A s i a n    A m e r i c a n s

PICTURE BOOKS

Ashley, Bernard.

Cleversticks. Crown, 1991. Wishing he had something to be clever at like each of the other children in his class, Ling Sung unexpectedly and happily discovers that the others admire his prowess with chopsticks.

Lee, Huy Voun.

In the Park. Henry Holt, 1998. On the rist day of spring, a mother and her son go to the park where they draw Chinese characters that represent words relating to the season.

Lee, Milly.

Nim and the War Effort. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1997. In her determination to prove that an American can win the contest for the war effort, Nim does something which leaves her Chinese grandfather both bewildered and proud.

In the Snow. Henry Holt, 1995. A mother and son practice writing Chinese characters in the snow. Introduces the characters for ten simple words.

Pomeranc, Marion Hess.

The American Wei. Whitman, 1998. When Wei Fong loses his first tooth while going to his family's naturalization ceremy, many soon-to-be Americans join in the search.

Porte, Barbara Ann.

"Leave That Cricket Be, Alan Lee." Greenwillow, 1993. Alan Lee tries to catch the singing cricket in his mother's office.

Sun, Chyung Fend.

Mama Bear. Houghton Mifflin, 1994. When Mei-Mei fails in her attempt to earn money through a cookie sale for the expensive toy bear she wants for Christmas, her mother helps her see a special gift she had all along.

EASY READERS

Coerr, Eleanor.

Chang's Paper Pony. Harper & Row, 1988. In San Francisco during the 1850's gold rush, Chang, the son of Chinese immigrants, wants a pony but cannot afford one until his friend Big Pete finds a solution.

EASY FICTION

Goldin, Barbara Diamond.

Red Means Good Fortune: A Story of San Francisco's Chinatown. Viking, 1994. Twelve-year-old Jin Mun, working for his father's laundry in San Francisco's Chinatown, is shocked to discover that one of his neighbors is a slave girl, forbidden to leave her house.

Regan, Dian Curtis.

The Curse of the Trouble Dolls. Holt, 1992.

Angie Wu finds herself the center of attention in the fourth grade when she starts sharing her Guatemalan trouble dolls, supposedly able to make troubles go away, but then her friends get angry when the magic does not work for them.

FICTION

Cheng, Andrea.

The Honeysuckle House. Front Street, 2003. An all-American girl with Chinese ancestors and a new immigrant from China find little in common when they meet in their fourth grade classroom, but they are both missing their best friends and soon discover other connections.

Chin, Frank.

Donald Duk. Coffee House Press, 1991. On the eve of the Chinese New Year in San Francisco's Chinatown, 12-year-old Donald Duk attempts to deal with his comical name and his feelings for his cultural heritage.

Fletcher, Susan.

Walk Across the Sea. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2001. In late nineteenth-century California, when Chinese immigrants are being driven out or even killed for fear they will take jobs from whites, fifteen-year-old Eliza Jane McCully defies the townspeople and her lighthouse-keeper father to help a Chinese boy who has been kind to her.

Grindley, Sally.

Spilled Water. Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2004. After her father's death, Lu Si-Yan's uncle sells her to a rich family who expect her to work as their servant until she is old enough to marry their son, but when she runs away things only get worse.

Kent, Rose.

Kimchi and Calamari. Harper Collins, 2007. Adopted from Korea by Italian parents, fourteen-year-old Joseph Calderaro begins to make important self-discoveries about race and family after his social studies teacher assigns an essay on cultural heritage and tracing the past.

Levitin, Sonia.

The Golem & the Dragon Girl. Dial, 1993. When Jonathan's family buys Laurel's house, this Jewish boy and Chinese American girl gradually become friends as they deal with ancestral spirits and changing family relationships.

Lin, Grace.

The Year of the Dog: A Novel. Little, Brown & Co., 2006. Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog, those of making best friends and finding oneself, to her own life.

Lord, Bette Bao.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. Harper & Row, 1984. In 1947, a Chinese child comes to Brooklyn, where she becomes Americanized at school, in her apartment building, and by her love for baseball.

Namioka, Lensey.

April and the Dragon Lady. Browndeer Press, 194l. Feeling confined by the traditional family attitudes of her strong-willed, manipulative grandmother, 16-year-old April Chen fights for independence.

Half and Half. Delacorte Press, 2003. At Seattle's annual Folk Fest, twelve-year-old Fiona and her older brother are torn between trying to please their Chinese grandmother and making their Scottish grandparents happy.

Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear. Joy Street Books, 1992. Recently arrived in Seattle from China, musically untalented Yingtao is faced with giving a violin performance to attract new students for his father when he would rather be working on friendships and playing baseball.

Yep, Laurence.

The Cook's Family. As her parents' arguments become more frequent, Robin looks forward to the visits that she and her grandmother make to Chinatown, where they pretend to be an elderly cook's family, giving Robin new insights into her Chinese heritage.

The Tiger's Apprentice. A tiger, a monkey, a dragon, and a twelve-year-old Chinese American boy fight to keep a magic talisman out of the hands of an enemy who would use its power to destroy the world.

