Environmental awareness through children's picture books

“Climate change” and “environmental protection” have become key phrases frequently mentioned by both the international and domestic communities in recent years, and especially in recent days, as Vietnam joins hands to recover from the severe damage caused by storm No. 10. This reflects that environmental protection has become a significant concern for all people and all sectors, regardless of country, ethnicity, or age. Vietnamese children are also lending their voices to environmental awareness through striking picture books.

Some picture books on environmental protection topics under the “Book Window” Project. Photo: Lam Vien

These are works by young authors participating in the “Book Window” Reading Culture Development Project, published by the Women’s Publishing House in recent times. Each book approaches the topic of environment from a different perspective, yet they all share a common trait: pure, coherent, and thoughtful language accompanied by charming, colorful illustrations. Through these pages, the young authors express profound messages about environmental protection awareness and the responsibility of the young generation toward global issues, as well as their love for nature, their homeland, and their country.

Children writing, drawing, and telling stories about the green planet

Vu Thi Thanh Tam, Master's Degree holder, Founder of the "Book Window" Project, said: “In the context of increasingly severe climate change, with fierce storms, floods, landslides, and erratic weather becoming familiar, the Earth seems exhausted. Yet amid these upheavals, a fresh breeze arises from book clubs and creative projects guiding children to write about the environment. Vietnamese children are now writing, drawing, and telling their own stories about the green planet. Over the past year, numerous picture books created by children carrying messages of environmental protection have been published by the Women’s Publishing House, sending a positive signal and igniting faith in the young generation’s ability to take action to protect the green planet.”

In the book series When Children Become Authors, stories about nature are written and illustrated by young creators aged 8 to 14, infused with genuine and innocent emotions. When children write and draw for other children, there is naturally a shared language and emotional resonance between writer and reader, enabling true peer-to-peer communication. As a result, profound messages about the environment, friendship, compassion, and empathy between humans and all living beings conveyed through these picture books can be easily spread and deeply absorbed.

Green messages

Author Nhu Y speaks about her book, The Children in the Land of Mist, at a book launch and discussion event hosted by the Women’s Publishing House in July 2025. Photo: Courtesy of the author

As the author of The Children in the Land of Mist, 13-year-old Nhu Y shared: “I wanted to tell a story about the relationship between humans and nature through a group of children on a forest camping trip. The children littered, threw away used batteries, and used gasoline to start a fire, accidentally causing a blaze that injured the Forest God, a being hidden in the form of a giant statue with a broken heart. When they realized their mistake, the children cleaned up the trash, put out the fire, and apologized to nature. The Forest God didn’t punish them but gently forgave them. The story conveys that nature is always forgiving, as long as humans know when to stop and make amends. I came up with this story after a real-life forest trip with my friends from the book club.”

In The Mysterious Library, 14-year-old Sinh Hung tells the story of a magical library where characters can travel from one book to another. One character, known for cutting down trees and destroying forests, leaves his own book, now barren and treeless, to enter another filled with lush greenery, where he continues his logging. The characters from different books then join forces with the librarian to take the woodcutter through books that depict urgent environmental issues. Through these journeys, the woodcutter realizes the devastating consequences of his actions on the Earth and eventually awakens to his wrongdoing.

In the story collection Tales of Dragons and Witches, young authors Hoang Phuc and Le Khanh take readers into a world of fantasy. The dragon symbolizes the Earth, wounded by human actions, while the little witch Li Ly must fix her master’s mistake. He had tried to help the forest grow faster, but unintentionally caused a disaster when the trees grew out of control. Both journeys share the same message: humanity cannot “heal” nature through power or technology, but only through understanding and humility.

Readers can also feel children’s love for nature in other works, such as Stories of the River by young authors Trong Hieu and Hoang Long, and You Don’t Need to See – Spring Is Still All Around, written and illustrated by Ha Thuy Tu Uyen.

Multiplying the creative power of children

Exploring these picture books means entering a world of creative freedom, interwoven with the pure, innocent emotions of sensitive and compassionate souls.

“In the uncertain context of climate change, these books are like tiny seeds sown from pure hearts. They remind adults that to protect the Earth, we must first relearn how to love, the way a child cherishes a fallen leaf or gazes at the blue sky through the pages of a book. Sometimes, it is the imagination and the pure, kind, and courageous hearts of children that can sow the belief in us that this world can still be healed.”

VU THI THANH TAM, Master’s Degree holder, Founder of the “Book Window” Project

Vu Thi Thanh Tam shared: “The creative process begins with field trips, observing nature, conversing with trees, rivers, and clouds, and recording those emotions. The stories gradually take shape, guided by editors and illustrators, and are completed while preserving their innocent and whimsical tone.

What’s special is that every published book carries a message of love and sharing: when one child buys a book, another child with fewer means receives the same book, funded by the royalties of the author and editorial team. Each page, therefore, not only nurtures a love for nature but also spreads the spirit of giving, teaching children to love books, love others, and cherish the world around them.”

Members and children participate in the “Book Window” Project during the picnic

What is impressive is that in recent times, these publications have not only spread the good things in life and received love from young readers across the country, but have also earned prestigious awards such as the De Men Award for Children and the ENEOS & MOGU Fairy Tale Writing Award. The achievements of the authors and works under the “Book Window” Project have provided motivation and confidence for both the creators and project members, while inspiring other children to express their creativity, emotions, and ideas.

By Lam Vien – Translated by Dang Huyen, Minho