One of the critical lessons for young people to take from this unit on Vietnam is conflict resolution.  There are many programs available and lots of role playing that can be done.  Perhaps the most powerful way to teach conflict resolution is through reading and discussions involving problem solving.  Choosing the right books is important, and choosing a variety of books is helpful in touching as many young hearts and minds as possible.

In this unit I’ve provided several discussion guides and activity ideas for all ages of children.  Many of the books chosen can be used to assist with lessons on conflict resolution.   The following list of books is in no way a comprehensive list of books on the subject, rather it is a list of suggestions that I like and you may find helpful.  If you have favorite books or stories that have proven helpful in teaching about conflict resolution, please send me a note and I will include them in the list.  Your input will help other teachers, and more importantly you will be helping children learn to solve their problems in a more peaceful manner.  Thank you.

Following is a list of books about Vietnam and/or the war.  This list was pulled from the internet at a great site: http://www.shens.com/subjects/Vietnam.htm and others.  Please know that this list is not presented as a bibliography of books used in this unit.

THE BROCADED SLIPPER AND OTHER VIETNAMESE TALES
Retold by Lynette Vuong   Ages 7-11
CHAPTER BOOK
Five enjoyable Vietnamese fairy tales reflect universal themes.  The title story is a Cinderella tale, there are also versions of "Thumbelina," "The Frog Prince," and "The Goose Girl."

WE CAME FROM VIETNAM
By Muriel Stanek
Ages 6-12
The story of the Nguyen family, originally from Vietnam and currently living in Chicago.  As they become comfortable in their new home, their lives take on a unique blending of cultures, combining the old with the new.

JOURNEY HOME
By Lawrence McKay, Jr.
Ages 6 & up
A 10-old Vietnamese American girl tells of her journey with her mother back to Vietnam to search for her mother's birth family.   "Enormously touching…there won't be a dry eye among readers and listeners." –Kirkus Reviews.

WATER BUFFALO DAYS
Growing Up in Vietnam
CHAPTER BOOK
By Huynh Quang Nhuong
Ages 7-10
In this companion volume to the award-winning The Land I Lost, readers are led back to a landscape simultaneously exotic and brimming with the feeling of home.

THE GOLDEN SLIPPER
A Vietnamese Legend
By Darrell Lum
Ages 7-10
This charming story of a poor, rice farmer's daughter reaching out to her destiny is a variation of the Cinderella story.
 

THE LITTLE WEAVER OF THAI-YEN VILLAGE
By Tran-Khan-Tuyen
Ages 7 & up
"Hien is a Vietnamese girl who is brought to the United States after losing her family in the Vietnam War.  Her effort to remain true to her background and adjust to her new country is her story." –Publisher's Weekly

Monkey Bridge
By Lan Cao
"The story of a young Vietnamese girl and her mother who come to the US as refugees after the war.  It talks a lot about the Vietnamese culture, and the difficulty of adjusting to a new culture."

Jauanah, A Hmong Cinderella
By Jewell Reinhart Coburn
"The illustrations are wonderfully evocative of Hmong culture and convey a sense of pride and appreciation that is will be welcome to adoptive parents."

A Boat to Nowhere
By Maureen Crane Wartski for ages 12 & up
Kien and his adopted family become boat people, risking everything to find free land.

A Long Way from Home
By Maureen Crane Wartski for ages 12 & up
Kien is caught in a battle between local people and Vietnamese immigrants in a new land.

Angel Child, Dragon Child
By Michelle Surat / Vo-Dinh Mai for ages 4 - 8
Little Ut from Vietnam wins her schoolmates over with kindness and sensitivity.

Onion Tears
By Diana Kidd / L. Montgomery for ages 10 & up
A little Vietnamese girl tries to come to terms with her grief over the loss of her family. She starts a new life in America.
 
Shadow of the Dragon
By Sherry Garland for ages 12 & up
16-year-old Danny is torn between his high school and his home life, plus a skinhead's attack that forever changes the mixed community of Houston.
 
