Joy's Keychain

About the book

For children growing up in multicultural worlds, the meaning of home is fluid, their emotional bonds stretch across places and languages. Between each farewell and reunion, they learn to reorganize and retell their own story. Joy's Keychain dedicated to all children and adults who are finding themselves among multiple cultures. It gently accompanies us in exploring: Who am I? Where do I belong? And What do I hold dear?

Inspired by real family journeys across New Zealand, China, and Korea, Joy's Keychain is a gentle yet resilient picture book about how children navigate distance, connection, and the weight of saying goodbye. As Joy uses her special keys to open three magical doors right in her living room, she discovers a beautiful truth: the people and places we miss are never truly out of reach. Love can cross any ocean, and our most precious worlds can always be kept close at hand, right in our pockets.Warm, tender, and emotionally resonant, this story opens conversations about belonging, change, and family love across distance.

Who this book is for

• Third Culture Kids and globally mobile families
• Children aged 3-12, and the adults who read with them
• Teachers, counsellors, and classrooms exploring identity and belonging

Gan, Keqing: - Keqing Gan is a Mandarin teacher at a secondary school in Auckland, a mother of two, and the founder of LingNest Books, an independent publishing company. With over nine years of language teaching experience across China and New Zealand, and family life shaped by New Zealand, China, and Korea, she creates books rooted in the lived reality of nurturing and guiding children across languages, time zones, and multiple homes.