Sharing Cultures: Asian American Children’s Authors: A Selected Bibliography
Prepared by ALSC International Relations Committee 2001, this bibliography was distributed to attendees of the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table/ALSC/APALA presentation "Sharing Cultures: Asian-American Children's Writers" on June 16, 2001, in San Francisco.
Bercaw, Edna Coe. Halmoni’s Day. Illustrated by Robert Hunt. Dial, 2000.
Jennifer’s halmoni (grandmother) arrives from South Korea just in time for Grandparent’s Day at school, but she speaks only Korean. (5-8)
Cha, Dia. Dia’s Story Cloth. Illustrated by Nhia Thao Cha. Lee & Low, 1996.
A thoughtful chronicle of one Laotian family’s life and their immigration to the United States intricately stitched on a traditional story cloth. (8-12)
Chin, Charlie. China’s Bravest Girl: The Legend of Hua Mu Lan = Chin kuo ying hsiung Hua Mu-Lan. Illustrated by Tomie Arai. Chinese translation by Wang Xing Chu. Children’s Book Press, 1993.
Legend of Hua Mu Lan who goes to war disguised as a man to save the family honor and becomes a great general. This book is in English and Chinese. (8-12)
Chin-Lee, Cynthia. A is for Asia. Illustrated by Yumi Heo. Scholastic, 1999.
An alphabetic introduction to geography, holidays, culture, traditions, and animals of the area. (5-12)
Chinn, Karen. Sam and the Lucky Money. Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. Lee & Low, 1995.
Sam must decide how to spend the lucky money he has received for Chinese New Year. (4-8)
Choi, Sook Nyul. Yunmi and Halmoni’s Trip. Illustrated by Karen Dugan. Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
When she goes to Korea with her grandmother, Yunmi looks forward to visiting relatives she has never seen, but she also worries about whether Halmoni will want to return to New York. Choi is also the author of Halmoni and the Picnic, published by Houghton Mifflin, 1993. (5-8)
_____ . Year of Impossible Goodbyes. Houghton Mifflin, 1991.
A young Korean girl survives the oppressive Japanese and Russian occupation of North Korea during the 1940s to later escape to freedom in South Korea. (12 and up)
Choi, Yangsook. New Cat. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999.
New Cat loves living in Mr. Kim’s tofu factory, but she is frustrated because she has seen a mouse in the production room, where Mr. Kim doesn’t allow her to go. (5-8)
_____ . The Name Jar. Random House, 2001.
After Unhei moves from Korea to the United States her classmates help her pick a new name. (5-8)
Gilles, Almira Astudillo. Willie Wins. Illustrated by Carl Angel. Lee & Low, 2001.
When Willie’s father gives him a special bank made from a coconut shell for his school project, he learns about his family’s history in the Philippines and discovers an extraordinary surprise when the bank is broken open during class. (4-8)
Heo, Yumi. The Green Frogs: A Korean Folktale. Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
A folktale about two green frogs who always disobey their mother. (5-8)
_____ . One Sunday Morning. Orchard, 1999.
Father and Minho have an outing in the park. (5-8)
Ho, Minfong. The Clay Marble. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991.
Twelve-year-old Dara is separated by war from her family and her best friend. She has to find courage and struggles to reunite with the people she loves. (12 and up)
_____ . Hush!: A Thai Lullaby. Illustrated by Holly Meade. Orchard, 1996
Monkeys, lizards, and other animals are asked to be quiet and not disturb a sleeping baby. (4-7)
_____ . Brother Rabbit: A Cambodian Tale. Lothrop, Lee & Shepherd, 1997.
No matter what dilemma Brother Rabbit faces, he manages to succeed. (4-7)
Hong, Lily Toy. The Empress and the Silkworm. Whitman, 1995.
The text includes a legend about the discovery of silk as well as other information about silk. (5-8)
Igus, Toyomi. Two Mrs. Gibsons. Illustrated by Daryl Wells, Children’s Book Press, 1996.
