Asian American Children’s Literature Resources
A selection of literature by Asian American authors and illustrators for children to read or listen to.
Nonfiction
Nonfiction
Dance, Mice, Dance! = Seevce, Nas Tsuag, Seevcev!
Child nonfiction book. Text in Hmong and English. Based on "the Pied Piper". Jimmy Tune, a magic flute player, finds success when he teams up with some mice. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
Seven Magic Brothers=Qi Xiong Di
Child nonfiction book. Text in Chinese and English. Seven brothers were born, looking exactly the same as one another, and each owned a unique capability. Age: 5-8.
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Nonfiction
Hush! A Thai Lullaby
Child nonfiction book. A lullaby which asks animals such as a lizard, monkey, and water-buffalo to be quiet and not disturb the sleeping baby. Age: 2-8.
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Nonfiction
Shadow Warrior
Child nonfiction book. When her dreams of being a ninja are ended after an arranged marriage, Chiyome must wait until the opportunity arises for her to create her own network of women spies in sixteenth-century Japan. Age: 8+
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Nonfiction
A Place Where Sunflowers Grow = Sabaku Ni Saita Himawari
Child nonfiction book. Text in Japanese and English. While she and her family are interned at Topaz Relocation Center during World War II, Mari gradually adjusts as she enrolls in an art class, makes a friend, plants sunflowers and waits for them to grow. Age: 5-10.
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Nonfiction
Our Seasons
Child nonfiction book. Follow Ki-ki, Owen, Lily, and Kevin through the year as they explore the four seasons. Cheerful haiku accompany season-related questions and answers about weather, the natural world, and the human body. Find out why we have seasons and how they vary around the world. Illustrations. Age: 5-10.
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Nonfiction
Yuko-Chan and the Daruma Doll : The Adventures of a Blind Japanese Girl Who Saves Her Village
Child nonfiction book. Text in Japanese and English. After the 1783 eruption of Japan's Mount Asama destroys crops in nearby villages, an orphaned blind girl who lives at the Daruma Temple in Takasaki invents a doll representing a famed Buddhist monk and his teachings about resilience. Age: 4-8.
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Nonfiction
Cooper's Lesson
Child nonfiction book. When Cooper, a biracial Korean-American boy, feels uncomfortable trying to speak Korean in Mr. Lee's grocery, his bad behavior eventually leads to a change in his attitude. Age: 6-10.
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Nonfiction
Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird
Child nonfiction book. Illustrated by Meilo So. Recounts the true story of an African grey parrot who was the subject of a graduate student's scientific experiment on animal intelligence and who astonished everyone with its ability to add, understand concepts and speak hundreds of words. Age: 8-10.
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Nonfiction
The Hmong People and the Turtle
Nonfiction child book. A Hmong tale that explains why turtles have shells. Age: 5-8.
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Nonfiction
The Stepmother and the Three Children
Child nonfiction book. A Hmong tale similar to Hansel and Gretel, but with a kinder ending. Age: 8-11.
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Nonfiction
I am Hmong
Child nonfiction book. Text in English and Hmong. This simple book introduces readers to the many looks of the Hmong people, while building early reading concepts. Age: 4-6.
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Nonfiction
Nine-in-One, Grr! Grr! : A Folktale from the Hmong People of Laos
Child nonfiction book. Text in English and Hmong. When the great god Shao promises Tiger nine cubs each year, Bird comes up with a clever trick to prevent the land from being overrun by tigers. Age: 5-8.
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Nonfiction
The Hemp and the Beeswax = Xuv Maaj Hab Cabntaab
Child nonfiction book. "The Cinderella story is told worldwide. The Hmong Cinderella brings alive the Laotian Hmong culture in a favorite folktale." --Back cover.
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Nonfiction
Mali under the Night Sky : A Lao Story of Home
Child nonfiction book. In English with Lao. Presents the true story of Lao-American artist Malichansouk Kouanchao, who walked with her family from Laos to Thailand when she was five years old. Age: 5+
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Nonfiction
Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China
Child nonfiction book. Three sisters staying home alone are endangered by a hungry wolf who is disguised as their grandmother. Age: 4-10.
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Audiobooks
Audiobooks
Aru Shah and the End of Time
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. The first in the Pandava series. Twelve-year-old Aru stretches the truth to fit in at her private school, but when she is dared to prove an ancient lamp is cursed, she inadvertently frees an ancient demon. Age: 9-12.
Where to Find:
Audiobooks
The Night Diary
Child fiction book, e-book, audiobook on CD, and e-audiobook. Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary. Age: 8-12.
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Audiobooks
Cracker! :The Best Dog in Vietnam
Child fiction book, and audiobook on CD. A young soldier in Vietnam bonds with his bomb-sniffing dog. Age: 10+
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Audiobooks
Half a World Away
Child fiction book, e-book, audiobook on CD, and e-audiobook. Twelve-year-old Jaden, an emotionally damaged adopted boy fascinated by electricity, feels a connection to a small, weak toddler with special needs in Kazakhstan, where Jaden's family is trying to adopt a "normal" baby. Age: 9+
Where to Find:
Audiobooks
Inside Out & Back Again
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama. Age: 8-12.
Where to Find:
Audiobooks
Ling & Ting : Together in All Weather
Child early reader book, and audiobook with print book. Part of the Ling and Ting series. Twin sisters Ling and Ting have fun together playing in all kinds of weather. Age: 5-7.
