MOCA TALKS with Anly Kang Hsu – Grandmother as Storyteller: Nai Nai Story Time
March 18, 2026, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
$10 General Admission (museum admission included) | $5 Student & Senior | Free for MOCA Members
In honor of Women’s History Month, the Museum of Chinese in America warmly invites you to an intimate evening with author and educator Anly Kang Hsu to celebrate the release of her memoir, Nai Nai Story Time.
Blending personal history, cultural memory, and the wisdom of a Chinese grandmother, Nai Nai Story Time unfolds as a series of tender yet resolute conversations between Nai Nai and her eight-year-old granddaughter. Through these stories, Hsu traces a life shaped by childhood hardship, a miraculous escape from Communist China, and the courage required to rebuild a new home in America. Along the way, she reflects on immigration, identity, family bonds, and the enduring power of storytelling to carry values across generations.
Part memoir, part oral history, and part love letter, Nai Nai Story Time offers a deeply human portrait of the immigrant experience grounded in resilience, humor, and intergenerational care. During this talk, Hsu will reflect on the process of transforming lived experience into narrative and discuss how elders’ stories preserve history, shape identity, and offer guidance for future generations.
About Anly Kang Hsu
Anly Kang Hsu is a retired New York City high school science teacher with over 25 years of experience inspiring young minds in biology, chemistry, and physics. Since stepping out of the classroom, she has turned her passion for storytelling and education into writing, drawing deeply from her cultural heritage and personal life. Anly is the author of Where is Bunny Boo?, a charming children’s book inspired by her granddaughter’s beloved stuffed animal. She has also completed her heartfelt memoir, Nai Nai Story Time, blending personal history with reflections on immigration, identity, and family.
When she’s not writing or caring for her two grandchildren, Anly enjoys capturing the beauty of the natural world through photography and unwinding with a few rounds of Candy Crush Royale. Her stories, both real and imagined, continue to educate, entertain, and connect readers of all ages.
About Nai Nai Story Time
Nai Nai Story Time is more than a memoir—it is a living bridge across generations, cultures, and histories. Through the loving yet resolute voice of a Chinese grandmother, readers are drawn into an intimate journey of survival, resilience, and heritage.
Speaking with warmth and wisdom to her curious eight-year-old granddaughter, Nai Nai recounts childhood hardships, a miraculous escape from Communist China, and the steadfast determination to build a new life in America. Woven throughout these memories are the treasures of Chinese traditions, enduring family values, and timeless lessons in perseverance.
Like a quilt stitched from vivid recollections, historical insight, and enchanting folklore, this luminous collection of vignettes honors the strength of immigrant families, the wisdom of elders, and the unbreakable power of love across generations.
A radiant celebration of family, heritage, and hope, Nai Nai Story Time invites readers from age 8 to 88 into a journey that is both universal and deeply personal. Intimate and timeless, it evokes laughter, quiet tears, and tender reflection—an enduring reminder to cherish the stories that shape us and the legacies that carry us forward.