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Reading Inspires is Reading Is Fundamental’s new podcast celebrating the power of books and the joy of reading. Each episode invites educators, librarians, families, authors, illustrators, and all who champion children’s literacy to explore one big question: What does reading inspire for you? Through engaging conversations and storytelling, Reading Inspires bridges the gap between research and real-world practice—showing what literacy looks and feels like in classrooms, libraries, and homes. Grounded in evidence yet open-ended in approach, this is a space for curiosity and connection. Whether you’re an educator seeking fresh ideas, a parent hoping to spark a love of reading, or simply a lifelong bookworm, you’ll find inspiration, practical insights, and stories that remind us all why reading matters—and how it changes lives.
Welcome to Reading Inspires by Reading Is Fundamental.
I'm your host, Dr. Erin Bailey.
This podcast celebrates the power of books and the joy of reading.
In each episode, we talk with educators, librarians, families, authors, and literacy champions to explore one big question: What does reading inspire for you?
Through stories, research, and real-world experiences from classrooms, libraries, and homes, we explore what literacy looks like and why it matters.
Whether you're nurturing young readers, shaping learning spaces, or simply love a good book, we're glad you're here.
Be sure to subscribe to get the latest episode.
Let's get inspired.
Erin Bailey: Welcome everyone.
It is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and to celebrate with us is Maya Le, the creator of My Story Book.
Welcome, Maya.
Maya Le: Thank you so much for having me.
I am very excited to be here and talk all things books with all of you.
Erin Bailey: Wonderful.
Maya has been a great friend and supporter of Reading is Fundamental, so happy to be here.
I'd love for you to start with just sharing with our listeners your personal journey, your cultural background, and how your identity has shaped your pathway to founding My Story Book
Maya Le: Yes, so, great question to start with.
I... So my own cultural background, I'll start with that.
So I am half Vietnamese, half Filipino, and my parents both immigrated to the US as children.
My mom came during the Vietnam War, and my dad came when he was younger as well.
And so I was born in California.
And growing up, just in terms of, like, books I was reading, I can remember my favorite book was, like this one about this little girl going grocery shopping for, like, 10 items or less, and this little white girl just at the grocery store.
For some reason, that book really stuck with me.
But I mean, those are the kinds of stories.
We had, like, Goodnight Moon.
I remember, like, those, you know, cl- traditional classics that you had.
But other than that, like, nothing really stood out to me.
I remember we did have, like, one Vietnamese book, but all the ones that we had were, like English books just translated into Vietnamese, so it was about this, like, still, like, white princess.
She was, like, Princess Smarty Pants.
It was, like, a very feminist story, just, like, you know, the representation of Asian representation wasn't there.
But I do remember that one And I started becoming interested in education in general when I was an undergrad.
I went to Scripps College, and I worked for Jumpstart, which is like an AmeriCorps program where you go into preschools, and you do reading and literacy activities with them.
And they taught us a lot about doing shared reading and interactive read-alouds and how to get kids engaged in stories rather than just, like, sitting and listening quietly.
Like, how to get them moving and talking and acting out and engaging in conversation throughout the book.
And a lot of their book selections were purposefully trying to be very representative of the population that they were serving.
So I made note of that and appreciated that.
And after undergrad, I actually went to get my master's of education at UCSD.
And the summer before I started that, I wanted to start a YouTube channel where I could create interactive read-alouds and kind of give parents and educators an example of how to do an interactive reading.
'Cause a lot of, like, the videos that I'd seen on YouTube were like, you know, they'd flip through the pages, and they'd just read straight through the story.
So the kid's just kind of sitting there listening.
And I wanted to be like, "Hey, here's a way to, you know, get kids talking and connecting and moving and active throughout the whole reading to really get the most out of it."
And when I started, I was very mindful of wanting to, you know, share stories that a lot of kids could connect to, but then also that were representative of a lot of children.
And that's kind of where my Instagram kind of came into play as well.
I w- started sharing collections of books that were relevant to, like, different holidays and then cultural things happening throughout the throughout the calendar year.
And from there, it kind of took off where I then kind of segued way into really focusing on diverse and inclusive stories, 'cause that's where I saw, you know, this is representation that is lacking.
I started this maybe back in around, I want to say, like, 20, 2018 maybe.
And so since then I've already seen, like, an increase in progress in, like, diverse stories.
There's been more own voices and more representation available.
Of course, we could always use more.
Like, the most recent statistics I'd seen, particularly for Asian American representation as, like, main characters in children's books, was around, like, nine percent, which is still less than, like, animal representation in picture books.
So, that's something I definitely want to see an increase of.
