Meedee Books - Possibly the best Lao children's book publisher currently

There are a handful of Lao publishers of children's and kids books in Laos nowadays.  However, one of my favourites, and arguably the highest quality publisher currently, is Meedee Books based in Vientiane.

Please note this is not a paid ad.  I just love their books.  I wish these books existed when I was growing up. 

Why do I love them?  Simply put, the quality of their books are top of the line.  Let's start with the printing.  The pages are thick and the illustrations and drawings have deep rich colours.  The book covers often have raised or embossed pages that definitely make it feel more tactile.

What about the content, you might be wondering?  The character drawings are very cute, fun and sometimes whimsical.  The story lines are often educational (ex) in their themes but they also have some that are funny and comedic that are meant to invoke laughter and imagination (ex.)  

Why the hype around kids books?  The publishing industry in Laos is still small.  However, it has come a long way and definitely grown over the last 20 years.  But it's still not on par with its neighbours quite yet.

Before the 1980s, Lao children's books were virtually non-existent.  There were only school textbooks.  In fact, the few remaining children's books I could find appeared to be made from the Soviet Union with characters that had blond hair but where the writing was replaced with Lao language.  And perhaps there are others out there that I haven't seen yet.

Today, with the continued addition of more Lao publishers and these forward leaps in quality such as those made by Meedee, the literary environment becomes more enriched and deep.  And most importantly, all of this encourages more interest in reading from an early age.  Meedee, like other Lao publishers, also do school visits to introduce and share their books to young readers.

Understandably, with the higher quality that Meedee offers, their prices are a bit higher than others too (ex. their average cost is approx. 30,000 kip vs. 10,000 kip from other publishers).

Check out there online presence at the links below:
https://www.meedeebooks.com/
https://www.facebook.com/meedeebookspublishing/