The Thunder Bolt

At Concordia, we encourage our students to follow their passions and work hard to achieve their goals. One of our seniors did just this and her efforts made a big difference to others.

When Emma learned that her little brother was afraid of the dark, she was inspired to write her book called, Be Monster. “I wanted to do something to help my brother and other kids,” Emma said. 

Published in October 2021, Be Monster tells the story of a monster who is unique and different from everyone else. The main theme of the book is Be Unique, Be Me. It has many lessons for young readers including the importance of playing safely in the house and being proud of our bodies. It took Emma six to seven months to write and illustrate Be Monster including going through five drafts. She thought writing for kids would be easy but it was actually challenging to write in a way that would appeal and make sense to young readers. She did not give up and kept trying until she overcame the challenges with lots of hard work and support from her mother and other adults in her life.

There are four thousand copies of Be Monster currently in print: two thousand copies in Vietnamese and two thousand copies in English. Since publication, Emma has raised over 32 million VND from the sales of her books, all of which have been donated to support children in Ho Chi Minh City who lost their parents due to COVID-19. She has also donated many copies of her book to Operation Smile, several kindergartens in Hanoi and to our own library at Concordia. Her books are available for purchase on Shopee and Tiki. All proceeds from the sales of her book will be donated to charity.