 

Leaving Vietnam
By Sarah Kilborne / Melissa Sweet for ages 8-12
1999     48pp
This is the story of Tuan and his father, who endure danger and difficulties when they escape by boat from Vietnam, spend days at sea, and then months in refugee camps before making their way to the United States.

The Little Weaver of Thai-Yen Village
By Tran K. Tuyet / Nancy Hom for ages 8-12
1987     32p
As with all refugee children, Hien faces a new language, a new culture, and a new homeland. The story demonstrates a near-perfect balance between the two cultures.

When Heaven & Earth Changed Places
By Le Ly Hayslip for ages 15 & up
The author recounts her life growing up in war-ravaged Vietnam and fleeing to the USA to find peace and a new life.

Journey Home
By Lawrence McKay / Dom & Keunhee Lee for ages 5-9
1998      32pp
Mai returns to Vietnam, the land of her mother's birth, to discover both a new country and something about herself.

My Father's Boat
By Sherry Garland / Ted Rand for ages 4-8
1998       32pp
A Vietnamese American boy spends a day with his father on his shrimp boat, listening as his father describes how his own father fished on the South China Sea.

Hoang Anh: A Vietnamese American Boy
By D. Hoyt-Goldsmith / L. Migdale for ages 6 - 10
1992    32p
Hoang describes the daily activities of his family in San Rafael, California, and the traditional culture and customs that shape their lives. Photographs.

Teenage Refugees from VIETNAM Speak Out
By Kenneth Wapner for ages 12-18     64p
One of a set of 16 volumes in a unique collection containing the oral histories of teenage refugees now living in the USA and Canada. North American teens learn first hand the trials of some of their classmates who have fled their own countries for political and social reasons. Each volume offers background historical and political information on the country in question.
I Am Vietnemese American
By Felice Blanc for ages 6-10
1997     24pp
Celebrates our nation's strength through diversity. Kids learn about the proud traditions of Vietnamese Americans and the commonality of our humanity.

Song of Buffalo Boy
By Sherry Garland for ages 13 & up
Shunned and mistreated because of her mixed heritage, 17-year-old Loi runs away to Ho Chi Minh City with the hope that she will be able to go to the United States.

The Jaws of the Dragon
By / Alan Gibbons for ages 10 & up
11-year-old Tra and his family face an uncertain future in Vietnam when his father defiles the head of the village committee.

Song of the Buffalo Boy
By Sherry Garland for ages 12 & up
1992     250p
Shunned and mistreated because of her mixed heritage, 17-year-old Loi runs away from home hoping that she will be able to go to the USA to find her American father.

Grandfather's Dream
By Holly Keller for ages 4 - 8
1994     32p
After the end of the war in Vietnam, a young boy's grandfather dreams of restoring the wetlands of the Mekong delta, hoping that the large cranes that once lived there will return.

Sing for Your Father, Su Phan
By Stella Pevsner & Fay Tang for ages 10 & up
1997     107pp
Recalls the events in a North Vietnamese village that forever changed the lives of the youngest daughter of a prosperous trader and her family.

The North Wind & the Sun & Other Stories
By Tran Van Dien / Nguyen V Hieu for ages 6 - 12
1976       94p
Little Red Riding Hood and 6 other western fairy tales are retold in English and Vietnamese. Accompanied with brusch illustrations.
 
 

Tam's Slipper: A Story from Vietnam
By Janet Palazzo-Craig / Makiko Nagano for ages 3-7
1996   32p
A simplified version of 'The Golden Slipper' for younger readers and/or readers with limited English proficiency.

The Golden Slipper: A Vietnamese Legend
By Darrell Lum / Makiko Nagano for ages 5 - 9
1994    8 x 9    32p
A variation on the Cinderella story, in which a kind-hearted young Vietnamese woman meets her prince with the help of animals she has befriended.

The Brocaded Slipper & Other Vietnamese Tales
By Lynette Duer Vuong / V.D. Mai for ages 8-12
1982      32p
A collection of 5 Vietnamese fairy tales, including 'Little Finger of the Watermelon Patch' & 'The Lampstand Princess'.