The Traitor: Golden Mountain Chronicles. In 1885, a lonely illegitimate American boy and a lonely Chinese American boy develop an unlikely friendship in the midst of prejudices and racial tension in their coal mining town of Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Later, Gator. Hyperion Books, 1995. Teddy finds that his imagination has gotten him into trouble once more, when he buys his younger brother Bobby an alligator for his birthday.

The Star Fisher. Morrow, 1991. Fifteen-year-old Joan Lee and her family find the adjustment hard when they move from Ohio to West Virginia in the 1920's.

Japanese Americans

PICTURE BOOKS

Kroll, Virginia L.

Pink Paper Swans. Eerdmans, 1994. Janetta, intrigued by the paper animals her neighbor Mrs. Tsujimoto makes, learns the art of origami and becomes Mrs. Tsujimoto's hands when her arthritis makes it difficult for her to continue.

Say, Allen.

Grandfather's Journey. Houghton Mifflin, 1993. A Japanese American man recounts his father's journey to America which he later also understakes, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries. Caldecott award winner.

EASY FICTION

Mochizuki, Ken.

Baseball Saved Us. Lee & Low, 1993.

A 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.

Mochizuki, Ken.

Heroes. Lee & Low, 1995. Japanese American Donnie, whose playmates insist he be the "bad guy" in their war games, calls on his reluctant father and uncle to help him get away from that role.

FICTION

Banks, Jacqueline Turner.

A Day for Vincent Chin and Me. Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Although Tommy, a Japanese-American sixth-grader, has serious doubts when his mother starts organizing a rally to fight racism, once he and his friends find a cause of their own he gains more understanding of her motives.

Denenberg, Barry.

The Journal of Ben Uchida: Citizen #13559, Mirror Lake Internment Camp. Scholastic, 1999. Twelve-year-old Ben Uchida keeps a journal of his experiences as a prisoner in a Japanese internment camp in Mirror Lake, California, during World War II.

Garrigue, Sheila.

The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito. Bradbury, 1985. A young British girl evacuated to Vancouver, Canada, during World War II tells of the suffering of a Japanese Canadian family as they are shipped to a remote settlement.

Okimoto, Jean Davies.

Talent Night. Scholastic, 1995. Rodney, an aspiring Japanese American rap musician, learns about his heritage and the importance of being oneself after trying to impress a rich uncle and a beautiful classmate.

Salisbury, Graham.

Under the Blood-Red Sun. Delacorte, 1994. Tomikazu Nakaui's biggest concerns are baseball, homework, and a local bully, until life with his Japanese family in Hawaii changes drastically after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1994.

Uchida, Yoshiko.

A Jar of Dreams. Atheneum, 1981. A young girl grows up in a closely-knit Japanese American family in California during the 1930's, a time of great prejudice.

The Best Bad Thing. Atheneum, 1983. At first dismayed at having to spend the last month of her summer vacation helping out in the household of recently widowed Mrs. Hata, Rinko discovers there are pleasant surprises for her, but the bad things start to happen. Sequel to "A Jar of Dreams."

The Happiest Ending. Atheneum, 1985. When 12-year-old Rinko learns that a neighbor's daughter is coming from Japan to marry a stranger twice her age, she sets out to change this arrangement and gains new insights into love and adult problems.

Journey Home. Atheneum, 1978. After their release from an American concentration camp, a Japanese American girl and her family try to reconstruct their lives admidst strong anti-Japanese feelings which breed fear, distrust, and violence.

Korean Americans

PICTURE BOOKS

Heo, Yumi.

Father's Rubber Shoes. Orchard Books, 1995. Yungsu misses Korea terribly until he begins to make friends in America.

Pellegrini, Nina.

Families Are Different. Holiday House, 1991. An adopted Korean girl discovers that her classmates have different types of families.

Recorvits, Helen. illus. Gabi Swiatkowska.

My Name is Yoon. Frances Foster Books 2002. Disliking her name as written in English, Korean-born Yoon, or "shining wisdom," refers to herself as "cat," "bird," and "cupcake," as a way to feel more comfortable in her new school and new country.

EASY FICTION

Choi, Sook Nyul.

The Best Older Sister. Sunhi is unsettled by the family's focus on her baby brother, but with the help of her wise grandmother she learns to appreciate her new role of big sister.

Kline, Suzy.

Song Lee and the Hamster Hunt. Viking 1994. When Song Lee's hamster escapes from its cage in Roomn 2B, the class members and other students in South School become involved in the search for him.

Song Lee in Room 2-B. Viking, 1993. Spring becomes a memorable time for Miss Mackle's second grade classroom because of the antics of Horrible Harry and the special insights of shy Song Lee.

Kraus, Joanna Halpert.

Tall Boy's Journey. Carolrhoda, 1992. When Kim Moo Yong, a Korean orphan boy, is adopted by an American couple and makes the long journey by plane to their house, he finds it is a strange and terrifying experience, until he begins to adjust to his new house.

