News, thoughts and play inspirations

The recent traumatizing events have profound effect on the Asian American community and prompted many parents, especially Asian parents, to think about how they talk about race and racism to children. As an Asian parent raising multi-racial children in the US, I too was shaken and bewildered by this event and how, if at all, to talk to my kids about it in relation to their identity.  I am sharing here the resources on racial education that I have accumulated in the hope that it will give guidance and support to process and talk to your children about this issue. My thoughts...

  Facilitating cultural exploration is a big part of our mission - as we continue to expand our collection of quiet books that reflect different countries and cultures.  This spring break, we hosted a FREE virtual Mandarin storytime with My Ms Panda to take little children to an adventure exploring China!  During this fun-packed virtual playgroup session, Ms Ana took children to China and explore the country, traditions and foods- combining Mandarin learning with cultural explorations through songs, stories (with illustrations of quiet books and felt puppets), nursary rhymes, and interactive games! Ms Ana used Little Bean's Toy Chest's quiet book "Exploring...

Hello friends, it's that time of the year again for the traditional celebration of the Chinese New Year!  While there are less noisy festivities out on the street this year, let's keep the celebrations going in our household by engaging the kids in some fun activities.  Here are some resources for you to keep your kids busy while celebrating the themes of this holiday and the country it originated from - CHINA. They are both taken from the book EXPLORING CHINA - in our "Countries and Cities" collection, and they are super useful if your little ones are learning Mandarin!  1- CHINESE NEW...

The Christmas season is joyous, but when it comest to children, finding a suitable gift idea for toddlers can also be a source of significant stress and deliberation. In 2020, it is not enough to walk down a random Target toy aisle, pick up a colorful toy set and consider your shopping trip complete. Especially if it matters to you that your gift to a toddler is treasured, it would be upsetting to learn that your gift may be played with for a very short time before collecting dust on the shelf. Even worse, if you discover that the toy you’ve gifted is deemed unsuitable by their parents, and is binned, donated or recycled the minute you walk out the door.

HAPPY MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL! Here in Hong Kong as well as many other countries in Asia,  Mid Autumn festival is the most special time for the little ones! From a feast to the eyes with lanterns adorning the malls, apartments and street, to the party of the taste bud with so many delicious mooncakes 🥮 , and the wild flights of the imaginations hearing about all the magical tales surrounding the full moon 🌕 💫 The Mid Autumn Festival as featured in our I ❤️ HONG KONG quiet book We feature the Mid Autumn festival in our quiet books about China...