The Crystal Heart
By Aaron Shepard / Joseph Daniel Fiedler for ages 4-8
1998     32pp
The sheltered and priviledged daughter of a mandarin comes to understand the consequences of her naive, yet cruel words to a fisherman.

To Swim in Our Own Pond: A Book of Vietnamese Proverbs
By Ngoc-Dung Tran / Xuan-Quang Dang for ages all ages
1998    8.5 x 10    32p
Twenty-two fun and witty proverbs are assembled together with their corresponding English translations and western equivalents. From generation to generation in Vietnam, these intriguing oral traditions are learned at mothers' knees; told in the mountains; whispered in the fields, murmured on the river banks; and floated on the reeds.

Vietnam in Pictures
By Lerner Publications Co for ages 8 - 12
Discusses the land, history, government, people, and economy of Vietnam with abundant photographs, maps, and charts.

Vietnam: The Culture
By Bobbie Kalman for ages 9-15
1996      32p
Examines the culture of Vietnam with photographs and simple text.

Vietnam: The Land
By Bobbie Kalman for ages 9-15
1996        32p
Examines the land of Vietnam with photographs and simple text.

Vietnam: The People
By Bobbie Kalman for ages 9-15
1996      32p
Examines the people of Vietnam with photographs and simple text.

From Colonial to Independence Period
By Nguyen Thi Tuyet Long for ages all ages
Consists of texts and exercises designed for Vietnamese children born in the USA to learn about their heritage. All key words and questions are written in English while the majority of the text is in Vietnamese.

North & South Division to 1975
By Nguyen Thi Tuyet Long for ages all ages
Consists of texts and exercises designed for Vietnamese children born in the USA to learn about their heritage. All key words and questions are written in English while the majority of the text is in Vietnamese.

Cooking the Vietnamese Way
By Chi Nguyen & Judy Monroe for ages 10 & up
1990     50p
An introduction to the cooking of Vietman feautring spring rolls, sweet and sour soup,

Sing'n Learn Vietnamese
By Hop Thi Nguyen & Selina Yoon for ages 3-10
1998      24pp
Designed to teach Vietnamese language and culture the fun way. fourteen popular songs are introduced along with a 40-minute audio tape or CD

Vietnamese Word Book
By Nguyen-Phan Kim-Anh / Ha My Ly for ages all ages
1994        144p
A perfect introduction to the Vietnamese language, with illustrations captioned in Vietnamese and English.

A Magic Cross-bow & Other Stories
By Tran Van Dien / Kim Bang for ages 6 - 10
8 interesting Vietnamese folktales are told in both English & Vietnamese with ink illustrations.
A Shadow on the Wall & Other Stories
By Tran Van Dien / H. Luangpraseut for ages 8 - 12
6 stories reflect the life styles and philosophies of Vietnamese people of the past and present.

Beyond the East Wind
By Jewell Coburn / Nena Ullberg for ages 8 & up
An illustrated collection of carefully researched and authentically retold Vietnamese legends and folktales.

Story of the Bird Named Bim Bip & Other Stories
By Tran Van Dien / Tang Q. Ai for ages 8 - 12
6 stories are illustrated in black and white and told with simplicity.

The Raven & the Star Fruit Tree & Other Stories
By Tran Van Dien / Tang Q. Ai for ages 6 - 10
6 legends are introduced, including how watermelons became the Vietnamese symbol of luck.

Toad is the Uncle of Heaven
By Jeanne M. Lee for ages 4 - 8
The toad, using his wits to ally with the King of Heaven, becomes a Vietnamese symbol of rain.

The Magic Crossbow
By Alice Lucas / You-Shan Tang for ages 6 - 10
King An-Duong Vuong during the 3rd century BC struggles to regain independence from China. Originally $9.95, now...

The Bridge of Reunion & Other Stories
By Tran Van Dien / Kim Bang for ages 6 - 10
The Vietnamese version of the Milky Way is told with 8 other folk stories.