The biracial daughter of an African American father and a Japanese mother fondly recalls growing up with her mother and her father’s mother, two very different but equally loving women. (5-8)
Ishizuka, Kathy. Asian-American Authors. Enslow Publishers, 2000.
A collective biography including authors Carlos Bulosan, Sook Nyul Choi, Maxine Hong Kingston, Marie G. Lee, Bette Bao Lord, Kyoko Mori, Bharati Mukherjee, Amy Tan, Yoshiko Uchida, and Laurence Yep. (10 and up)
Jiang, Ji-Li. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution. HarperCollins, 1997.
Told with simplicity, innocence, and grace, this unforgettable memoir gives a child’s-eye view of a terrifying time in the twentieth century. (10 and up)
Kajikawa, Kimiko. Yoshi’s Feast. Illustrated by Yumi Heo. DK Ink, 2000.
Sabu, the eel boiler, attempts to charge his neighbors for the delicious aromas they’ve been enjoying. (5-8)
Kasza, Keiko. Don’t Laugh, Joe. Putnam, 1997.
Mother Possum is in despair because her son can’t play dead without laughing. (4-8)
_____. Dorothy and Mikey. Putnam, 2000.
Two hippos are best friends, “well, most of the time.” Three short stories find the opinionated Dorothy and the determined Mikey battling over who’s the better, braver, and more skilled of the duo. (4-8)
_____ . Grandpa Toad’s Secrets. Putnam, 1998.
Little Toad saves the day when a huge monster attacks them. (4-8)
_____ . A Mother For Choco. Putnam, 1992.
A lonely bird searches for a mother, but does not find one that looks like him. He discovers that it is more important for Mom to hug, kiss,and play than to look like him. (4-8)
_____ . The Rat and the Tiger. Putnam, 1993.
Tiger and Rat are friends, but their different sizes put a strain on their relationship. (4-8)
_____ . The Wolf’s Chicken Stew. Putnam, 1987.
A hungry wolf’s attempts to fatten a chicken for his stewpot have unexpected results. (4-8)
Lee, Jeanne M. Silent Lotus. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991.
Although she cannot speak or hear, Lotus trains as a Khmer court dancer and becomes eloquent in dancing out the legends of the gods. (5-8)
_____ . I Once Was a Monkey: Stories Buddha Told. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999.
A retelling of six Jatakas which illustrate some of the central tenets of Buddha’s teaching. (7-10)
_____ . Song of Mu Lan. Front Street Press, 1995.
A bilingual edition in English and Chinese of a traditional ballad that celebrates the bravery of a Chinese woman. (5-10)
Lee, Huy Voun. 1, 2, 4, Go! Henry Holt, 2000.
A simple counting book introduces Chinese characters and numbers. (5-9)
Lee, Marie G. If It Hadn’t Been for Yoon Jun. Avon, 1993.
Alice has adjusted to being the only Korean American student in school, but the appearance of a new Korean boy in her class upsets her perceptions of her heritage. (9-12)
_____ . Necessary Roughness. HarperCollins, 1998.
Sixteen-year-old Chan moves from Los Angeles to Minnesota where he must cope with racism. (12 and up)
Lee, Milly. Earthquake. Illustrated by Yangsook Choi. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.
This historical fiction story is set in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. (5-8)
_____ . Nim and the War Effort. Illustrated by Yangsook Choi. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.
Based on the author’s experiences growing up in San Francisco’s Chinatown during World War II, this is the story of a young girl who is trying to help win the war by collecting newspapers. (5-8)
Lim, Sing. West Coast Chinese Boy. Tundra, 1994.
Sing Lim recreates visually and verbally the people he knew as they struggled for dignity against poverty and prejudice in Vancouver, Canada in the early 1920s. (10 and up)
Liu, Lesley (Illustrator). Bird Boy. Written by Elizabeth Starr Hill. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999.
