Htet Woon Yan

Currently based in Yangon, White Tales is a group of storytellers with the mission of encouraging reading habits in children and instilling a love for literature. White Tales projects are generally 6-months long and help bridge the gap between children and books by using storytelling as a tool; White Tales also works with publishers of various sizes to distribute books directly to children. The name ‘White Tales’ was chosen in regards to the purity and the innocent nature of children that resembles a white canvas, ready to be colored with stories and imagination. As of 2025, White Tales have been operating for over a year and a half with 2 successful projects, reaching a total of 72 children and distributing 223 books. Our previous project, Project Myat Shu, engaged 32 beneficiaries aged 6-16 from mid- and low-income families at the Day Dream Mini-Library in Insein, Yangon. Different project activities were tailored to two age groups: younger children (6-10 years) and adolescents (11-16 years). The younger age group participated in interactive storytelling sessions, while the older age group engaged in Socratic seminar-like reading discussions. Both sessions are enriched with games, post-activities, art workshops, thematic plays, and a day trip. Interviews with the library founder confirmed that beneficiaries displayed greater optimism, feedback-giving skills, and reflective thinking. In both groups, program satisfaction was overwhelmingly positive, with 92% of adolescents and 100% of younger children reporting their enjoyment of the program.