Celebrating Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American Heritage Month

Summary:

One, two, three. Nakudji, bokenh, danjbik. Accompanied by illustrations drawing on traditional rock art, each of the twelve entries of this counting book showcases a different animal of West Arnhem Land, Australia. From crocodiles and echidnas to wallabies, children and adults alike will enjoy learning the Kunwinjku names for numbers and animals, as well as discovering more about these animals' habitat and behavior, and what they mean to the indigenous Bininj. Whether teaching you how dragonflies indicate the passing of the seasons or how to catch and cook barramundi, the fascinating Kunwinjku Counting Book offers insight into the complex ecology of West Arnhem Land and the vibrant traditions of Bininj culture. More than just a counting book, this is also a beautifully illustrated work of art, a tribute to the indigenous people of Australia, and a fascinating nature guide to Northern Territory ecology. --

Summary:

Young Aria returns to school after recovering from an accident and being fitted with a prosthetic leg, but the school has no furniture and sitting on the floor is too painful. She finds a way to build her own bench, surprising and inspiring her classmates. A sensitive author's note addresses the author's experience growing up in Afghanistan during the civil war and the legacy of landmines--Provided by publisher.

Summary:

Honoring the tradition of serving miyeokguk on birthdays and inspired by the lives of Korea's haenyeo, this lovely picture book celebrates the bond between mothers and daughters. On her birthday, a girl is presented with a bowl of miyeokguk, seaweed soup -- instead of the cake she wants. As she stirs her soup, her mother tells her how mothers eat it after giving birth and how it is served on birthdays to honor them; about haenyeo, women who dive into the ocean's depths to harvest shellfish and seaweed; and how, many mothers ago, a pregnant haenyeo saw a whale eating seaweed after giving birth and tried it after having her own baby -- creating a tradition that would continue for generations of daughters to come. Award-winning picture book creator Hyewon Yum has crafted a luminous and heartfelt celebration of motherhood, heritage, and the deep-rooted connection between women and nature-- Publisher's website.

Summary:

After moving to a new country, a young Sikh girl finds comfort and familiarity as she celebrates Vaisakhi with a special outfit, a trip to the gurdwara, delicious food, and new friends. Includes a recipe for lassi.

Summary:

Roam the water with me. We are here to learn. Here to spin wisdom, to grow ... From award-winning Gunai author Kirli Saunders and seven-time CBCA-winner Freya Blackwood comes Afloat, a story told in a time of climate crisis. Against a backdrop of a changed environment, an Elder leads a child along the waterways, sharing her People's knowledge and gathering community along the way. Afloat is an uplifting and inspiring picture book that uses the practice of weaving as a powerful metaphor for the honouring and teaching of First Nations wisdom, and the coming together of all people to survive, thrive and create a more hopeful future.

Summary:

In the land of Winter, queenly Naneh Sarma coats the mountains and valleys in ice and snow and when she is tired she rests in her spiky snow castle. But with no one to talk to, Naneh Sarma gets lonely. In this gentle story based on a household Iranian folktale, Naneh Sarma journeys to the far off land of Spring to seek Amu Nowruz, Spring's herald, who sows the meadows with the seeds and flowers that fill his enormous knapsack. At the border between Winter and Spring, Naneh Sarma waits patiently for Amu Nowruz but by the time he arrives, she has fallen fast asleep. Gently, in her outstretched hands, Amu Nowruz plants violets.

Summary:

In early-1900s Japan, Misuzu Kaneko grew from a precocious bookworm to an instantly-beloved children's poet, but her life ended prematurely and her work was largely forgotten. Decades later, her poems were rediscovered just in time to touch a new generation devastated by the tsunami of 2011. This volume includes a biography of Kaneko followed by a selection of her poems in both English and the original Japanese.

Summary:

A biography of the legendary and inspiring Josefina Joey Guerrero: World War II spy, Filipina guerrilla fighter, war hero, Medal of Freedom recipient, leprosy survivor, teacher, and peacemaker-- Provided by publisher.

