The Mid-Autumn Festival arrives, the moon looks dramatic, and suddenly the urge hits: you want to step outside looking like Chang’e descended from the lunar palace for one night only.

A woman rises to the moon. A white rabbit pounds medicine beside her. Far below, families lift their faces to the night sky and share round cakes under the brightest full moon of autumn.

A single full moon can carry a surprising amount of memory. For families across China and many communities around the world, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a night of reunion, mooncakes, lanterns, and old stories told in soft light.

A good picture book can do what a vocabulary list rarely can. It gives children a reason to care about the language.

A good story can make a new language feel less like homework and more like a door opening. For children, Chinese stories offer that door through animals that talk, brave travelers, clever children, moon festivals, dragons, riddles, poems, and family moments that feel warm and familiar.

We are grateful to share that CISI, the Carnegie International Student Institute, has donated $2,000 to support our Mother Tongue Program.

Our storytime at CLP-Squirrel Hill on Sep12th was a big hit. We welcomede 32 families and everyone left with big smile and looking forward to our next event!