MacMillan, Diane.

My Best Friend, Mee-Yung Kim. Messner, 1989. A young girl's friendship with a Korean-American girl and her family introduces her to the holidays, customs, foods and family events of their culture.

FICTION

Adler, C.S.

Youn Hee & Me. Harcourt Brace, 1996. Caitlin finds out that bringing her adopted Korean brother's 11-year-old sister from a Korrean orphanage into their American home requires patience and understanding, but gradually they become a real family.

Balgassi, Haemi. Tae's Sonata.Korean-American

Choi, Sook Nyui.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes. Houghton, 1991. A dramatic novel about a child living in war-torn Korea-first, under Japanes military oppression, and then, after 1945, under Russian occuoation-and finally on the run across the border.

Kim, Helen.

The Long Season of Rain. Holt, 1997. When an orphan boy comes to live with her family, eleven-year-old Junehee begins to realize that the demands placed on Korean women can destroy their lives.

Kline, Suzy.

Song Lee and the Hamster Hunt. Viking, 1994. When Song Lee's hampster escapes from its cage in Room 2B, the class members and other students in South School become involved in the search for him.

Lee, Lauren.

Stella: On the Edge of Popularity. Polychrome, 1994. Hoping to be accepted by a popular seventh-grade clique, a Korean-American girl is embarrassed by her family's heritage, until a series of events gives her a better sense of who she is.

Lee, Marie G.

F Is for Fabuloso. Avon Books, 1999. Seventh grader Jin-Ha finds her adjustment to life in America complicated by her mother's difficulty in learning to speak English.

Finding My Voice. Houghton Mifflin, 1992. As she tries to enjoy her senior year and choose which college she will attend, Korean American Ellen Song must deal with the prejudice of some of her classmates and pressure from her parents to get good grades.

If It Hadn't Been for Yoon Jun. Houghton Mifflin, 1993. As she reluctantly becomes friends with Yoon Jun, a new student from Korea. adopted seventh grader Alice Larsen becomes more interested in learning about her own Korean background.

Necessary Roughness. HarperCollins, 1996. Sixteen-year-old Korean American Chan moves from Los Angeles to a small town in Minnesota, where he must cope not only with racism on the football team but also with the tensions in his relationship with his strict father.

Saying Goodbye. Houghton Mifflin, 1994. In this sequel to "Finding My Voice," Ellen Sung explores her interest in creative writing and in her Korean heritage during her freshman year at Harvard.

McHugh, Elisabet.

Karen and Vicki. Greenwillow, 1984. When Karen's mother marries, Karen must learn to adapt to living with a complete family, and in particular to her older step-sister, Vicki. (Sequel to Karen's Sister.)

Karen's Sister. Greenwillow, 1983. Karen's mother adopts a second Korean orphan and finds a husband with three children of his own. (Sequel to Raising a Mother Isn't Easy.)

Raising a Mother Isn't Easy. Greenwillow, 1983. An eleven-year-old Korean orphan adopted by a single woman decides that her mother should have a husband.

Myers, Anna.

Rosie's Tiger. Walker, 1994. In 1952 in Oklahoma, sixth grader Rosie enlists the aid of her new best friend, the flamboyant Cassandra, in trying to get rid of the Korean wife and stepson her older brother has brought back from the war.

Shalant, Phyllis.

Beware of Kissing Lizard Lips. Dutton, 1995. Zach is small for a sixth-grader and the girls at school make funof him, but when one girl in his class starts showing him some tae kwon do moves and teaching him about martial arts, things begin to change.

Thai Americans

FICTION

Ho, Minfong.

Rice Without Rain. Lothrop, 1990. In the revolutionary turmoil of Thailand in the 1970's. 17-year old Jinda finds her love and personal commitment beset by politics and terror. hefr father is imprisoned. She falls in love with a radical student leader and follows him back to Bangkok.

Vietnamese Americans

FICTION

Garland, Sherry.

Shadow of the Dragon. Harcourt Brace, 1993. High School sophomore Danny Vo tries to resolve the conflict between the values of his Vietnamese refugee family and his new American way of life.

Gilson, Jamie.

Hello, My Name is Scrambled Eggs. Lothrop, Lee & Shepart, 1985. When his folks host a Vietnamese family that has come to settle in their town, Harvey enjoys Americanizing 12-year-old Tuan.

Paterson, Katherine.

Park's Quest. Lodestar, 1988. Audiobook. Eleven-year-old Park makes some startling discoveries when he travels to his grandfather's farm in Virginia to learn about his father, who died in the Vietnam War, and meets a Vietnamese-American girl named Thanh.

Pettit, Jayne.

My Name is San Ho. Scholastic , 1992. Relates the experiences of a 12-year-old Vietnamese boy who comes to the United States to live with his mother and American marine stepfather during the Vietnamese War.

www.webrary.org/kids/jbibasianamericans.html
First published on the Web: 4/28/2003
Last updated: 6/6/2007