Asian Pacific American Heritage Books for Kids
This list was created by Seattle Public Library Children's Services Librarians, in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. (Updated April 2021)
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My Fate According to the Butterfly
Ten-year-old Filipina Sabrina “Sab” Dulce believes all the superstitions her artist dad used to tell her before he and Mom split up. So, when she sees the Butterfly, a giant black omen of death, she knows she only has a week left to live. Determined to make the most of her last days, she convinces her American best friend, Pepper, a white girl, to help her reunite her family. Sab must uncover the truth behind the broken relationship between her college-age sister, Ate Nadine, and their father. Spying on her sister’s journalism work and adventuring across Manila, Sab discovers family secrets that change her forever. Villanueva’s debut is a beautiful #ownvoices middle-grade novel. Tough topics—the brutal war on drugs in the Philippines, family reconciliation, and recovery—are addressed, but warmth and humor, often in the vehicle of Sab’s pet duck, bring lightness to Sab’s story.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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My First Samoan Alphabet Book
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Nanny Mihi and the Bellbird
Staying with Nanny Mihi in the school holidays, her mokopuna (grandchildren) get up to whistle a tune to the birds. One male bellbird learns the tune but come spring he is nowhere to be heard. What has happened? A delightful tale in a new illustrative style for popular childrens character Nanny Mihi.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Ocean Calls
The Ocean Calls is a story about family bonding between a Korean girl and her haenyeo grandmother who is a a diver of generations along the Coast of Jeju Island. The girl looks up to her grandmother and wishes to emulate her strength one day like her grandmother. When the girl dives for the first time with her grandmother, she is unable to recover anything from the bottom of the sea except for some of her greatest fears. However, her grandmother shows support in her journey and growth, and helps her find many things to appreciate in the ocean. Grandmother's affirming words and deep caring for her granddaughter is heartwarming. The girl's courage and while respecting this important work that's been traditionally done my women.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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'Ohana Means Family
This is the land that's never been sold, where work the hands, so wise and old, that reach through the water, clear and cold, into the mud to pick the taro to make the poi for our ohana's luau. Acclaimed illustrator and animator Kenard Pak's light-filled, dramatic illustrations pair exquisitely with Ilima Loomis' text to celebrate Hawaiian land and culture. The backmatter includes a glossary of Hawaiian terms used, as well as an author's note.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Ordinary 'ohana
What is an "ordinary" family? This is a little book about a big family making the point that family is who you choose and there's always room for everyone. The book has a distinctive design and was packaged to imitate a family scrapbook feel. The book shares images of a contemporary Hawaiʻi family both familiar and unique. The story unfolds through the experiences collected by a young boy named Kainoa. He has a pretty ordinary family life, according to him. But when he starts to introduce the various members of his ʻohana, he reveals a complicated but very sturdy and loving family structure that has been built, rebuilt, and reinforced over time. Kainoa describes generations-old Hawaiʻi family traditions blended with a modern, open sensibility. He talks about people he loves in a matter-of-fact voice with witty observations that every reader will enjoy. Family is who you choose?
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Priya Dreams of Marigolds & Masala
Priya lives in the United States and her family is from India. She feels the magic of the place that her family comes from through her Babi Ba’s colorful descriptions of India – from the warm smell of spices to the swish-swish sound of a rustling sari. Together, Priya and Babi Ba make their heritage live on through the traditions that they infuse into their everyday lives. Priya Dreams of Marigolds & Masala is a celebration of the threads that connect each of us to our heritage, the power of sharing our traditions with others, and the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Serpent's Secret
Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series #1: On the morning of her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala is just a regular sixth grader living in Parsippany, New Jersey... until her parents mysteriously vanish and a drooling rakkhosh demon slams through her kitchen, determined to eat her alive. Turns out there might be some truth to her parents' fantastical stories-like how Kiranmala is a real Indian princess and how she comes from a secret place not of this world.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Shake A Leg
A unique picture book collaboration about having fun, sharing culture, and the power of story and dance. From pizza shop to bora ground, here is a joyous celebration of food, dance, and cultural understanding. When three young boys go to a pizza parlor and meet an Aboriginal chef who can speak Italian and make a deadly pizza, they're in for a surprise!
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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