One of the most successful books in Vietnam’s publishing history, “Cho Toi Xin Mot Ve Di Tuoi Tho” (A Ticket Back to Childhood, Please) by famous author Nguyen Nhat Anh, has hit shelves in Japan.

Writer Nguyen Nhat Anh (Photo: tuoitre.vn)

The book, translated into Japanese by Hiromi Ito and Sakae Kato, was published by the Daido Life Foundation. The publisher has also released the Japanese versions of “Mat Biec” (Blue Eyes) and “Toi Thay Hoa Vang Tren Co Xanh” (I See Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass) by Anh.

Anh is introduced by the Daido Life Foundation as one of Vietnam’s best-selling writers. The release of “Cho Toi Xin Mot Ve Di Tuoi Tho” in Japanese is expected to enhance mutual understanding between Vietnam and Japan and bring the two countries closer to each other, it said.

The book was also translated into English, Korean, Thai, and Braille for use at schools for the blind in Vietnam.

Anh, who lives in HCM City, began writing in 1984 and is known for his simple style and insights about children.

He is one of the city’s few authors who write for children, and has penned many contemporary classics, including Kinh Van Hoa (Kaleidoscope) and Thang Quy Nho (The Mischievous Boy), which are favourites of thousands of children and teenagers around the country.

In 2007, Anh’s “Cho Toi Xin Mot Ve Di Tuoi Tho” sold more than 20,000 copies in the first weeks of its release. The book is about a city boy named Mui and his three friends. In 2010, it received the Southeast Asian Writers Award from Thailand’s royal family.