Celebrate Asian American Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Month
With Great Picture Books!
Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month began in 1977 as a ten-day celebration of Asian Pacific American contributions to the United States. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush signed a law expanding the celebration to the entire month of May. The observance started by commemorating two events: The arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, largely built by Chinese immigrants, on May 10, 1869. The month-long celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States celebrates the accomplishments and culture of a broad group of Americans whose roots span all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).
We will be having a Celebrate Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Storytime on Saturday, May 20th at 2:00 p.m. for children and their families. To celebrate, join us for stories and a craft on that day!
My Paati’s Saris by Jyoti Rajan Gopal & Art Twink
(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
Libby
“A Tamil child finds love and solace in their grandmother's saris. The child watches as their paati opens her cupboard and out come tumbling saris in gorgeous colors, patterns, and weaves, each seeming to tell the story of where it comes from. Each sari beckons the young child as they and their grandmother explore different spaces–the market, the kitchen, festivities, and more. The book ends with the child–with Paati's help–donning a sari and proudly displaying it to the rest of the family. Though gender isn't explicitly mentioned in the text, the young narrator presents male, and the book seems to hint that the protagonist initially feels some hesitancy at wearing a sari in front of others; ultimately they're joyous when their family embraces them (‘They see me. ME’). There's little tension in the story. However, the art makes up for the text. It's glorious, each sari resplendently rendered, the textiles telling a powerful story by themselves. The last sari, the one the child chooses for themself, is stunning. Tigers leap across the fabric as dazzling suns offer highlights to the blue and pink of the material, an invitation to the child to explore and be themself: ‘My paati's saris are my shelter, my home.’ Many readers will be especially heartened to see a tale of LGBTQ+ identity–and acceptance–in a South Asian setting. A simple yet empowering journey through a cupboard of saris and stories.” –Kirkus Reviews
Eyes That Speak to the Stars by Joana Ho and Dung Ho(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
Libby
hoopla
“A young Chinese American boy discovers himself, his roots, and his potential. In this poetic celebration of body diversity, family, and Chinese culture, the author picks up on themes introduced in her New York Times bestselling picture book, Eyes That Kiss in the Corners (2021). While the previous title centered on female family members, this offering focuses on three generations of male kindred. After a classmate draws an offensive and hurtful picture depicting the boy with slits for eyes, he finds comfort in his father's affirming words: ‘Your eyes rise to the skies and speak to the stars. / The comets and constellations / show you their secrets, and your eyes can / foresee the future. / Just like mine.’ The boy narrates that his father's eyes ‘shine like runway lights’ and are just like the eyes of his grandfather, who ‘holds the wisdom of generations.’ He describes how his little brother, Di Di, has eyes just like the male family members who came before him. By finding a mirror in the loved ones whom he so adores and admires, the narrator begins to see that his eyes are powerful and visionary: ‘My eyes shine like sunlight rays / that break through dark and doubt.’ The idea of ‘looking up’ is a repeated textual and visual motif–sophisticated digital illustrations full of flowing lines imply upward movement, and scenes from the grandfather's memories and his retellings of Chinese tales, as well as scenes of the family spending time together, feature aerial objects like comets and Chinese kites and sky lanterns. The circular narration emphasizes the reassuring similarities between blood relatives and the continuity of family tradition. A beautifully validating book that builds on the necessary work of its predecessor.” –Kirkus Reviews
Brown Is Beautiful: A Poem of Self-Love by Supriya Kelkar & Noor Sofi
(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
Libby
“In a lyrically narrated picture book that centers the titular color, Kelkar (Bindu’s Bindis) follows intergenerational members of a brown-skinned family walking out-of-doors and beholding brown-hued elements of a changing landscape. Across the spreads, a line asserting a quality of the shade (‘Brown is strong’) is followed by a related observational rhyming line about the natural world (‘Tiny ants lifting a weight/ Rumbling train transporting freight’). Though the lines don’t always scan, it is through this lens that the family members—the child carrying a camera—encounter a wild mustang with a shimmering mane (‘Brown is beautiful’), gnarled roots supporting a large tree (‘Brown is stable’), a protective mama bear (‘Brown is brave’), a striated canyon (‘Brown is wonder’), and more. And as the trio returns home, where the child’s apparent parents arrive with a new baby in tow, brown represents both loving family and ‘potential./ A new life crying out.’ In lustrous autumnal hues, debut illustrator Sofi’s rich digital art captures a variety of natural landscapes via images both majestic and familiar, and ends with scrapbook pages from the family’s outing. Back matter includes an author’s note and scrapbooking directions.” –Publisher’s Weekly
(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
Libby
