People involved hope that the picture books will offer opportunities for children in Vietnam to develop an interest in books and will help nurture their imagination.

Translated works are scheduled for release two more times this year, while next year, one or two books will be published monthly.

This time, three books from Tokyo-based Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers Inc. were published, including "Karada no Minasan" (What Every Part of Your Body

Said).

Le Thi Thu Hien, 39, director of a Hanoi-based advertising and editing company that handled translation, explained that the books were translated in a simple style. She expressed hope that many children will pick them up.

On Japanese picture books, Hien said the drawings are beautiful. She added that many books have animals and plants as their main characters and that the contents are intriguing.

With like-minded people, Hien holds a gathering to read picture books to children twice a month in Hanoi from three years ago.

She said that talks about the publications crystallized after words of encouragement from the Japanese Empress Michiko during her visit to Vietnam with Emperor Akihito in March. (Jiji Press)