Also, just a side notice, well, or no, also Pacific Islander representation I think is still very low, like three percent even.
So that is also one that we still need an increase in.
So I do make it an intention to want to, if I can find books like that, to share them and make them more widespread so teachers and educators and parents can all have access to those.
And with my storybook, especially on Instagram since I've kind of focused on those diverse collections, that's really led how I want to
create my content in curating lists where every child can see their ... My goal is to have every child be able to see themselves in a story.
But also, I think it's important for other kids to also be able to see other kids as heroes of the story.
Like, not just themselves.
So it's not just for the kids to see their own representation, but for other kids to see other children being the stars, and the heroes, and the heroines, and seeing that, you know, everyone can have that role and everyone's important.
Erin Bailey: Yeah, I love that.
I see the intersection of our work so strongly, Maya, because Reading Is Fundamental, we're all about shared reading and read-alouds too, and we do have a AAPI Heritage Month collection, which I'll be sure to link in the show notes as well.
But you started in 2018, and I heard you say you've seen an increase in representation, particularly for main characters since then.
What are some of your favorite books that you're loving right now?
Maya Le: Well, some that have ... So I've looked a lot into Vietnamese children's books because that is my own cultural background.
Filipino as well, but something that has been cool to see is that instead of just, like, these one-off books, I have seen, like, these
Vietnamese authors really starting to take off in their careers, for children- children's books authors, which I hadn't seen before.
So, like, one is, like, Ha Dinh, who has published, like, maybe three or four now.
So it's cool to see, like, you know, there's that want and need for it.
There is.
So, like, she is able to publish multiple.
So now I see these authors who are, like, now kind of, like, pul- publishing multiple books, which is really cool.
Because before, like, when I was a child and even, like, when I first started, like, the ... she wasn't writing books, right?
There weren't, like, these consistent Asian American authors that were putting out stories and getting, you know, renewals, and more publications, and contracts.
So that has been really exciting to see.
She did one recently, like The Jade Bracelet.
She also just started a chapter book series, but back to The Jade Bracelet.
It's really cute.
So they're just, like, cultural stories.
You know that what I appreciate about all these stories with different and diverse representation is, you know, like, the lessons and themes within them can be applicable to stu- all children regardless of, you know, like, their race or ethnicity.
So this one's just, like, this little girl.
She ... In Vietnamese culture, like, they have these jade bracelets that are really special and meaningful.
And this little girl goes to school, and she sees all her friends with, like, charm bracelets.
And she wants a charm bracelet, not a jade bracelet.
But then her mom teaches her the significance of the jade bracelet, and she becomes more proud to wear it.
So just, like, these themes of, you know, like, identity, and family culture, and things, you know, that can carry across to different children regardless of, like, different scenarios and cultural scenarios.
So stories like that have been really nice to see.
There's a lot of ... There's been, like, more refugee stories, which I think are really important to be sharing that history, too.
In terms of, like, Vietnamese especially, like, there's been some recent ones about the Vietnamese boat people.
And I also think, you know, having a picture book to share that history that- Older generations are real- find difficult to share is a great way to be able to share those with the younger
generations and have them know that history especially if it's something hard that they might not be able to hear from their own grownups and adults who have a hard time talking about it.
This is a great way to, like, share that history and continue on.
Other ones that have been fun recently there's like a whole new wave of new ones coming out.
There's one that's called Gui the Hungry Ghost, and it's about this Chinese festival where the ghosts come out for one or a couple nights a year and can go and roam the human world.
And reminds me of a crossover between Spirited Away because then this spirit goes and, like, eats all the food from the food stalls, and learns about sharing with this other little tiny ghost and how much more fun it is to share food.
So just really cute representation, things like that, like connecting folktales and cultural representation just to make like a fun story that represents different children and different ethnicities.
Erin Bailey: I love it.
I'm gonna have to include all of those in our collection as well so we have the crossover there.
You talk a lot about building a love of reading early.
Why do you think it's so important for children to see themselves represented in books to be able to connect and grow in their love of reading?
Maya Le: Of course.
So I do think that, you know, when you can see yourself in a story, that does strengthen that connection.
I think back to when I was younger, and sure, I mean, I grew up with a love of books and went to the library all the time.
And so, I mean, I just try to imagine, you know, like if I had seen a book with like someone who had some of my same f- family traditions and cultures and stuff, like what difference could that have made?
Like, you know, I still love reading, but just like being able to see that and feel validated and be like, "Oh, you know, I do that too," or like, "Someone else does that too.
You know, it's not just my family." Like, especially if you're like in the minority and you don't often see or hear about your cultural traditions or like family
things or like even language that you speak at home out amongst your peers and stuff, then you can kind of feel like, oh, I'm a little bit different, you know?
