The books listed are a sampling of the titles available. Ask your Children's Librarian for further suggestions and tell us which are your favorites.
This meticulously illustrated story shows a young girl dressing in her beautiful new clothes in preparation for the Lunar New Year. Translated from the Korean.
A young woman bucks the all-male tradition to become a sushi chef at her family’s restaurant in New York. Based on a true story.
The holy city of Lhasa is very far away – across snowy passes and rushing rivers. Can a boy and his yak get there before nightfall?
Ruby wants a university education, not just a husband. Her grandfather, who returned to China from Gold Mountain, carefully considers the unusual request. (also available in Spanish)
It’s New Year’s Day, and Sam decides to share his leisee money with a homeless man in Chinatown. (also available in Chinese and Spanish)
A humorous tale explaining how chopsticks may have been invented.
Henna is used to decorate the hands of a Pakistani American girl for her aunt’s traditional wedding. How will her classmates react when she returns to school?
Willie is embarrassed by the alkansiya, a Philippine coconut-shell bank, given to him by his father for a school money-saving project.
Heartfelt story about a young girl who grows sunflowers to brighten the barren desert landscape of her Japanese internment camp during World War II. Bilingual English-Japanese.
Jenny, unhappy about losing her favorite uncle to his new bride, describes the traditional wedding rituals and eventually accepts Aunt Stella.
Poetry chronicles a boy’s adjustment to life in the United States, far from his native Hong Kong.
A little girl helps her mother prepare a favorite Korean dish for the family’s dinner.
A young girl’s exploration of a sari’s many uses is seen in this delightful offering originally published in India.
Yoon hates her American name and longs to return to her home in Korea. (also available in Spanish)
A young Japanese man’s sojourn in America leaves him torn between two different countries for the rest of his life. (1994 Caldecott Award winner, also available in Japanese)
On a class walk, an imaginative preschooler turns a piece of red string into a playful celebration of traditional Chinese sounds and images.
In Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, an eleven-year-old girl must disguise herself as a boy to earn money and shop for her family following her father’s arrest. Also sequels.
A Vietnamese fifth grader’s adjustment is difficult when he and his grandmother finally rejoin the rest of his family in America following ten years in a refugee camp.
Twelve-year-old Angela must get used to the idea of your parents’ impending divorce while living with grandparents whose Japanese ways she is slow to appreciate.
Relocated to an Arizona Indian reservation during World War II, a twelve-year-old Japanese-American girl struggles with boredom and keeps hope alive through friendships with a Mojave boy and an elderly neighbor.
An adopted fourteen-year-old knows a lot about his Italian American heritage but little about his own Korean ancestry, until a school assignment prompts him to learn more. Told with honesty and humor.
Will twelve-year-old Sun correctly answer the Angel Island immigration officials’ questions so that he may join his father in San Francisco? Quiet tension marks Lee’s story of her own father-in-law’s experience.
Pacy matures during a year of change when her best friend moves, and she decides to someday become an author/illustrator. Sequel to The Year of the Dog.
The author of the popular Ruby Lu stories introduces a unique second grader who never speaks at school but plays action hero at home.
The only Thai student in her fourth grade class, newcomer Oy struggles to fit in.
Also: When Heaven Fell.A Chinese boy sails to San Francisco, lives through the 1906 earthquake, meets his father for the first time and helps him build a flying machine. (also available in Chinese). See the other titles in Yep’s The Gold Mountain Chronicles.
Also: ; The Dragon’s Child: A Story of Angel Island; The journal of Wong Ming-Chung; The Tiger's Apprentice trilogy.
Six folktales are accompanied by source notes and explanations of Vietnamese history and culture.
Classic story about the origin of the horse-head fiddle, first published in Japan in 1967. This reissue includes a CD.
Classic story about the origin of the horse-head fiddle, first published in Japan in 1967. This reissue includes a CD. Also found under the call number j398 Ot. See also: Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia by Ted and Betsy Lewin
Picture book retelling of a Japanese folktale that explains the origin of the waving cat statue, “Maneki Neko,” a story of a good deed rewarded. Bilingual English-Japanese.
An Indonesian version of the Cinderella story.
A varied collection of 28 Thai tales, with information about Buddhism in Thai life.
Dramatic pastel and watercolor art illustrates the tale of three sisters who outwit a menacing wolf. The 1990 Caldecott Award winner.
A lively retelling of the ancient, beloved epic of India. Prince Rama’s adventures are filled with gods, heroes and monsters, romance and war.
An aboriginal people found across several Asian countries, the Hmong observe varying customs and traditions while speaking the same language.
Five major Chinese festivals are highlighted through tales, recipes and activities.
Overview of Japanese and Japanese American cultural life. From the same publisher: Kneeling Carabao and Dancing Giants: Celebrating Filipino Festivals; Exploring Chinatown: A Children’s Guide to Chinese Culture; Made in China: Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China; and A Thousand Peaks: Poems from China.
A noted kite authority introduces 15 kite projects, with clearly written directions and easy-to-obtain supplies, from China, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, and Japan. Part of the Asian Arts & Crafts for Creative Kids series.
Popular recipes from Vietnam. Also in the Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks series: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Thailand.
Interactive introduction to the broad spectrum of Asian art through twelve representative works, from an 11th century Indian sculpture to a 21st century Japanese acrylic painting.
The life story of Arn Chorn-Pond who survived the harrowing Cambodian killing fields thanks to his musical ability. He grew up to become a human rights leader, also working to revive Cambodian traditional arts.
A general introduction to the land, history and government, people, cultural life, and economy of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Part of the newly revised Visual Geography series.
Examines immigration history and contemporary life. Part of the We Are America series.
Along with Hmong history, Cha recounts the story of her family’s journey from Laos to America. Based on art by her aunt and uncle.
History is enlivened by more than 70 activities from the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Asian Indian, Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian American cultures, including arts and crafts, sports and games, dance, theater and recipes.
Carefully chronicles the life, times and surprisingly modern ideas of the Chinese philosopher who lived more than 2,500 years ago.
A Korean-American boy worked long, hard hours to become an Olympic diving gold medalist and physician.
This photo-essay recalls the courageous story of an eight-year-old Amerasian who was brought to the United States in 1975 as part of Operation Babylift and adopted by a family in Ohio. He has since become an emergency room doctor.
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