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National Education Association's Asian American Booklist
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Good Luck Gold and Other Poems
by Janet S. WongThis is the first book of poems by a young Asian-American poet
Behind the Wheel
by Janet S. WongThirty-five poems look at various aspects of driving, including passing the written driver's test, being pulled over by a cop, and having an accident, and treat them as a metaphor for life.
The Golden Carp and Other Tales from Vietnam
by Lynette Dyer VuongThis book is a collection of six Vietnamese folk tales
Nim and the War Effort
by Milly Lee and Yangsook ChoiIn San Francisco during World War II, Nim, a Chinese-American, is determined to win the newspaper drive -- although it is the last day. She realizes her closest rival has cheated. Undaunted, she leaves Chinatown and heads to Nob Hill after school, determined to find more paper.
An ALA Notable Book. An NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies.
About the Author: Milly Lee grew up in San Francisco’s Chinatown. She is a retired school librarian and lives in Sonoma County, California.
About the Illustrator: Yangsook Choi grew up in Korea and holds an M.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she now lives. [powells.com]
Children of the River
by Linda CrewSundara fled Cambodia with her aunt's family to escape the Khmer Rouge army when she was thirteen, leaving behind her parents, her brother and sister, and the boy she had loved since she was a child.Now, four years later, she struggles to fit in at her Oregon high school and to be "a good Cambodian girl" at home. A good Cambodian girl never dates; she waits for her family to arrange her marriage to a Cambodian boy. Yet Sundara and Jonathan, an extraordinary American boy, are powerfully drawn to each other. Haunted by grief for her lost family and for the life left behind, Sundara longs to be with him. At the same time she wonders, Are her hopes for happiness and new life in America disloyal to her past and her people?From the Paperback edition.
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
by Bette Bao LordA young Chinese girl in 1947 comes to Brooklyn and discovers her love for baseball while adjusting to new life in America.
Butterflies for Kiri
by Cathryn FalwellKiri, a Japanese American girl who loves to draw and paint, tries to use the origami set she received for her birthday. Includes instructions for making an origami butterfly.
Echoes of the White Giraffe
by Sook Nyul ChoiFifteen-year-old Sookan adjusts to life in the refugee village in Pusan but continues to hope that the civil war will end and her family will be reunited in Seoul. Historical fiction.
Yell-Oh Girls! Emerging Voices Explore Culture, Identity, and Growing Up Asian American
by Vickie NamThe collection includes 80 brief selections (most are under three pages) by budding writers between 15 and 22 years of age, from all over the country.
The Filipino Americans
by Jennifer SternDiscusses the history, culture, and religion of the Filipinos, factors encouraging their emigration; and their acceptance as an ethnic group in North America.
To Destroy You Is No Loss
by Joan D. Criddle and Teeda Butt MamExplains the horrendous and evil history that was being made in Cambodia during 70's and 80's. This biography is about an educated Cambodian family who was exiled from Phnom Penh, along with the entire city full of inhabitants by The Khmer Rouge.
A Single Shard
by Linda Sue ParkIn this Newbery Medal-winning book set in 12th century Korea, Tree-ear, a 13-year-old orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch'ulp'o, a potters' village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated with the potter's craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday.
When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is elated -- until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and hauling clay, Min's irascible temper, and his own ignorance. But Tree-ear is determined to prove himself -- even if it means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min's work in the hope of a royal commission... even if it means arriving at the royal court with nothing to show but a single celadon shard.
Ribbons
by Laurence YepRobin, a promising young ballet student, cannot afford to continue lessons when her Chinese grandmother emigrates from Hong Kong, creating jealousy and conflict among the entire family.
A Jar of Dreams
by Yoshiko UchidaWhen Aunt Waka comes to visit, and brings with her the old-fashioned wisdom of Japan, she teaches Rinko the importance of her Japanese heritage, and the value of her own strengths and dreams.
The Joy Luck Club
by Amy TanAmy Tan’s beloved, New York Times bestselling tale of mothers and daughters
Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.
With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.
Inside Out and Back Again
by Thanhha LaiNo one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama.
For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by...and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.
But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape...and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.
Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the National Book Award
Chinese Cinderella
by Adeline Yen MahA riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s.A Chinese proverb says, "Falling leaves return to their roots." In Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair. Adeline's affluent, powerful family considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for -- the love and understanding of her family.Following the success of the critically acclaimed adult bestseller Falling Leaves, this memoir is a moving telling of the classic Cinderella story, with Adeline Yen Mah providing her own courageous voice. Includes 6-page photo insert.From the Hardcover edition.
Olvina Flies
by Grace LinWhen Olvina gets invited to the Tenth Annual Bird Convention in Hawaii, she decides it's high time to overcome her fear of flying. But on the day of her big plane trip, Olvina's tummy is filled with butterflies and she has second thoughts. After all, chickens aren't supposed to fly. Or are they? This tender and funny story is for children who love to fly as well as those who have not yet had the experience. From takeoff to landing, Olvina's journey is one kids won't want to miss!
The Imp That Ate My Homework
by Laurence YepShowdown in Chinatown! Jim wants to be a normal American kid. The only problem: His grandfather is the meanest, ugliest man in Chinatown. Grandpop has no patience for his "native born, no brains" grandson, and Jim is not all that interested in hearing about old Chinese customs and superstitions. But then a nasty green imp shows up, determined to settle an ancient family feud. The imp is making Jim's life miserable, and Grandpop seems to be the only one who can help. Could Grandpop really be the reincarnation of an ancient Chinese warrior-- the world's only hope against one mean green imp?
The Rainbow People
by Laurence YepA collection of twenty Chinese folktales that were passed on by word of mouth for generations, as told by some old-timers newly settled in the United States.
The Bracelet
by Yoshiko UchidaEmi, a Japanese-American in the second grade, is sent with her family to an internment camp during World War II, but the loss of the bracelet her best friend has given her proves that she does not need a physical reminder of that friendship.
The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito
by Sheila GarrigueThe fate of a 200-year-old bonsai tree is decided by a young girl and an old Japanese Canadian gardener who resists being imprisoned in an internment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Sequel to "All the Children Were Sent Away."
The Beggar in the Blanket and Other Vietnamese Tales
by Gail B. GrahamThis book is a collection of 8 Vietnamese folk tales.
Baseball Saved Us
by Ken MochizukiA Japanese American boy learns to play baseball when he and his family are forced to live in an internment camp during World War II, and his ability to play helps him after the war is over.