I do... food is always like one that gets brought up a lot because I did have that experience in school too where like someone would like just
like, they didn't necessarily making fun of what I was eating, but they did make like a, "Hey, this is different," and so it made me feel different.
So, you know.
Now there are picture books about like, oh, either addressing food and not...
either addressing like, oh, being teased about food and feeling proud of it, but also just like honoring and celebrating different foods without even addressing like the teasing aspect, just so that kids like have that sense of like pride in who they are.
And having that representation in media again, I think it's important just for like mirroring your own experiences and knowing like, hey I'm not so different,
or if I am different, you know, it's unique and it's something great to be celebrated, not something to be like feel ashamed of or weird about, you know?
So I think that can really help with building that.
And then also, you know, again, with building that connection to reading and wanting to read a story, like feeling like, oh, I can relate to this even
more, and you know, it kind of inspires them to want to keep reading and keep seeing, finding those connections and having that feeling of being seen.
Erin Bailey: Yeah, I love that.
I love the food example 'cause I'm a foodie, and my daughter and I happen to be huge fans of Vietnamese food, so we're with you.
But I think to that point it's great too, and you brought this up for not just seeing your own representation, but maybe for seeing friends from your class
represented, or maybe it's a culture that you-- that is not at the school that you go to and that's your first time experiencing that culture is through a book.
Can you share a little bit about why we, you know, typically t- talk about this as windows and mirrors, sliding glass doors.
Like, why is it also important to have these windows into other experiences?
Maya Le: think, especially if we take into context like our current political climate even, it's like stories about different cultures and experiences can build empathy.
They build understanding.
They build being respectful of other people who are different than you.
They build understanding of like different traditions, understanding like why families make different decisions or why they do different things, why other kids and peers make different decisions and do different things.
And you know, can really, in the grand scheme of things, it like really brings down that judgment level of like, oh, or us making assumptions about someone else or like judgments about someone else.
When you can, you know, read about and learn about a different cultural experience or a different I think of like refugee experiences or like now like immigrant experiences.
There's books on like why families, you know, cross the border and need to move to somewhere else or maybe, and do it in different ways.
Like they really bring up like all the reasons behind and can give a window and an insight into why these-- why, how different life situations can affect different people and different families.
But overall, I do think the main thing is building that understanding and building that empathy and then building... Helping kids find a way to connect to the
world around them and the community that they're growing up in because, you know, they live in a world that is mixed with a whole bunch of different people.
Like they'll go out and they'll meet different people.
They're not gonna just be... I mean, people can find a way to just stay within their own bubble.
But out in the grand world, like there's all these different people that they need to learn to be able to communicate and interact with and
be, Be a social person who's aware of what their community makeup is like, and a person who can navigate that with care and with respect.
And I think picture books can really help start that at a young age.
Just exposing kids to different, not even different ethnicities, but different abilities, neurodivergence, all those different different ways that humans exist, and just giving them an insight into those experiences and understanding.
Erin Bailey: Yeah, absolutely.
It's a great way to open up a conversation and a dialogue, which I think we need more of these days.
And I was thinking about what you shared about, you know, maybe a character that has a different lunch, you know, their family sent them with a different lunch than everyone else.
Your lunch doesn't have to look exactly like the character in that book, but you might relate to just that experience.
So sometimes relevancy is just having an, a common experience than maybe a common background.
Maya Le: Yeah, like we were chatting about before, like it's, These books have like these themes and ideas that can really be accessible to like all kids and applicable to all children.
So I know some people might be like, "Well, why would I read that picture book about this like Asian tradition," right?
"I'm not Asian.
Like my kid, we're not gonna do this tradition." But they have like themes and messages that can cross yeah, those cross different ethnicities and races and different experiences like you mentioned.
Like maybe my food's not like pho, but it could be like something different.
And like, hey, I've also experienced that.
I can relate to that.
So that's also a reason for why you should read like these different stories to classes.
Even if you don't have Asian kids in your class, you can still read these stories because the lessons are applicable, but also just gives kids, right, that insight into different cultural traditions of people that are existing in the world that they live into.
Erin Bailey: Yeah, absolutely.
I'm thinking of one book in particular.
I'll link it below too.
It's... I just love it.
It's called How We Say I Love You.
And kinda the message of the story is that all families love each other, but different families, different tr- have different cultures, and they may express their love in different ways.
It may not just be through saying the words I love you.
It might be through you know, cooking a special meal together or serving the elders in your family food before the other people in your family.
Just, like, customs like that.
Maya Le: Yeah.