Chang, a mute Chinese boy whose father uses cormorants to fish, is pleased when he is finally old enough to help with the big catch. (7-10)
Look, Lenore. Henry’s First-Moon Birthday. Illustrated by Yumi Heo. Simon and Schuster, 2001.
A young girl helps her grandmother prepare for the traditional Chinese celebration to welcome a new baby. (5-8)
_____ . Love As Strong As Ginger. Illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson. Atheneum, 1999.
Katie loves to show her grandma how to dress a Barbie, and GninGnin loves to show Katie how to make rice dumplings. More than anything Katie wants to go with GninGnin to work, to crack a mountain of crabs alongside her at the crab cannery. (5-8)
Lord, Bette Bao. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. Illustrated by Marc Simont. Harper, 1984.
In 1947, a Chinese child comes to Brooklyn. She starts to feel at home and make friends when she discovers baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers. (10 and up)
Louie, Ai-Ling. Yeh Shen: A Cinderella Story from China. Illustrated by Ed Young. Philomel, 1982.
This ancient Chinese tale has many similarities with versions from other cultures. (5-10)
Mah, Adeline Yen. Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter. Delacorte, 1999.
An authentic portrait of twentieth-century China as the author tells the story of her painful childhood and her courage and ultimate triumph over despair. After her mother dies giving birth to her, Adeline’s affluent, powerful family consider her bad luck. (12 and up)
Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us. Illustrated by Dom Lee. Lee & Low, 1993.
A boy’s baseball team at a Japanese American internment camp during World War II allows a young man to build his self-respect. (4-9)
_____ . Heroes. Illustrated by Dom Lee. Lee & Low, 1995.
A Japanese American family deals with the painful legacy of World War II. (5-8)
_____ . Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story. Illustrated by Dom Lee. Lee & Low, 1997.
The true story of Chiune Sugihara the “Japanese Schindler,” who saved thousands of Jews during World War II. Available on audio book, Live Oak Media, 2000. (7-12)
Mori, Kyoko. Shizuko’s Daughter. Random House, 1993.
Yuki is twelve when her mother commits suicide and she must fend for herself. (12 and up)
Namioka, Lensey. April and the Dragon Lady. Harcourt, 1994.
A Chinese American teenager tries to reconcile her traditional upbringing with a desire for independence. (12 and up)
_____ . Den of the White Fox. Harcourt, 1997.
Two out of work samurai warriors must use their fighting skills when they join a group of local boys, led by the mysterious White Fox. (12 and up)
_____ . The Hungriest Boy in the World. Holiday House, 2001.
After eating a hungry monster, Jiro begins eating everything in sight. (5-8)
_____ . The Loyal Cat. Harcourt, 1995.
In Ancient Japan, a loyal cat uses his magic powers to help his friend. (5-8)
_____ . Ties that Bind, Ties that Break. Delacorte, 1999.
Ailin’s life takes a different turn when she defies the traditions of upper class Chinese society by refusing to have her feet bound. (12 and up)
_____ . Yang the Eldest and His Odd Jobs. Illustrated by Kees de Kiefte. Little Brown, 2000.
Third sister and her siblings try to help Eldest Brother find work to pay for a new violin in this book about the Yang Family. Books in this series include Yang the Second and Her Secret Admirers, Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family, and Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear, all three published by Little Brown. (10-13)
Nhuong, Huynh Quang. The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy In Vietnam. Illustrated by Dinh Mai Vo. HarperCollins, 1982.
Fifteen true stories of the author’s childhood in Vietnam. Nhuong takes readers back to a time of family and village experiences and stories reflecting traditions and beliefs. (11-14)
_____ . Water Buffalo Days: Growing up in Vietnam. Illustrated by Jean and Mou-sien Tseng. HarperCollins, 1997.
The author describes his close relationship to two water buffalo that were part of his family when he was growing up in a village in the central highlands of Vietnam. (12 and up)
Nunes, Susan Miho. The Last Dragon. Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet. Clarion, 1995.