Summary:

Little Tato sneaks a few cherry plums before racing off to help Bábo--her grandmother--with a favorite chore. Each year Tato looks forward to washing the family rugs. With bubbles and suds floating like clouds and snowflakes, Tato and her siblings help Bábo scrub the rugs clean. With lively text and vivid illustrations, Astrid Kamalyan brings her charming childhood memories to life by inviting young readers to spend a day full of fun and love with an Armenian family --

Summary:

With a Thai mother and an American father, Kathy lives in two different worlds. She spends most of the year in Bangkok, where she's secretly counting the days till summer vacation. That's when her family travels for twenty-four hours straight to finally arrive in a tiny seaside town in Maine. Kathy loves Maine's idyllic beauty and all the exotic delicacies she can't get back home, like clam chowder and blueberry pie. But no matter how hard she tries, she struggles to fit in. She doesn't look like the other kids in this rural New England town. Kathy just wants to find a place where she truly belongs, but she's not sure if it's in America, Thailand... or anywhere--

Summary:

This picture book biography in verse follows the life of beloved Rajasthani drag performer Queen Harish, known as the Whirling Desert Queen of Rajasthan. Lit by an inner fire and propelled by a family tragedy, Harish defied the gender conventions of middle class Indian life, battled discrimination and intimidation, and eventually grew up to dance with Bollywood movie stars and on stages across the world. Jyoti Gopal's rhythmic phrases evoke the particular sounds and beats of the music Harish danced to, and capture the passions and conflicts of his life. The poignant and inspiring tale is interpreted by internationally acclaimed Rajasthani artist Svabhu Kohli in kohl-black lines and shapes and brilliant jewel-like colors--

Summary:

Explains the hows, whys and wherefores of defecation.

Summary:

Junie Kim just wants to fit in. So, she keeps her head down and tries not to draw attention to herself. But when racist graffiti appears at her middle school, Junie must decide between staying silent or speaking out. Then Junie's history teacher assigns an oral history project and Junie decides to interview her grandparents, learning about their experiences as kids during the Korean War, Junie comes to admire her grandma's fierce determination in protecting her family and her grandpa's unwavering compassion during wartime. And as racism becomes more pervasive at school, Junie taps into the strength of her ancestors and finds the courage to do what is right, just as her grandparents did. We Need Diverse Books cofounder Ellen Oh has cvreated a masterpiece inspired by her mother's real-life experiences during the Korean War and delivers a riveting novel about family, hope, and survival. Finding Junie Kim is a stirring exploration of identity and a reminder that within all of us lies the power to overcome hardship and emerge triumphant. --

Summary:

Ren says he's in love, but Colin knows better. Sure, he can't remember much about how it all began. But he remembers dancing at a club he and Ren were too young to dance in. He remembers the boys who harassed them on their way home. He remembers a ghost emerging from the trees, and a white hand reaching for Ren through a thick fog. What Colin can't remember is what happened next. Only two things are clear to him: Ren is different now, and the new guy vying for his heart is not who he claims to be. With the help of two unlikely allies and a cranky old medium, Colin must learn to conquer his self-doubt and save his best friend from a love that could cost him his life. Equal parts campy and bewitching, Corey Liu's debut YA novel explores predation, isolation, and what happens when a childhood dream of fairytale romance turns into a deadly nightmare.

Summary:

Ali has arrived in Palestine for a visit just in time for the olive harvest. His grandfather, Seedo, and Hilwa--his favorite tree--greet him in the grove, where Seedo explains that Hilwa has many gifts to share. Other family members whack the trees' branches with sticks, singing 'Zaytoon, ya zaytoon' while cousins clap and dance and happily pick up fallen olives. (Luckily, a gentle whack is all it takes for Hilwa's fruits to rain down!) The next day, at the olive press, Ali watches the drip of gold liquid into a can, another of Hilwa's gifts. Later, they picnic under the tree's branches with hot mint tea, pita, and delicious olive oil swirled on hummus. Tradition is the greatest gift of all: the family gathering--generation after generation--to celebrate a bountiful harvest--

Summary:

When a young girl and her family emigrate from Taiwan to America, she leaves behind her beloved popo, her grandmother. She misses her popo every day, but even if their visits are fleeting, their love is ever true and strong.

Summary:

Four individuals of dual male and female spirits bring their healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii, where they are beloved for their gentle ways and miraculous cures, and where they imbue four giant boulders with their powers. Bilingual Hawaiian (Niʻihau dialect) and English.

Summary:

12-year-old Lei is forced to spend summers in Hawaiʻi with her grandma who is determined to make sure she knows all her family's moʻolelo--stories the kids back home donʻt care about or believe. But after insulting Pele, the Goddess of Fire, she learns just how real these legends are when the goddess takes her best friend and places a curse on her family--one that only Lei can lift.

