Thanhha Lai facts for kids

Thanhha Lai (Vietnamese: Lai T. Thanh Hà; born January 1, 1965) is a Vietnamese-American writer. She is famous for writing books for young people.

In 2011, she won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. She also received a Newbery Honor for her first novel, Inside Out & Back Again. This book was published by HarperCollins.

About Thanhha Lai

Thanhha Lai was born in Saigon, which is now Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam. Her birthday is January 1, 1965. She has six older brothers.

When she was ten years old, her family had to leave Vietnam. This was during an event called the Fall of Saigon in 1975. They moved to Alabama in the United States.

Her Education and Career

Thanhha Lai went to the University of Texas at Austin. She earned a degree in journalism in 1988. After college, she worked for about two years at a newspaper called The Register in California. She wrote stories about the Vietnamese community there.

Later, she earned a special degree called a Master of Fine Arts from New York University. She then moved to New York City. Today, she teaches at Parsons The New School for Design. She lives in Croton-on-Hudson.

Her Book: Inside Out & Back Again

Inside Out & Back Again is a very popular book by Thanhha Lai. It tells a powerful story using a special kind of writing called "prose poems." These are like poems but they tell a story.

How the Book Was Written

Thanhha Lai worked on an adult novel for 30 years. But she found it hard to tell the story the way she wanted. She realized that writing from the point of view of a 10-year-old girl made the story much stronger. This helped her use "a few precise, pungent words" to show "real, raw emotions."

The Story of Hà

The book is about a fictional girl named Hà. She and her family have to leave their home and move to America. Hà finds it hard to get used to her new life in Alabama. She faces challenges with language, culture, and making new friends.

Hà sometimes feels like she would rather be in wartime Saigon than peaceful Alabama. This is because she felt smart and confident in Vietnam. In America, she felt like she was struggling. One part of the book says:

So this is

what dumb

feels like.

This shows how hard it was for her to adjust. But as the story goes on, Hà starts to feel more confident in school and with her friends.

Other Works

• Watermark: Vietnamese American poetry & prose. Asian American Writers' Workshop. 1998. — This is a collection of writings that includes some of Lai's work.
• Hundred Years of Happiness. HarperCollins. 2022.