While spending the summer in Chinatown with his great-aunt, a young boy finds an old ten-man dragon in a shop and gets a number of people to help him repair it. (5-8)
Sogabe, Aki (Illustrator). Written by Elizabeth Partridge. Oranges on Golden Mountain. Penguin Putnam, 2001.
Set in the 1850s, this is the story of a young immigrant fisherman. (5-8)
Paek, Min. Aekyung’s Dream. Translated into Korean by Min Paek. Children’s Book Press, 1988.
A young Korean immigrant learns to adjust to her new life in America by heeding the words of an ancient Korean king. This book is in English and Korean. (6-10)
Rattigan, Jama Kim. Dumpling Soup. Illustrated by Lillian Hsu-Flanders. Little Brown, 1993.
Marisa, a seven-year-old girl who lives in Hawaii, explains the traditions that exist in her family to celebrate the New Year. (5-8)
Sakai, Kimiko. Sachiko Means Happiness. Illustrated by Tomie Arai. Children’s Book Press, 1990.
Although at first five-year-old Sachiko is upset when her grandmother no longer recognizes her, she grows to understand that they can still be happy together. (6-10)
Say, Allen. Emma’s Rug. Houghton Mifflin, 1996.
The story of the inspiration of a child’s great artistry and how it can be changed. (5-10)
_____ . Grandfather’s Journey. Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
A story about a Japanese man’s immigration to the United States. Caldecott Medal winner. (5-10)
_____ . Tree of Cranes. Houghton Mifflin, 1991.
A Japanese boy learns of Christmas when his mother decorates a pine tree with paper cranes. (5-10)
Sun, Chyng Feng. Cat and Cat-Face. Illustrated by Lesley Liu. Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
A young Hawaiian girl tries to make dumplings for her family’s New Year’s celebration. (5-8)
Surat, Michele Maria. Angel Child, Dragon Child. Illustrated by Vo-Dinh Mai. Raintree, 1983.
A young girl describes the difficulties she faces when her family immigrates to the United States. (6-9)
Tan, Amy. The Moon Lady. Illustrated by Gretchen Schields. Macmillan, 1992.
Nai-nai tells her grandchildren a story from her childhood in China of wishes come true during the Moon Festival while seated comfortably in her American apartment. Adapted from a story included in Tan's The Joy Luck Club. (6-10)
_____ . The Chinese Siamese Cat. Illustrated by Gretchen Schields. Macmillan, 1994.
Ming Miao tells her five kittens the story of their ancestor, the famous feline Sagwa of China, and the reason why their faces, ears, paws, and tails are dark like the Siamese cat. (5-8)
Tran, Khanh Tuyet. The Little Weaver of Thai-Yen Village = Co be th-det lang Thai-yen. Written in Vietnamese by Tran-Khanh-Tuyet. Illustrate by Minh-hoa Nancy Hom. Translated into English by Christopher N.H. Jenkins and Tran-Khanh-Tuyet. Children’s Book Press, 1987.
A young Vietnamese girl maintains her own cultural identify while struggling to adjust to the United States. This book is in English and Vietnamese. (6-10)
Tseng, Grace. White Tiger, Blue Serpent. Illustrated by Jean and Mou-sien Tseng. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1999.
An original fantasy based on a Chinese folktale. (6-10)
Uchida, Yoshiko. The Bracelet. Illustrated by Joanna Yardley. Philomel, 1976, 1993.
A Japanese American in the second grade is sent with her family to an interment camp during World War II. (5-8)
_____ . Journey to Topaz. Illustrated by Donald Carrick. Creative Arts Books, 1986, Scribners, 1971.
The story of eleven-year-old Yuki and her family who, after Pearl Harbor, are forced from their home and live in Topaz, a concentration camp in the desert. (10 and up)
Wall, Lina Mao. Judge Rabbit and the Tree Spirit: A Folktale from Cambodia. Adapted by Cathy Spagnoli. Illustrated by Nancy Hom. Children’s Book Press, 1991.
