ABOUT
LITTLE NANA COOKS
THE FULL STORY
Hi! My name is Tina Meetran and I am a Laotian - American woman, daughter of immigrants, community advocate, children's book author,
and visual artist.
I worked in the non-profit field for over 8 years and a few years ago, I found myself wanting to lean into my creative side. As an artist, I never thought I'd find myself in the world of children's books.
SO, how did I get here?
As I get older, I'm learning and noticing that my generation is drifting farther and farther away from our cultural roots. I see children who can't speak the same language as their grandparents. I see adults that don't know how to speak their parent's native language. I see people who don't know how to cook their cultural dishes (me) - dishes they grew up eating. I see people who don't know the significance of their cultural traditions (also me). And I think to myself.... what a sad thing.
We all come from a lineage of knowledge, strength, culture, and tradition that make us who we are today. And yet we are slowly becoming disconnected from those roots. We are losing the things that tie us to our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. especially our younger generation - our current babies and kids. Because to this day, the children's book industry is still lacking diversity. Especially for the Southeast Asian community.
My mission is to celebrate and preserve diverse cultures through storytelling, food, and fun!
Not only so that each and every child feels seen, heard, and represented in children's books, but also so that they feel proud of their cultural roots.
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And I'm starting here at home, in my own community. And I'm starting with something we all love - FOOD. I grew up in a small neighborhood in Providence, RI where I was always surrounded by different cultures, ethnicities, and foods. My own home was filled with the spicy, sweet, fishy, or minty smells of whatever my mom was cooking in the kitchen. And what I learned growing up was - food always brought people together.
Food represented joy, abundance, culture, love, and care.
Little Nana Cooks represents just that. So here's to my Lao, Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Hmong community who continue to express love and care even during those times we felt invisible.
LET'S WORK TOGETHER
We are always excited about new connections and building our community.
Get in touch to start working with us!
