Venus the Global Child

About the Book

Venus, The Global Child: Family Nicknames is a book about a little girl named Venus who has a mixed heritage. Her father is Dutch-African and her mother is Chinese-Indonesian. She introduces her family members and the various nicknames she calls them. This book introduces children to the complexity of our lives in the 21^st Century era, the era of globalization. Venus is a multiracial child who is blessed with the opportunity to be born with various cultural backgrounds. Children will love Venus whether or not they come from single or multicultural backgrounds. This book will inspire children to appreciate their own heritage and understand their own identity and also teach them about the cultural heritage of others.

About the Author

Ailin Iwan was born and raised in Indonesia. She is a third generation Chinese. She immigrated to the United States after finishing her high-school. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California Berkeley in Architecture with double minors in Business and City Planning. Her first building design project was The Globe Cultural Mall (Fremont, California) which afforded her practical exposure to different cultures. Her interest in children and their education was sparked by her volunteering as a Sunday School teacher, and grew from working as an assistant teacher at a child care center. Ailin serves as an AmeriCorps member of Jumpstart, where she enjoys reading to children. Today, she is a graduate student at San Francisco State University pursuing a Master of Arts in Education with a concentration in Global Education. Venus, The Global Child: Nicknames is her first book. She wants to contribute to the field of education by teaching young children about different cultures and encouraging them to explore their own. Ailin plans to continue developing stories around Venus’ life to help children and teens understand what it means to be citizens of the world.

Cecilia Paplinskie has illustrated four children books. She loved illustrating this book in particular, as it is a subject that is very important to her. Even though bringing life to each character and illustrating them in a way in which the reader can relate closely to the characters was challenging, she truly enjoyed the project. She hopes that books about Venus will enrich the lives of young readers, and she is excited to create more artwork for this series. Cecilia lives with her husband and two children in Ontario, Canada.