English 4-8 Music Historical Figures Immigration Collective Action Joanna Ho & Teresa Martinez summary I’m confident that you’ve seen this gorgeous book floating around on the internet, and I’m here to try and add my two cents to campaign for why you need this book. Playing at the Border weaves together a specific event when…
Category: Asian-American Culture and Identity
When Can We Go Back to America? Voices of Japanese American Incarceration during WWII
English & Japanese YA Japanese Internment/Incarceration History Nonfiction Racism Oppression Personal Narrative Susan H. Kamei summary Meticulously researched and fastidiously detailed personal narration fill this historic book. Susan Kamei has done a marvelous job in describing the intricacies of the political events and racism that led to the incarceration of the Japanese American population following…
Two New Mindy Kim Adventures!
English & Korean Early Chapter Book Readers Korean Culture Vacation Language Learning Family Single Parent Family American Culture SEL Lyla Lee & Dung Ho summary I LOVE this series! Mindy is a great protagonist and narrator, and Lyla Lee’s writing is always fresh and engaging. Mindy Kim and the Trip to Korea came out this…
When Lola Visits
English & Tagalog 4-8 years Family Memories Social-Emotional Learning Sense Memories Michelle Sterling & Aaron Asis summary What does summer smell like to you? To me, it smells like campfires and old cabins. My favorite memories are from Camp Ledgewood, a Girl Scout camp that I attended as a child and then worked as a…
Geraldine Pu and Her Lunch Box, Too!
English, Mandarin & Taiwanese 6-10 Chinese Culture Food School Friendship Self-Advocacy Family Maggie P. Chang summary Geraldine loves her lunchbox, and that’s a hard same from me too. This introductory graphic novel follows Geraldine Pu as she brings her beloved biandang filled with delicious food that her Amah lovingly packs for her. Unfortunately, a classmate…
Like a Dandelion
English 4-8 years Own Voices Cambodian-American Creator Refugee Experiences Immigration Joy Mindfulness Huy Voun Lee summary Like a Dandelion is such a sweet book, and follows a young child as she moves with her mother to a new place. Using the metaphor of a dandelion’s life cycle, the pair take root in a new place…
Made in Korea
English & Korean YA Korean-American Identity Small Business Family Responsibility Social-Emotional Learning Relationships Sarah Suk summary Valerie Kwon and her cousin Charlie run an incredibly successful student business selling Korean beauty products. Valerie is desperate to prove to her family that she’s just as capable and business-savvy as her older sister, and take her grandmother…
Finding Junie Kim
English & Korean MG & Up Korean War Family History Korean-American Experience Racism Friendship Activism Own Voices SEL Immigration War Communism CW: Violent death of a pregnant woman Ellen Oh Cover Art: Alex Cho summary I’ll be real with you, I didn’t expect this book to rip my heart out in the way that it…
Hair: Books for Joy, Confidence & Empowerment
English Wanda has some Xhosa 4-8 years Hair Joy Sikhism Own Voices Self-Confidence & Empowerment Black Joy See each book The dominant white culture in our society has strict, Eurocentric standards for what constitutes as appropriate and professional. These are books that push back on that narrative, and embrace the uniqueness of the strands that…
While I Was Away
English & Japanese MG & Up Asian-American Experience Japanese-American Own Voices Growing Up Family Language Learning SEL Waka T. Brown summary Waka is a Japanese-American sixth grader in rural Kansas in the 1980’s. At home, her family speaks Japanese almost exclusively, but Waka is behind in reading and writing in kanji. After a few incidents…