Yeah, no, I love that one too.
There's like, yeah, so a Vietnamese version where this little girl like also talks to like these different kids who are from all these different cultural backgrounds, and they all share like the different ways that their families say, "I
love you." I had recently done a post about like picture books to like counter Asian stereotypes, and one of them was that, you know, like addressing like, oh, like the tiger parent who doesn't say I love you at all, but just, you know,
helping to show like there are many different ways to show love and- For a lot of kids that can resonate and help them also realize, you know, like, hey, I am surrounded by love in all these different ways, and that's a really cool thing.
Erin Bailey: It's very powerful.
So my storybook integrates reading with activities and discussions, and you mentioned this before.
You know, you started out YouTube kinda modeling this.
How d- how can families use stories this month, Asian American Pacific Islander Month and beyond, to spark a deeper conversation about culture, identity, and belonging?
Maya Le: Yeah, I think, you know, just sharing these stories with these different perspectives and different traditions and values not just as you mentioned in this month, but all year long is one way to, you
know, start those conversations with kids either about, like, their own family traditions and cultures and get them excited about it, or just teaching kids about different cultures and perspectives as well.
So I think, you know, integrating these stories into story time throughout the year and not just making it like a, oh, I only read these during Asian American Pacific Heritage Month or only during, like, oh, Lunar New Year's coming up.
Let's, like, read all the Asian stories, you know?
I think being intentional about curating, like, reading lists throughout your week and your story times that represent different ethnicities and
cultures, it can be really powerful into helping your kids and your students and families see different representation throughout their weeks.
Ways to integrate it, you know, it's like I share some interactive read-alouds on YouTube.
I try to focus a lot on diverse and inclusive read-alouds u-using... reading a story and then trying to expand beyond it.
You know, if we take, like, the lunch food example, like, that is one.
Like, okay, we read a story about this.
Maybe you do, like, a food sampling of different foods and just try or, like, have people bring in, like, a very special family dish and share.
So there's also ways, you know, to bring that story out beyond just the book.
The jade bracelet one I mentioned earlier, like, maybe having kids share about a very special family, like, heirloom or, like, a special object that's relevant to, like, their family or culture and bring that in to share.
So there's ways to take these lessons and move it beyond the story and to get kids to share their own version of it, and then also their own connection to it from whichever culture they are.
But then you know, like, the time factor is like, oh, we learned about this.
We read this story with this rep- with this representation, and now we can use that to expand and share our own representation and share our own story
Erin Bailey: Yeah, I think it's such an important point.
Like, you can just start by simply integrating the books into your library, right?
I mean, you can do both, to your point.
You can have a special collection.
I know I'm one of those moms that organizes my books by holidays, so I might bring out the Lunar New Year's book around that time of year.
But then I also have my regular everyday bookshelf, and that's where you would just sprinkle in b- a lot of different books with all different kinds of representation, all different characters, families, stories, and just read them all year long
Maya Le: Yeah.
Erin Bailey: Okay.
So for parents and educators who want to uplift AAPI and other diverse voices and raise inclusive, curious readers, what are a few practical takeaways that they can do to diversify their bookshelves the way...
You know, I gave an example of one.
What are some other ways they might do that?
Maya Le: Yeah, I think it is important for us to be first aware of like what books you are even sharing and what you have in your own library.
Like, I always when teachers and people sometimes reach out, I've worked with different groups of educators to do kind of like an inventory over base of like books of libraries and like what would I recommend.
And it always starts with, okay, you know, you have to be knowledgeable and know like what do you actually have then, you know?
And I think once you take inventory and note of like, and actually going through and saying, "Okay, these are the books and the representation that I do have," you can kind of notice and see what is missing, what do I need more of.
I think it really does start there and just kind of being like honestly seeing like what representation I do have and then what am I missing, and trying to fill in those gaps.
Like you mentioned, like, a great way is like if you're in a classroom or if you're at home and you have just like a bookshelf that kids can just like pull the books off that
isn't like necessarily curated specifically for certain things, then just making sure there's like a constant rotation of like of different representation available in it.
So like you go to the library, let's pick out, you know, books from like different-- that have different representation.
You ask your librarian.
They are so, so super helpful, and to help you curate like a mixed bundle of books.
Like they would love that, and that's easy.
Like you don't even have to do the research yourself necessarily.
They have all that knowledge for you, and they can work with you to do that.
So that is a great way for parents also who might feel like, "Oh my gosh, I don't even know like how to find all these books." Like librarian is super helpful.
I, of course, also curate a bunch of lists through my Instagram and Substack and everything that are always accessible that you can find there of like different representation.