“A mother and her young daughter, cued as Taiwanese American, explore the world together. The two climb a snowy mountain, swim with manta rays in the ocean, stargaze, ‘follow trails on summer nights,’ lie in a field to watch cloud parades of ‘majestic beasts,’ and more. Readers will decide whether these remarkable adventures are real or metaphors for the imaginative worlds mother and daughter explore while spending the day together indoors. The duo's excursions end with the peaceful rituals of bathtime and teatime, as they ‘watch the shadows stretch’ then doze on the rug. With just a single picturesque sentence per double-page spread, Kuo creates a sweeping yet intimate narrative about the experiences of contentment and togetherness that make even small moments seem extraordinary and that anchor us through life's highs and lows. This connectedness, the book suggests, helps us ‘reach the very top, the very bottom, the very end’ of life's journeys as we ‘do everything and nothing’ together. The tranquil digital illustrations use a three-tone or four-tone palette with striking color contrasts and sometimes recall Japanese Ukiyo-e landscape art (Kuo is Taiwanese American.) Visual details like a bag of shrimp chips, Chinese calligraphy, and a Zhongguo knot add cultural authenticity. This offering would make a wonderful gift book for expectant parents and may inspire young readers with new ideas for outdoor activities. A quiet book with a loud message about the everyday things that create constancy in a world of ephemeral pleasures.” –Kirkus Reviews
(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
Libby
“Time flies' ‘ defines parenthood in these pages from the previous collaborators, which trace a child's maturation from babyhood to adult. Infancy, Lê writes, is ‘a total blur’ of sleepless nights and smelly diapers for the caretakers of a child with a ‘supersonic voice, fantastically elastic limbs,’ and other super traits. But it's followed all too soon by toddlerhood, when the child becomes ‘THE BLUR’–a creature who is ‘ALWAYS ON THE MOVE!’ Santat's digitally enhanced watercolor and colored pencil vignettes follow an Asian-cued family through a progression of familiar signposts; the young force of unstoppable energy zooms through pool time, piano lessons, birthday parties, scouting, learning to drive, graduation, and, finally, leaving for college, with occasional moments when ‘time stood perfectly still.’ The target audience should get a kick out of seeing adults consistently but lovingly befuddled by the youth's growth and antics, but one suspects the real audience is parents themselves–especially those looking back from the perspective of a graduation ceremony or other milestone.” –Publisher’s Weekly
(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
Libby
“A child visits their mother's hometown and is surprised to find it now differs from her recollections. Mommy regales the young narrator with bedtime stories about a playful, carefree childhood. Against the backdrop of a verdant countryside and towering mountains, a lush river provided ample opportunity for Mommy and her friends to catch fish, splash, and treasure hunt. Idyllic and joyful, these vivid memories have given the child high expectations for an upcoming visit. A train car window offers the first glimpse of a vastly different landscape. Bustling streets and gleaming skyscrapers crowd the horizon, and the mountains struggle to be seen. The striking contrast between reality and anticipation both awes and disappoints the child. Yet while many things have changed, the river still flows through the city center. Hand in hand, Mommy and child wade in, re-creating the cherished moments of Mommy's youth. The pair make their own memories in this special place, reinforcing that it is familial bonds and unconditional love that define home rather than physical surroundings. A tranquil warmth radiates from the illustrations, providing an underlying feeling of safety throughout the journey. Mommy and child are Korean, with black hair and pale skin. An uplifting, intergenerational story.” –Kirkus Reviews
(Grades K-2)
Library Catalog
“Children's books–particularly picture books–that tackle the subject of war in sensitive and reassuring ways are rare … In Sitti's Bird: A Gaza Story, the Palestinian painter Malak Mattar creates a slice-of-life narrative that explores how painting helped her overcome the fear and isolation she experienced during Israel's invasion of Gaza in 2014. The tension between Mattar's naïve, fanciful paintings and her naturalistic, moment-by-moment storytelling underscores the value of creativity during times of crisis.”-New York Times Book Review
You Are Life by Bao Phi(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
hoopla
Libby
“An affirmation for Asian American youth. Scenes of outstretched hands reaching for one another and an Asian parent gardening with a child greet readers. ‘You are life,’ opens the poem, going on to add, ‘You are not a virus. / You are a seed. When you were born, / you saved me.’ Above an apartment window, an expectant couple waits in anticipation as the text reads, ‘You are not forever foreign. / You are Immigrant. / Born here. / Adopted. / Refugee, you fled a war.’ Li layers lines, blocks, and shapes of colors to create eye-popping fields filled with noodles, onigiri, and children. After touching on a myriad of interests and cultural references, the tone becomes more rousing, challenging model minority stereotypes and insisting that ‘You are not invisible. / You are not silent. / You are hand-painted signs, / people marching together in the street / for a more just world.’ The paths paved by ancestors are also acknowledged. As Phi discusses the silly, the funny, the serious, and the inspiring, the overarching, stirring message is that the possibilities for the future are endless. In an author's note, Phi reveals the verses were written in response to the recent rise of anti-Asian hate. Asian children take center stage, and Vietnamese is incorporated in the poem; kids of other ethnic backgrounds are also depicted, and characters vary in terms of ability. A sweet and empowering poem.” –Kirkus Reviews
