Nicole Chen is the author of two new children’s books

Call it her local debut: This morning Menlo Park resident — and newly-minted children’s book author — Nicole Chen spoke with two different group of students at Oak Knoll School (where her daughter attends)  about her just-published picture book, How We Say We Love You. It’s about a Taiwanese American girl who shares how her family expresses their love for one another through actions rather than words.

“I took my family story — my parents immigrated in the late ’70s/early ’80s — and re-anchored it to my own family” she explained in advance of the school appearance. “I wanted to show love is universal.”

Nicole grew up in Palo Alto and attended Stanford. She did spend three years in Barcelona — and that’s where she met her husband.

Nicole’s interest in writing for children was sparked by her love of picture books — there’s a whole list of her favorites on her website. “While my dream is to also illustrate the books I write, I’ve enjoyed learning to develop the narrative of the story.”

How We Say We Love You, which is on sale at Kepler’s, is the first of two books that have been published. The second, It’s Boba Time for Pearl Li, debuts on February 28 and is written for ages 8-12. “It very much me,” she says.

Nicole, who has a full-time job as a product researcher as well as her family  responsibilities, views writing  as the creative outlet she needs. “It’s a wonderful balance — the preciousness of creative time balanced with my other responsibilities.”

Photos by Robb Most (c) 2022