Vietnam for Kids

Vietnam is a country of contrasts, where rolling green hills abut teeming, crowded cities, and cellular phones share technological utility honors with oxen-drawn plows. Divided into short sections covering a plethora of topics, including weather, food, language, music, history, games, geography, and the economy, filmmaker Elmer Hawkes' Vietnam for Kids combines simple, clear narration with a wide variety of arresting visuals to draw a sensitive, fascinating portrait of this Asian nation. Although the program occasionally meanders, it also skillfully distills potentially complex topics for the young target audience without generalization or oversimplification, while also paying extra attention to the daily lives and activities of Vietnamese children. In one poignant interview, a small girl selling postcards on the street explains that her family is too poor to send her to school, but she has nevertheless taught herself English from being around tourists. It's unscripted moments such as this that give this program its sense of immediacy, of being in a real country with real people, rather than just showing us stock footage of a faraway place. Other titles in the Worlds Together for Kids series are: Peru, East Africa, and West Africa. Recommended. Aud: E, P. (E. Gieschen)