(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
“In a spare text, this Japanese import explores the functions, properties, and inherent contradictions of water. Two small humans leave home and set out in a rowboat. Water, reads the narration of this follow-up to Every Color of Light (2020), is ‘only oxygen and hydrogen, simple as can be,’ yet it sustains life. This statement is accompanied by a full-bleed spread in which readers see the two humans row along a wave of stars next to the Earth. Water, however, is also paradoxical in nature: ‘It has no color, but can be any color,’ for instance. It has no shape but can take on various shapes, and you can touch it but not actually hold it. The musings are sometimes metaphorical (‘like the mother of us all, it creates life’) and often ethereal. In a dramatic shift in tone, the narration then states: ‘It is the pee of life.’ Here, the voice, which has hitherto spoken of you and we, shifts to a first-person-singular one, and the narrator acknowledges a child asking if water is the ‘pee-pee of the gods.’ (This will undoubtedly delight the youngest of readers.) Dense textures, a palette with a stunning use of light, and panoramic landscapes establish a sweeping, grandiose tone that pays its respects to Mother Nature. Resplendent yellows and rich shades of blues and greens are the stars of the show. The book closes on a metafictive note: After referencing the child who asks about gods, the narrator states on the final page: ‘And then, I wrote this poem.’ Wondrous.” –Kirkus Reviews
(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
“The first day of school is always hard–especially when your classmates can't say your name. Mirha is excited about her first day, raring to learn and play. But to her disappointment, she feels that she doesn't quite fit in because her classmates and some of her teachers can't pronounce her name correctly. When Mirha confesses to Mama that it might just be easier to change her name, her mother tells her why her name is special. Armed with this knowledge, Mirha decides to take action the very next day. Featuring wide-eyed, adorable youngsters, Syed's illustrations are endearing, and the text is thought-provoking yet fun. As Mirha struggles to explore her many feelings, there's plenty of space for empathy and giggles. In the same vein as Juana Martinez-Neal's Alma and How She Got Her Name, this book celebrates a child's unique identity while conveying the message that getting other people's names right is important. Syed recognizes that it can be daunting but rewarding to speak up if one's name is mispronounced–and that it becomes easier over time. Mirha and her family are brown-skinned and cued as South Asian; her classmates are diverse. Affirming and empowering; a story that will resonate with many children and a lot of adults, too.” –Kirkus Reviews
(Preschool to 2nd Grade)
Library Catalog
Libby
“A rich retelling of an ancient Indigenous Hawaiian legend. Long ago, four mahu (spirits) traveled from Tahiti to Waikiki, Hawaii. Neither male nor female, they were ‘a mixture of both in mind, heart, and spirit.’ Each had a specific ‘skill in the science of healing.’ Their leader, Kapaemahu, ‘healed by laying on hands.’ Kapuni ‘possessed great spiritual power.’ Kinohi could look inside a person and see what was ailing them. Kahaloa had the gift of distance healing. The mahu shared their wisdom with the islanders, who, in turn, erected a monument in their honor; four enormous boulders were moved down a mountain and placed together on the beach. The mahu ceremonially transferred their powers to the rocks then vanished. For centuries the stones remained on Waikiki Beach; times changed, and eventually the monument lay forgotten under the city. It has since been recovered, but its history and meaning continue to be erased. Written in both Olelo Niihau and English, this picture book, based on the authors' Academy Award-shortlisted animated short, underscores the importance of preserving sacred spaces and is a powerful reminder of how story honors our ancestors. Filled with cultural details and beautifully illustrated in vibrant tropical colors, the book pays homage to Indigenous Hawaiian healing traditions and affirms two-spirit people. The fascinating backmatter provides background information about the original Hawaiian legend and Niihau dialect. A poignant monument to the power of hidden Indigenous histories.” –Kirkus Reviews
The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang & Khoa Le
(Grades K-2)
Library Catalog
Libby
hoopla
“A deep and moving reflection on enduring hardship and generational love. Kalia's grandmother holds a revered place among her Hmong family. Her origins feel almost mythic in stature as Kalia recounts how no one knows Grandma's true age and how, as a young girl, she escaped a tiger in the jungle. Grandma is a survivor; the struggles of raising her orphaned siblings and immigrating across the world have only made her stronger. Despite a life of adversity, Grandma continues to smile through challenges. As Kalia grows older, she struggles with her family's poverty until Grandma offers a powerful reminder of what matters most. This picture-book memoir for older readers explores perseverance, financial hardship, and the richness of family connection. Gorgeously illustrated with lush florals and foliage, these images capture both the magic and constancy of Grandma's love. Nods to the importance of fabric in Hmong culture are represented with beautiful paj ntaub-style endpapers symbolizing family and the embroidered designs on Grandma's clothing. She is the only character pictured in these traditional fabrics, representing her honored matriarch status and the legacy she passes along: an ability to bloom even in the toughest conditions. Poignant storytelling with stunning visuals.” –Kirkus Reviews
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