Story Telling

Nili Yelin is a storyteller--part-time for kids and part-time for adults. A graduate of the Northwestern University theatre school, Nili spent twelve years in New York as a working actress in theater, film and television. She was a writer and performer for MTV Networks, appeared regularly on Saturday Night Live and performed her own original stand-up comedy in clubs throughout the East Coast.
Since coming to Chicago, Nili has combined her love of children and literature to create The Storybook Mom and encourage children to develop their imagination through interactive storytelling, crafts and dance. She also does voice-overs for commercials and industrials for a variety of clients including Mercedes Benz, Sears and Advocate Healthcare. Nili recently joined with the Crown Family Play Lab at the Field Museum to do special events and is the narrator on the Field Museum's children's podcasts.


Says Nili:

"My passion for words, spoken and written,
has influenced everything I do.
My favorite poet, Emily Dickinson,
(my daughter, Emily, is named for her) wrote, A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day."

That is my motto. I feel like my love of kids, music, dance,
theatre and books, books, books, have all come together
in creating The Storybook Mom. It somehow chose me and
sharing stories with children has given more back to me
than I could ever begin to give them.

You could say the story is writing itself."

Join us on Friday April 22nd from 6:30-7:30pm. The night will feature stories about art and the creative process geared toward families. In conjunction with the exhibit ARRRT! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle the stories will reflect nature, art and the environment.

$20 suggested donation per family.