But I think like you mentioned, just having them out and available for students to just grab on a daily basis or your kids to grab on a daily basis noticing ... And it does,
I do think, not that you don't have to do any research, like you can ask a librarian, but of course, like that starts with you knowing what you have and what you don't.
So, and then also researching, okay, like I'm missing Asian representation.
Like, in a recent post I did, it's like Asian American covers a whole bunch of different countries and representations.
Like it's, you know, people know the main, China, Viet- Japan, Korea.
But there's, you know, there's like Malaysia.
There is like Tibet.
There are there's Burma.
There's all these other smaller countries, or not even smaller, but just like li- even have even lesser representation that it is kind of hard to find books for them because I
do note in my post too, there's also a handful of countries that I have not even been able to find a picture book for 'cause of that I- representation doesn't even exist yet.
At least not even in a broadly public sense or sphere, a publishing sphere.
And so just thinking about that too when you're thinking about representation is like a representation.
There is like that overarching umbrella, but there's also like all those individual in ethnic groups within like a large race, right?
That it's important to note about that and make sure you're aware of that as well.
Especially if you're a teacher too, I think even just starting with like your class population, you know, look at who your kids are, their ethnicities,
their abilities, their in their abilities and neurodivergence or ethnicities and just do you have a book in there, you know, that represents that child?
Like, is there a story that is on your shelves or that you've read during story time where that child can feel seen or represent- res- represented?
So taking note of who your population is, student population is, what you have in your library and kind of like cross-referencing that and just making sure.
So that's like a place I would start.
Especially like, you know, it's hard to cover everything.
Like you and I, it's like there's a vast amount of things that you could cover in terms of representation.
But if I was a teacher, I'd just first start with your own class and just make sure there's something that every kid could connect to, and maybe n- in more than one title, you know, right?
People don't ... People can't just read the same book over ... They can.
I am all for reading the same book over and over again.
But multiple titles for each kid to feel themselves seen in like different ways and different representations.
Erin Bailey: I appreciate that so much because you're right.
Like, AAPI it, it's a very large umbrella, right?
So I think that's such great advice of starting with your own class and seeing who's in your class.
I'll never forget, 'cause I did teach in Hong Kong at an international school, and it was a very diverse group of kids, but of course predominantly Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, but also mainland China.
And I'll never forget this little boy just turned around one day and, like, to your point of Ma- of Malaysia, he goes, "I am from Malaysia.
I came here and had to learn this language." And it was like he was just making such a point of like, "I might look similar to everyone in this class, but I do in fact, like, have a unique identity."
And oh, it was just so... The- I taught kindergarten, so it was just so sweet and I absolutely loved this little boy, Ian.
But yeah.
Thank you so much for sharing that.
I always end by asking guests what does reading inspire for you?
Maya Le: Yeah.
So in terms of like the work I do and reading, for me, reading really is a way to raise like this new generation of empathetic kids and
kids who are understanding justice seekers, kids who, you know, wanna advocate for each other and advocate for what they believe in.
It... to me, like reading is this gateway to kind of building that future that we want to see and for inspiring the young children in our youth, which I think is very powerful and an incredible opportunity to have, to maybe to be able to share
a story with a child and know like these lessons, like social emotional lessons, all these different things are getting imparted to them and can influence how they grow up and how they interact with the world and other people around them.
So that is really inspirational to me in terms of my work and like sharing reading.
Personally, for me reading just brings me so much joy.
It's so much fun to just like sit down and read a book and like get lost in it and like, it really does also... You know, I was thinking about this question.
Like in the books I read, it does influence like my outlook on the world.
Like if I'm reading like a really fun like rom-com book say or something, then it's like I feel like really happy and just like wanna have fun and go like, "Hey let's go out and do something fun." You know?
It's like reading inspires like all these emotions and joys and can really...
it really does... can set a filter on how you perceive the world around you.
So I think like being intentional about what you're reading can really inspire you to inspire how you interact and engage with the world around you, which is really a powerful thing.
Erin Bailey: Yeah, absolutely.
Well, thank you so much, Maya.
It was wonderful having you.
And be sure to check out the show notes, everyone, so you can get all the great resources from Maya.
Maya Le: Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me, and I... yes, I loved sharing all of this.
And of course, feel free to reach out.
I'm sure my contact information will be shared, and I'd love to hear from any of you.
If you have questions about books or need a specific book rec or representation, then I'd always love to help out.
Thank you for listening to Reading Inspires by Reading Is Fundamental.
I hope today's conversation sparked new ideas, meaningful connections, and a renewed love of reading.
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, share it with a fellow literacy champion, and join us next time as we continue exploring what reading inspires