STILLWATER, Minnesota — Vanessa Lee Christensen has always loved to travel. Growing up with an American father and a Taiwanese mother, she was used to traveling across the world.
"I actually grew up in Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and travel has just always been a very significant part of my life. I worked in the travel industry for a little bit and when I graduated college, I studied abroad in China. I also worked for a couple of years in education in Japan," Christensen said. "So travel has just always been a passion. I feel like travel is education. I value education in the classroom but I also know that there's a great deal of education that happens outside the classroom."
Christensen — a mother to three kids who now lives in Stillwater with her family — remembers reading board books with her kids while traveling.
"I have a background in education," Christensen said. "I thought it'd be really neat to have a board book that taught a little bit about travel and got little ones excited about travel."
Christensen had never published a book before. She started researching publishing companies and came across Gloo Books. Karen Chan founded the independent children's book publishing company in 2021 with the idea of making books that more accurately reflect the world around us.
"I felt like they really celebrated diversity in a very authentic and genuine way," Christensen said.
Christensen teamed up with illustrator Audrey Lee to release the Baby Go! board book series this past November.
The series explores culture, language, and more throughout Asia. Currently, there are four books featuring China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. According to Gloo Books, "With most travel series for young readers focusing on Europe and North America, the first four books in the Baby Go! series expands beyond these limitations, recognizing the need for more stories focusing on—and the cultural significance of—Asia.
"We explore early education concepts like numbers, colors, sensory experiences, and language. And these are things that readers can experience through travel," Christensen said.
Since the books launched last year, "It's been so exciting," Christensen said. "I was reading my books with my kids just yesterday and just to hear my little preschooler counting in a different language, or greeting in a different language, and just really enjoying the illustrations and the pictures... it's just incredible."
Christensen said there are plans to expand the Baby Go! series to feature more countries.
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