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Audiobooks
The Year of the Dog
Child fiction book, and e-audiobook. It's the Chinese year of the dog! When Pacy's mom tells her that this is a good year for friends, family, and "finding herself," Pacy begins searching right away. As the year goes on, she struggles to find her talent, deals with disappointment, makes a new best friend, and discovers just why the year of the dog is a lucky one for her after all. Age: 8+
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Audiobooks
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Child fiction book, e-book, audiobook on CD, and e-audiobook. Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River. Age: 8-12.
Where to Find:
Audiobooks
Project Mulberry
Child fiction book, and audiobook on CD. While working on a project for an after-school club, Julia, a Korean American girl, and her friend Patrick learn not just about silkworms, but also about tolerance, prejudice, friendship, patience, and more. Between the chapters are short dialogues between the author and main character about the writing of the book. Age: 10+
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Audiobooks
Amal Unbound
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. Twelve-year-old Amal's dream of becoming a teacher one day is dashed in an instant when she accidentally insults a member of her Pakistani village's ruling family. As punishment for her behavior, she is forced to leave her heartbroken family behind and go work at their estate. Amal is distraught but has faced setbacks before. So she summons her courage and begins navigating the complex rules of life as a servant, with all its attendant jealousies and pecking-order woes. Most troubling, though, is Amal's increasing awareness of the deadly measures the Khan family will go to in order to stay in control. It's clear that their hold over her village will never loosen as long as everyone is too afraid to challenge them--so if Amal is to have any chance of ensuring her loved ones' safety and winning back her freedom, she must find a way to work with the other servants to make it happen. Age: 9-14.
Where to Find:
Audiobooks
Front Desk
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants--not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade class, the other being Mr. Yao's son, Jason. Age: 8-12.
Where to Find:
Audiobooks
Arcady's Goal.
Child fiction book, and audiobook on CD. When twelve-year-old Arcady is sent to a children's home after his parents are declared enemies of the state in Soviet Russia, soccer becomes a way to secure extra rations, respect, and protection but it may also be his way out if he can believe in and love another person--and himself. Age: 9-12.
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eBooks
eBooks
The Name Jar
Child picture book, and e-book. After Unhei moves from Korea to the United States, her new classmates help her decide what her name should be. Age: 4-8.
Where to Find:
eBooks
Aru Shah and the End of Time
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. The first in the Pandava series. Twelve-year-old Aru stretches the truth to fit in at her private school, but when she is dared to prove an ancient lamp is cursed, she inadvertently frees an ancient demon. Age: 9-12.
Where to Find:
eBooks
The Runaway Rice Cake
Child picture book, and e-book. After chasing the special rice cake, Nian Gao, that their mother has made to celebrate the Chinese New Year, three poor brothers share it with an elderly woman and have their generosity richly rewarded. Age: 3-9.
Where to Find:
eBooks
The Night Diary
Child fiction book, e-book, audiobook on CD, and e-audiobook. Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary. Age: 8-12.
Where to Find:
eBooks
Half a World Away
Child fiction book, e-book, audiobook on CD, and e-audiobook. Twelve-year-old Jaden, an emotionally damaged adopted boy fascinated by electricity, feels a connection to a small, weak toddler with special needs in Kazakhstan, where Jaden's family is trying to adopt a "normal" baby. Age: 9+
Where to Find:
eBooks
The Science of Breakable Things
E-book. Middle schooler Natalie's year-long assignment to answer a question using the scientific method leads to truths about her mother's depression and her own cultural identity. Age: 8-12.
Where to Find:
eBooks
Inside Out & Back Again
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama. Age: 8-12.
Where to Find:
eBooks
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Child fiction book, e-book, audiobook on CD, and e-audiobook. Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River. Age: 8-12.
Where to Find:
eBooks
Prairie Lotus
Child fiction book, and e-book. In Dakota Territory in the 1880s, half-Chinese Hanna and her white father face racism and resistance to change as they try to make a home for themselves. Age: 10-12.
Where to Find:
eBooks
A Different Pond
Child picture book, and e-book. “As a young boy, Bao Phi awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. Between hope-filled casts, Bao's father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam."-- Provided by publisher. Age: 4-8.
Where to Find:
eBooks
Amal Unbound
Child fiction book, e-book, and e-audiobook. Twelve-year-old Amal's dream of becoming a teacher one day is dashed in an instant when she accidentally insults a member of her Pakistani village's ruling family. As punishment for her behavior, she is forced to leave her heartbroken family behind and go work at their estate. Amal is distraught but has faced setbacks before. So she summons her courage and begins navigating the complex rules of life as a servant, with all its attendant jealousies and pecking-order woes. Most troubling, though, is Amal's increasing awareness of the deadly measures the Khan family will go to in order to stay in control. It's clear that their hold over her village will never loosen as long as everyone is too afraid to challenge them--so if Amal is to have any chance of ensuring her loved ones' safety and winning back her freedom, she must find a way to work with the other servants to make it happen. Age: 9-14.
Where to Find:
eBooks
Grandfather’s Journey
Child picture book, and e-book. A Japanese American man recounts his grandfather's journey to America which he later also undertakes, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries. Age: 4+
Where to Find: