Children’s books for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and every day! Great stories can engage children. Reading can take kids to explore the world through words and pictures. Heritage culture instills in your family. You and your children can celebrate it daily.
Heritage culture on the basic level we hear the language and we taste the authentic food at home. However, it goes much deeper than that. With the heritage language children can communicate with people from the Chinese-speaking countries or region. From learning Chinese language children can explore their heritage culture and they learn more about themselves.
More important, children can be proud of being a young world citizen and, at the same time, they can be proud of their heritage. From simple dress code to family value, respect and work ethic in a culture, it brings in a great understanding of oneself in the mainstream community culture.
Here are ten books to celebrate Asian culture that you can add to your home library and class library!
SUMO JOE
I really enjoy reading SUMO JOE by author Mia Wenjen and illustrator Nat Iwata. We have been following SUMO tournaments and have been learning about it. SUMO JOE tells a spirited rhyming story of a gentle loving brother to his little sister and his favorite activity with his friends, being sumo wrestlers with his friends on Saturday mornings! You will see the boys tie on makeshift mawashi belts, practice drills like teppo, and compete in their homemade dohyo ring. The also observe sumo’s ultimate rule: no girls allowed! What will Sumo Joe do when his little sister wants to join in the fun?
Dumpling Days
We love Grace Lin’s stories and illustration. Pacy’s family is going to Taiwan this summer! They are going to see the families and be read for grandma’s big birthday celebration. Their grandmother is turning 60 years old. Pacy is going to attend a Chinese painting class. It is going to be a lot of fun and exploration. But, Pacy has one challenge that is she doesn’t speak the language everyone speaks in Taiwan even thought she looks just like them. And what’s more fun is that Pacy found out the garbage truck plays a classic music. A great book to learn about Taiwan and connecting with family culture.
MAGIC RAMEN
Magic Ramen by Andrea Wang is a delicious treat. It tells the story behind the creation of the popular raman noodle soup. This is a story that shows the creator, Momofuku Ando’s perseverance. A non-fiction picture book with beautiful illustration, it delivers a message of food and the connection to peace.
Chinese Myths and Legends: The Monkey King and Other Adventures
Chinese Myths and Legends by Shelley Fu include seven classic Chinese stories -Pan Gu and the Creation of the Worlds, Nu Wo-the Mother of Mankind, Ho Yi the Archer (Mid Autumn Moon Festival), Journey to the West (Monkey King), The Man in the Moon (Wú Gāng, The Mid Autumn Festival), The story of the White Snake (Dragon Boat Festival), and The Heavenly River(The Chinese Valentine‘ s Day). This is a great book for a home library, a class library and a public library for young world citizens.
Alvin Ho: Allergic to The Great Wall, The Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions
Are you going on a trip with your child? This is a good read for a flight or a road trip. Alvin is an Asian American second grader and he is afraid of everything. Now, he is going to fly 16 hours to China to introduce the new baby to the family. Will Alvin get lost in the crowd? What food is he going to eat for breakfast? How about the cultural differences? Will Alvin be open to try the ku fu lessons, and eat lunch food for breakfast? There are many cultural topics that can bring into great discussions with children.
D is for Doufu
D is for Doufu by Maywan Shen Krach is a book about Chinese culture for older children and adult readers. The cultural topics include love, top 100 Chinese last names, tofu, feng shui (geomancy), gong fu (kung fu), dragon and many more. Each topic title has its coordinating Chinese title and pinyin with visual presentation.
Chinese Children’s Favorite Stories
Author and illustrator, Mingmei Yip shares her bedtime stories that her father told her in this book. There are thirteen stories and they include The Mouse Bride, The Cowherd and the Spinning Girl, Playing the Qin for the Water Buffalo, How the Fox Tricked the Tiger, and more. These enchanting stories come with vibrant illustration. Look into Chinese culture and virtues in the legends. What will be your first pick to read to your child?
Asian Kites for Kids
Making kites and exploring Asian culture work beautifully with this book. The full-color instructions make it easy to follow and create these kites from materials you already have at home. There are more just making kites. There are stories about each project and history of kites from each selected country. You will see fifteen different models from across Asia, including China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Korea. This is a great book for hands-on activities.
In The Forbidden City
In the Forbidden City is a gorgeous and impressive book introduces readers to the architecture and history of China’s imperial palace and people lived in it. Reading this book is like being a tourist and learning with every page.
Mandarin Chinese Picture Dictionary
Chinese picture dictionary is a handy reference book with Pinyin, English, and online audio support. There are over 1,500 Chinese words! The topics include greetings, family, counting and numbers, shopping, asking and giving direction, school, smart phone, food, drinks and many more. There are a total of 38 themes in this dictionary.
Children’s Books for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Beyond! I hope you enjoy this selection books and share with us what is on your desk and what is your child’s favorite read at this time. Happy Asian Pacific American heritage Month!
Welcome to our sixth annual Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month Blog Hop! Below you can explore ideas about sharing with kids the rich cultures of this vast and varied region.
For even more ideas, visit our blog hops from last year, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014. You can also follow our Asia and Australia & Oceania boards on Pinterest.
Participating Blogs
Miss Panda Chinese on Multicultural Kid Blogs
Chinese American Family: 10 of My Favorite Non-Profits Serving the Chinese American Community
Bicultural Mama: Chinese Noodles With Tofu and Ginger
Crafty Moms Share: Japanese Crafts
Miss Panda Chinese: Children’s Books for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Every Day