatman’s Flute in this book withThe Fisherman and the Goblet: A Vietnamese Folk Tale. [Advanced picture book with six folktales, ages 6 and up.]

The Golden Slipper: A Vietnamese Legend by Darrell H. Y. LumThe similarities to Yeh-Shen are not surprising given that China ruled Vietnam for a thousand years. This story is also called The Brocade Slipper, and the slight deviations are a mysterious “godmother-like” figure that helps Tam, the daughter. There’s also a fish in this story, and luckily, it does not get consumed.

The father in this story dies of a broken heart when he sees how poorly his daughter is treated by the second wife. The slipper is slightly different too. It is procured from the ground by the rooster that Tam treats kindly, and falls off while she’s riding on horseback to the autumn festival. A soldier finds the shoe and gives it to the prince who conducts a shoe fitting right at the event.

[Fairy tale picture book, ages 6 and up.]

Read about many more awesome recommendation for Vietnamese folktales on Pragmatic Mom.

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