One day, my oldest daughter, Madison, told me she didn't want to be Chinese. ​

It happened when she was really into Madeline and Eloise. She kept asking me why she was Chinese and they weren't, and whether she can have blonde or red hair like they do. ​

This prompted me to look for books with Asian characters; the few I managed to find were heavily cultural, and Madison didn't connect with any of the characters in them. ​  ​

That's when she told me she didn't want to be Chinese, and it broke my heart.​

But then I reflected on my childhood growing up in the U.S and remembered my own struggles with identity. For a long time, I didn't want to be Chinese either. ​

I started Little Ning Books and developed Pepper Zhang to write the books for my daughters that currently don't exist; books that feature fun, smart and quirky Asian children as the lead character but are also not heavily focused on cultural themes. While it's important for children to learn about different cultures, it's equally important for Asian children to see themselves in books as interesting and smart individuals rather than just products of their culture, forever linked together.​

I don't want Madison and my younger daughter, Everly, to go through years of their lives wishing they weren't Asian because all the cool and fun characters they read, idolize and imitate are non-diverse. ​

My goal is to show them that being funny and interesting is not exclusive to only certain children. Asian children can be just as imaginative and unique as the long-standing iconic book characters that exist today. ​

I didn't have Pepper Zhang or anything similar when I was growing up, but I can try to make sure that my children and other children do.