Help my Aunt Hannah make a cool book for kids!

Hi, I'm Lynnette! I grew up in Michigan, the child of Chinese immigrants from the Philippines, and am now a mom to 8 and 10 years old kiddos, who my spouse and I are raising in Chicago. I often look for ways to connect my kids to our Chinese roots, especially being removed from our family's country of origin for so many generations.

Enter my amazing Aunt Hannah, who has written a children's short story collection based on traditional Chinese adages "cheng-yu," told through the lens of the cross-generational friendship between a Chinese immigrant grandma and her multi-racial/cultural American grandkids!

I am raising money so my aunt can pay for the cost of self-publishing as well as pay her illustrator for her work. I want to be able to share this beautiful project widely! Storytelling helps us find ways to discover the pieces of culture we've lost, and enables us to grow anew through learning from the richness of each others' cultures. I can't wait to share this book with my kids! Especially during a time when access to diverse stories and rich history is threatened throughout our country, this project feels extra important and meaningful. Please help us if you can!

Here is my aunt, Hannah Ong Haskell, sharing about her project "Drawing Snakes Adding Legs and other stories: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Children" in her own words...

"As a child, I devoured Chinese children's books: historical, legendary, or fanciful. My grandson asked me if I still have those books. Sadly, no. They are long gone. Is part of my heritage I connected with through the stories gone too?

As a first-generation Chinese born overseas, I feel closely connected to my roots. But that is no longer the case with the generation after me. How can I bridge the gap and connect my grandchildren, grandnephews, and grandnieces, in North America, to their Chinese roots? How can I keep their ancient heritage alive in their modern context?

Through stories!

It occured to me that I can introduce them to at least a small part of the Chinese tradition, culture and wisdom if I interject applicable Chinese idioms, wise sayings, and legends in modern stories they can read. With this objective in mind, I have written sixteen short stories for children. In each vignette, I introduce a Chinese proverb or adage (成语 cheng yu: traditional Chinese idiomatic expression that often alludes to a story or historical quotation), or a cultural tradition, and weave it into the life of a modern American-Chinese family. It is my hope that my grandchildren, grandnephews and grandnieces will enjoy these short stories and make connections with their heritage.

Because ancient wisdom is timeless, and stories are universal, it is also my hope that this collection of short stories will be of interest and delight to children from other cultures and traditions."

Note: Pictured above are a collage of photos of my Aunt Hannah, some with her kids when they were little (think the 80s), some with her grandkids and grandnephews/nieces, as well as photos of her grown-up kids with their kids/niece and nephew.