OUR MISSION
The Challenge
Oakland and the Bay Area face a literacy and cultural access crisis.
Family engagement is one of the strongest predictors of literacy success.* Yet many families face barriers to participating in traditional literacy programs, including language differences, transportation challenges, limited flexibility, and a lack of culturally relevant opportunities that reflect their experiences and identities.
*Eat.Learn.Play's 2022–23 assessment
Oakland third graders read at grade level, with the widest gaps for Black and Latino students.
Of California adults read at or below a basic literacy level, with rates highest in low-income households.
Of Oakland residents speak a language other than English at home, which traditional literary arts fail to support.
OUR APPROACH
Storytime isn't new. Storytime at a morning run around Lake Merritt is. We bring story circles to places you wouldn't expect, and to the places where Oakland's families already are. Every event brings a new theme, about 25 minutes of stories, games to shake the wiggles out, and a full hour of making art together.
500+
Families participated
30+
Hours of community events
10+
Local authors
WHO WE ARE
A small team with roots in community organizing, storytelling, design, and cultural programming, all pointed at the same thing: joyful storytimes across the Bay.
Co-Founder
Indya McGuffin-Edoimioya (she/her)
Indya is a designer and children's book enthusiast from Chicago. She empowers Black creatives and has worked at Chronicle Books, led PURSUIT Design, and managed design teams at Netflix. Indya created Storyland to celebrate creativity and contribute to Oakland's community as an aspiring children’s book author herself.
Co-Founder
Bean Kaloni Tupou (they/them)
Bean, a musician in the Tongan/Pasifika diaspora from the Bay Area, is a culture strategist and community organizer. Inspired by their mixed-race Tongan heritage, Bean helped create Storyland as a healing space for Oakland families to connect through storytelling and art, fostering creativity and cultural resistance.
OUR PARTNERS
It takes a neighborhood
Every Storyland event is a collaboration with bookstores, libraries, cultural organizations, and local artists. Together, we turn storytime into something the whole neighborhood shows up for.
