About Us

Meet Michele

 

Michele Wong McSween is a former fashion designer and creator of Gordon & Li Li. She is a native Californian, but has lived in New York City for the past 23 years. She currently lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her husband and three boys.

Growing up as a fourth generation Chinese-American, Michele never learned to speak Chinese, so making sure her own boys were exposed to the language and culture became a priority for her.

After enrolling them in early-learning Mandarin classes, Michele looked for first word Mandarin books that were easy to read, engaging, modern, and most importantly, were books that they’d want to cuddle up with at bedtime.

When Michele realized what she wanted didn't exist, she created Gordon & Li Li to introduce her children to the joy of learning Mandarin Chinese and to foster a deep appreciation for their heritage and culture.

 

 

 Meet Gordon

Gordon is a five year old panda who lives in Brooklyn, New York with his parents and two younger brothers. He is an avid KISS fan and loves playing air guitar to his favorite song, ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’. When he’s not rocking out, you can find him drawing and reading about his favorite animals: orcas and sharks. His favorite color is aquamarine blue because it reminds him of the ocean — his happy place.
When Gordon grows up, he wants to become a marine biologist, a rock star, or a pizza maker because like any true New Yorker, he’s always searching for the best slice!

 

Meet Li Li 

 

Li Li is also five and she’s from Beijing, China. She’s read all about New York and is so excited to see it with her own eyes. Whether by train or by scooter, Li Li loves to explore the diverse neighborhoods, learn about their history and culture, and of course sample the multi-cultural foods New York has to offer. When Li Li’s not exploring Brooklyn, you’ll find her reading or hosting tea parties where she serves foods from around the world to her extensive collection of stuffed animals.

Li Li’s dream job would take her to all the places she’s read about so she can become a global citizen of the world, learn multiple languages, and eat and eat and eat.

  • Awesome

    I have been learning Mandarin for a while and want to teach my grandson and this book is perfect.

    -Lucinda

  • Great Starter Book

    My son's Montessori has a Mandarin program as part of the curriculum, so we got this book to practice at home and love it. It is good quality, and has 4 words / page. It also has the phonetic english of each word making it easier for non native speakers

    -Krishna

  • Great for young mandarin learners!

    Awesome boardbook for a young child who are very new at learning Mandarin. Pictures are fun and cute, engaging enough for a 3 year old. She loves the pages and learned all the first words in this book quickly! Totally recommend!

    -Rodhelen

  • Large, Bright and Colorful!

    Eye-catching bright colors, cute illustrations and durable board book pages make this the perfect first bilingual English Chinese for our little one. We have gifted this to our little nieces and nephews as well.

    -Adore

  • Best Quality and Value Chinese/English Book!!

    More stars for this 3 in 1 bigger board book! Though already have the 1st Gordon and lily book, it is nice to have this consolidated value added book at the price of one book! My grand daughter enjoys the panda with each chinese/English picture/word. Lots of fun looking and learning!

    -Ty

  • GREAT Gift

    The amazing thing about giving this book as a gift to children you love is how much the adults in the room get interested in the book as well. It's a great learning tool and FUN item for young and old alike. Highest recommendation!

    -David

  • Awesome!!

    I bought this for my nephew who was born in China and now lives in the us. He is tickled by these!! Loves it!

    -Cait

  • Chinese/English/Pinyin board book

    Pair text with an image to focus on your chosen product, collection, or blog post. Add details on availability, style, or even provide a review.

    - Claire

  • Great Book

    One of the best books for kids. I am 23 years, and it's so good. We need to learn any languages like kids, playing and having fun. Excellent book.

  • Absolutely Adorable

    My daughter loves it and want me to read it to her every night. The picture are very cute to understand.

  • A Fun Teaching Tool!

    This book is a gem! The vocabulary is well-chosen and organized by category, the illustrations are fun and the presentation colorful. Michele McSween's book helps make teaching and learning fun.

    -Jessica

  • Great for Dual Language and Culture Leaners

    A great first Mandarin word book with fun illustrations that young readers LOVE! Our experience with the Gordon & Li Li book series has been filled with curiosity and smiles from babies to elementary readers.

    -Miss Panda Chinese

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