Judge Rabbit solves the problem of a mischievous tree spirit who has taken on human form. This book is in English and Khmer. (5-8)
Watkins, Yoko Kawashima. So Far from the Bamboo Grove. Morrow, 1986.
A fictionalized autobiography in which eight-year-old Yoko escapes from Korea to Japan with her mother and sister at the end of World War II. (10 and up)
Wong, Janet. Good Luck Gold and Other Poems. Simon and Schuster, 1994.
Simple, dramatic poems about growing up Asian American, including cultural differences in foods, clothing, and the role of grandparents. (8-12)
_____ . The Trip Back Home. Illustrated by Bo Jia. Harcourt, 2000.
Based on Wong’s own experiences, a Korean American child visits her mother’s homeland and discovers that family is universal. (5-8)
_____ . This Next New Year. Illustrated by Yangsook Choi. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2000.
A family prepares to celebrate the Lunar New Year and looks forward to the good luck they hope it will bring. (5-8)
Xiong, Blia and Cathy Spagnoli. Nine-In-One, Grr! Grr!: A Folktale from the Hmong People of Laos. Illustrated by Nancy Hom. Children’s Book Press, 1989.
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. (5-8)
Yashima, Taro. Crow Boy. Viking, 1955.
A shy mountain boy in Japan is ridiculed by his schoolmates, but they stop when they understand why he is different. (5-8)
Yee, Paul. Ghost Train. Illustrated by Harvey Chan. Douglas and McIntyre, 1996.
Twelve-year-old Choon-yi may have been born with only one arm, but with it she is able to paint magical paintings. (9-12)
_____ . Tales from Gold Mountain: Stories of the Chinese in the New World. Illustrated by Simon Ng. Groundwood-Douglas McIntyre, 1999.
Eight original stories based on the experiences of Chinese immigrants. (10 and up)
Yep, Laurence. Angelfish. Putnam, 2001.
Robin, a young ballet dancer is half Chinese and must prove himself to a mean store owner. (9-12)
_____ . Dragon’s Gate. HarperCollins, 1993.
This historical fiction novel takes place during the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. (12 and up)
_____ . American Dragons: Twenty-Five Asian American Voices. HarperCollins, 1993.
Stories, poems, and excerpts from plays on what it’s like growing up Asian American. (12 and up)
_____ . Hiroshima: A Novella. Scholastic, 1995.
Describes the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. (8-12)
Yin. Coolies. Illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet. Philomel, 2001.
The story of two Chinese brothers who come to mid-nineteenth century America to work on the transcontinental railroad. (4-8)
Young, Ed. Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China. Philomel, 1989.
Three sisters staying home alone are endangered by a hungry wolf who is disguised as their grandmother. Caldecott Medal winner. (5-8)
_____ . Mouse Match: A Chinese Folktale. Harcourt, 1997.
When a father mouse goes to the sun, cloud, wind, and wall in search of the strongest husband for his daughter, he is surprised to find that a mouse is the best match. An accordion-fold picture book with a ribbon tie. (5-10)
_____ . Seven Blind Mice. Putnam, 1992.
Retells in verse the Indian fable of the blind men discovering different parts of an elephant and arguing about its appearance. The illustrations depict the blind arguers as mice. (5-8)
Yumoto, Kazumi. The Friends. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1996.
Three sixth grade boys form a friendship with an old man. Translated from Japanese. (10 and up)
For more information regarding Asian American literature and authors, please visit http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/asialit.htm
This selected bibliography was developed by the International Relations Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC): Doris Gebel (Chairperson), Stephanie D. Bange, Susan Cooper, Andrew Finkbeiner, Helen Foster James, Olga R. Kuharets, Marlene Gawron, Sunny Strong, Zena B. Sutherland, and Mary Voors.
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