Summary:

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Tama is sent to live in a War Relocation Center in the desert. All Japanese Americans from the West Coast--elderly people, children, babies--now live in prison camps like Minidoka. To be who she is has become a crime, it seems, and Tama doesn't know when or if she will ever leave. Trying not to think of the life she once had, she works in the camp's tiny library, taking solace in pages bursting with color and light, love and fairness. And she isn't the only one. George waits each morning by the door, his arms piled with books checked out the day before. As their friendship grows, Tama wonders: Can anyone possibly read so much? Is she the reason George comes to the library every day? Maggie Tokuda-Hall's beautifully illustrated, elegant love story features a photo of the real Tama and George--the author's grandparents--along with an afterword and other back matter for readers to learn more about a time in our history that continues to resonate.

Summary:

One day, in a village in Southern China, a young girl leaves her mama's house to buy ingredients for wonton soup. On the way to market, she meets a wonderful array of characters going about their daily lives who all give her something special for mama's cooking pot. By the time she reaches home, she has more food than they could possibly eat. What should the two of them do now? -- Back cover.

Summary:

A mother lulls her little girl to sleep with a motorbike ride through Southern India.

Summary:

This is no ordinary first journey. The rainy season has come to the Mekong Delta, and An, a young Vietnamese boy, sets out alone in a wooden boat wearing a little backpack and armed only with a single oar. On the way, he is confronted by giant crested waves, heavy rainfall and eerie forests where fear takes hold of him. Although daunted by the dark unknown, An realizes that he is not alone and continues to paddle. He knows it will all be worth it when he reaches his destination--

Summary:

Told in alternating voices, sixteen-year-old Paul travels to Vietnam where he searches for more information about his mother, who made the difficult decision to leave her children after a long struggle with grief and an abusive marriage.

Summary:

Nina's visits to her two faraway grandmothers - one in Malaysia and one in England - unfold in side-by-side stories, featuring similarities and differences between the two. --

Summary:

An immigrant Chinese father and his American-born daughter find mutual understanding on their night drives while making food deliveries for their Chinese restaurant.

Summary:

Jay Reguero learns that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte's war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened. He travels to the Philippines, hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death. Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth -- and the part he played in it. -- adapted from jacket

Summary:

This wordless picture book follows a pencil from its origins as a tree in a forest to a factory, an art supply store, and the imagination of a young artist who uses it to draw a story--

Summary:

A young boy wakes to find his mother has left for work early but she's also taken the time to leave him a note of encouragement, meant to guide him through his daily chores. Remember to water the plants. Remember to pick the sweetest melons by listening to their heartbeats. On the surface, the note may just look like a series of reminders to help a child navigate a vast and sometimes scary world, but it soon becomes clear that this endearing letter from mother to child is so much more, a reassurance of who'll be home waiting to comfort him after a day's work is through.

Summary:

Moving from India to the US is difficult for Geetha, but things start to get better when she and a new friend help rescue a stranded seal.--

Summary:

Legendary photographers Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams all photographed the Japanese American incarceration, but with different approaches - and different results. This nonfiction picture book for middle grade readers examines the Japanese American incarceration - and the complexity of documenting it - through the work of these three photographers. --

Summary:

The first time Sonita was put up for sale, she was 10 years old and she thought that she was participating in a dress-up game. She quickly realized that, in her culture, a wedding is a kind of funeral for the bride. Sonita says, It represents the loss of a future. The loss of a voice. After the marriage fell through, she was placed on sale again. She was expected to form a family, sleep with a man she never met, and then repeat the terrible cycle with her own children. But Sonita wanted more. In Sonita, the Afghan rap artist and activist shares the story of how she fled Afghanistan to pursue her dreams and evolved into a woman who is changing the world. She shares incredible highs, like winning the song writing contest that gave her the opportunity of a lifetime, and unimaginable lows, like when the cruel Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, and how some of her family escaped, and how some were left behind. Sonita also shares photos and access to exclusive music. Sonita teaches us to hold onto hope. You were chosen to be part of this world and your dreams have power, too. You can be a difference maker. This book is more than Sonita's story. It is a love letter for anyone who has ever dreamed of more and held onto hope that their story would be different than the ones that came before them.--Amazon

Summary:

A brief biography of Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, five-time Olympic swimming champion from the early 1900s who is also considered worldwide as the 'father of modern surfing'--Provided by publisher.

