Water Buffalo Days: Growing Up in Vietnam – The True Story of Tank and His Boy in the Jungle for Children

by Huynh Quang Nhuong, Jean & Mou-Sien Tseng (Illustrations)

As a young boy growing up in the hills of central Vietnam, Nhuong’s companion was Tank, the family water buffalo. When bullies harassed Nhuong, Tank sent them packing. When a wild tiger threatened the entire village, Tank defeated it. He led the herd and adopted a lonely puppy. Tank was Nhuong’s best friend.

Nhuong gives readers a glimpse of himself when he was their age, and tells a thrilling story of how he and Tank together faced the dangers of life in the Vietnamese jungle which was their home.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle Grade, Asia, Childrens, Biography, Geography

117 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1997

About the author

Huynh earned his degree in chemistry from Saigon University in 1962. After the outbreak of the Vietnam War, Huynh was drafted into the South Vietnamese army, where he reached the rank of first lieutenant, and received a gold and a silver medal. Huynh was shot and paralyzed during the war, resulting in his trip to the United States in 1963 for physical therapy.

Huynh decided to stay in the United States, and earned an M.A. in Comparative Literature in 1971 from Long Island University, and in 1973 he earned an M.A. in French from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.

His writing career began when his book The Land I Lost was published in 1982. The book received the ALA Notable Children's Book award, the ALA Booklist Editors' Choice award, the Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, the Library of Congress Children's Books award, the William Allen White Children's Book Award, the Friends of American Writers Award, and the Blue Cobra Award.

In the early 1990s Huynh also had some success as a playwright, and in 1990 he was awarded a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1997, Huynh published his second book, Water Buffalo Days. He was the first Vietnamese to write fiction and non-fiction in English.

Reviews

[Rossy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was based on the true story. It happened in Vietnam and the main characters are a boy, the buffaloe which named Water Jug and the young buffaloe. The water jug died and a boy family bought another young buffaloe but at first, the boy was not friended with the young buffaloe. Then they become closer. It is sad and also interesting story.

[JKR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of this book are also narrated in The Land I Lost (which I highly recommend), but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it also stands well on its own. As with The Land I Lost, there is death and some cruelty to animals in the book, but it all rings true and lends authenticity to the story and its background.

[Deborah Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this taste of Vietnam. This is a children's book - upper elementary or middle school and is therefore a little juvenile. I used to say I hated non-fiction, including biographies. But this has aided in changing my mind, and I am finding I enjoy memoirs and biographies written in story form. It reads like a novel, and yet I learned something about being a child in Vietnam. It is a cute story, and now I wish I could have had a water buffalo!

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great sequel to The Land I Lost, giving us more information about Tank. We all adored Tank and wished we could have a pet water buffalo. But a soul like Tank could never be satisfied living the easy life in our backyard. He was born to roam the hamlet and fight jungle predators.

The very last chapter touches on the Vietnam war. It opens the door for discussion about war and its unintended consequences.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dear book about a young boy and his bucolic life. I’ve never really read anything before about life in Vietnam outside of the war. Simple, but poignant.


***SPOILER***


“The war would take many more, many precious things from me and my family, but none would carry the staggering shock of losing Tank. How could future losses surprise me now that I know that a single misplaced bullet could destroy such a powerful creature, such a benevolent being, such a good friend?”

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

this might be the oddest book i've read this year. a water buffalo as a pet dog. this autobiography is about growing up in a village w/ a pet water buffalo. the creature was a working farm animal, a hero for saving people and a boy's best friend. now i want a water buffalo, they are clearly intelligent, kind and loyal.
don't know why i picked it up but now i hope some elementary teachers read it to their class.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my kids as part of their school and learning about other cultures. It is very approachable and broken into easy to read chapters.
The focus of this story was the Water buffalo, Tank, who was very different than any bull I have ever seen. My kids enjoyed the daily activities of the narrator and Tank.

[Bish Denham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bitter-sweet memoir of childhood in a Vietnamese village on the eve of the Viet Nam War. I love the author's relationship to the water buffalo, Tank. It was also a nice peek into how he and his family lived, the things they ate, the games the children played, the jobs they did.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read about Vietnamese village life. There is some discussion of how animals are cared for that made this city girl quail, but other than that, I think any elementary or middle school student would feel like they had a feeling for Vietnamese village life after reading this book.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read by Marshall, 10 years old* :
“It was good, but it was sad. I liked Tank the buffalo.”

Content considerations: A buffalo’s horns got dug into a ditch and when he tried to pull away it ripped the horns out. It bled while they tried to bandage it with shirts. He dies an hour later.

[LeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my 12-year-old for history. It was a sweet story and gave insight into rural life in Vietnam before the Vietnam War. The author's relationships with his farm animals is warm and touching.

[Esther May · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very moving story about a boy and his buffalo.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was fun to hear about this kid growing up in Vietnam - it was so different than my childhood. It was interesting and great!

[Sarah Bowling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great look at life in Vietnam through the eyes of a young boy who lived there.

CC: animal death (some might be hard for sensitive readers)

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet sad story of a boy and his buffalo.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Water Buffalo Days is a very cute, easy, and enjoyable read. I finished this short novel in one day, and it brightened my day. The story follows a young boy growing up in Vietnam and his adventures with his best friend, a water buffalo. Does that not sound like a cute story? Each chapter tells of a new adventure that they go on, which I find makes it very easy to read. This book was recommended to me by Ms. Krug because I wanted a quick, easy read. This book most definitely met those requirements. Although, I did give this book 4 stars, and not 5, because I was very disappointed by the last chapter. It was an all around cheerful story that ended on a sad note, the sad death of the water buffalo. I think that the author could've left that chapter out, ending the story on a light, happy note to match the rest. Nonetheless, I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a quick and easy read.

[Lukeb · Rating 4 out of 5]

water buffalo days is a definite success I sometimes forget that every single story is 100% true. My favorite story was the one when Tank had a baby and every time they would try to separate them Tank would go out to look for him and wouldn't return until he found him twice! So they ended up not giving the calf away. there were sad parts like when Tank had to battle Huricane but Huricane got his horns stuck in a rock and when he tried to take it out he acadentaly riped his horns out of his head and he lost so much blood out of his head and died that night. Over all I give this book an A+!!!

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was about a boy who grew up with a baby water buffalo and they had many outings together. The water buffalo got bigger and grew older and he fought lone wild hog and a tiger. In the end it's sad because the water buffalo the boy grew up with gets shot by a bullet that flew off course from the war that was happening and an hour later he passed on. The boy was going to go to greet his father in the rice fields and saw the footprints of the buffalo and it brought back memories.

The book was good on a scale of 1-10 it's a 10.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Water Buffalo Days is a charming book about the author's childhood in Vietnam and his best friend, a water buffalo. The story is simply and concretely told, making it an excellent exposure to rural Vietnam for children. Fun stories and vibrant images entice the reader to form an attachment to the village and it's lovely characters. A home school library favorite, we all highly recommended it for elementary reading.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating look at Vietnam, and how important water buffaloes were to the villagers' way of life. Some of the violence was a bit shocking, but the author was just telling it like it was. All of the dangers faced by the boy and his buffalo....snakes, crocodiles, tigers, wild boars....and the sad part is that a soldier's bullet is more dangerous than any natural foe.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

We really enjoyed the focus of this book specifically on the family's water buffalo. This book did not have the gruesome sections that the other did. It was a little less exciting, but better developed. The last chapter is beautifully written, but very sad and left my six year old daughter sobbing long after the book ended. This was such a fascinating glimpse into a different way of life.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely memoir of a boy and his water buffalo hero- tells of adventures with Tank in the days before the Vietnam war. Such a bittersweet and meaningful ending which parallels the loss of Tank to a time of many horrible and shocking losses in the Vietnamese countryside. Fourth and fifth grade mentor text for writing memoirs.

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

The information was fascinating, but the sense of story was lacking -- at least for me. I'm not sure I'd have made it very far as a kid unless I was *very* invested in learning about Vietnam and/or water buffalo. I did learn a lot, though!

[Lauren Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 6 year old son and I read this together and truly enjoyed the story. It transported us to a unique, simpler way of life and introduced us to interesting new people. I enjoyed reading a young child's chapter book with heart and intelligence.

[Lisbeth Solberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy's best friend is his water buffalo.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting life from 1940/1950's Vietnam.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tank, water buffalo: loyal friend and hero to a rural community in the tropics.

[Jill Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

My nephew said it was his favorite story, and I enjoyed the read.

[Tanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this little story since it allowed me an insight into a world unknown to me: life in Vietnam and the very special relationship between a young boy and his water buffalo.

[Nevada Libert · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really liked this book. about a boy and a buffalo this is a great book really easy read.