Summary:

Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: when her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird. When she travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time, Leigh is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life.

Summary:

In the midst of the Syrian Civil War, Alaa takes care of Aleppo's abandoned cats.--

Summary:

From a highly acclaimed illustrator comes a stunning graphic novel filled with adventure and wonder about an imaginative girl and her obsession with flamingos. A little girl arrives, excited for a beachy vacation with her Lao Lao. The girl and her grandmother search for shells, chase crabs, and play in the sea, but when the girl finds an exquisite flamingo feather in her grandmother's living room, her vacation turns into something fantastical.

Summary:

Soledad has always been able to escape into ths stories she creates. Just like her mother always could. And Soledad has needed tht escape more than ever in the five years since her mother and sister died, and her father moved Sol and her youngest sister from the Philippines to Louisiana. After her father leaves, all Sol and Ming have is their evil stepmother, Vea. Sol has protected Ming all this time, but then Ming begins to believe that Aunti Jove - their mythical, world-traveling aunt - is really going to come rescue them. Can Sol protect Ming from this impossible hope? Accaimed and award-winning author Erin Entrada Kelly writes masterfully about the challenges of finding hope in impossible circumstances, in this novel that will appeal to fans of Cynthia Kadohata and Thanhha Lai. --

Summary:

A high-seas adventure set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world. This is the story of a young woman's struggle to unburden herself of the past and chart her own destiny in a world of secrets. As assistant to Mangkon's most celebrated mapmaker, twelve-year-old Sai plays the part of a well-bred young lady with a glittering future. In reality, her father is a conman--and in a kingdom where the status of one's ancestors dictates their social position, the truth could ruin her. Sai seizes the chance to join an expedition to chart the southern seas, but she isn't the only one aboard with secrets. When Sai learns that the ship might be heading for the fabled Sunderlands--a land of dragons, dangers, and riches beyond imagining--she must weigh the cost of her dreams. Vivid, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, this tale of identity and integrity is as intricate as the maps of old--

Summary:

Now a teenager at boarding school, Mat explores the possibilites of town life in Malaysia.

Summary:

Junko Tabei dreamed of a life climbing mountains. But men refused to climb with her. Sponsors told her to stay home. And gloves were not made to fit her hands. Junko, eager and unstoppable, wouldn't let these obstacles get in her way. Instead, she planned an expedition to summit Mount Everest with an all-women team. Battling icy peaks, deep crevasses, and even an avalanche, Junko refused to give up. She climbed step by step . . . up, up, ever up! After summiting the world's tallest peak, Junko took on a new challenge: protecting the wild spaces she loved for future generations. This gorgeously illustrated celebration of a trailblazing climber who shattered gender stereotypes invites us to dare to reach our dreams--no matter how big --

Summary:

For young Simon Tam, words were used as weapons. As he grew up, he began to understand that words could also be used to fight back. When his attempt to trademark the name of his band was denied, he took his fight for words to the Supreme Court and, with the support of his community, championed free speech for us all --

Summary:

A novel in verse inspired by the author's experience follows Hà and her family, refugees from the Vietnam War, as they move to Texas for a new job, and despite not wanting to start over again, Hà discovers unwanted change can bring a good opportunity.

Summary:

Every day, they gather: the wrestlers of the grassland. With arms of steel and bodies malleable like clay, they compete on the open plain. Anand also wants to become one of those brave warriors. He practices from dusk till dawn, for an entire year. He runs with horses, calms a raging bull, dances like an eagle in the snow . . . And then, one day, it's time to measure his strength. An extraordinary book about courage and perseverance inspired by the cultural heritage of Mongolian wrestling. For sheep lifters and animal tamers ages 6 years and up.

Summary:

From an inquisitive and compassionate young girl to a world-renowned and award-winning architect and humanitarian, Yasmeen Lari has an empowering and inspiring life story. Learn about her success in a career dominated by men, her early work of advocating for and restoring historic buildings in Pakistan, and her turn to eco-friendly and sustainable design in the wake of natural disasters. Starting in 2005, earthquakes and floods raised Lari's attention to the need for rehabilitation building. The pioneering architect met the challenge head-on. Incorporating innovative modern design and traditional building practices and materials, Lari developed a blueprint for sustainable, disaster-resistant homes. Vibrantly illustrated, Yasmeen Lari, Green Architect gives an in-depth look at Lari's process, from design and testing prototypes to teaching the communities she served the skills needed to rebuild alongside her.