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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My Girragundji
My Girragundji is the story of a boy who is scared of the bad spirit, the Hairyman, who roams his house at night. But, when he is befriended by a green tree frog, 'girragundji', he realises that his ancestors have sent her to protect him and he can face his fears. This story combines the talents of Boori Pryor, one of Australia's greatest aboriginal story-tellers and author Meme McDonald. It's a tale firmly rooted in aboriginal myth and culture, but one that will appeal to any child who's been afraid of the dark.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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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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Once There Was A Boy
Once there was a boy is a universal story of friendship, temptation and reconciliation. This whimsical picture book is the touching story of a little boy with a broken heart who meets a young girl who shares his secret. The timeless and elegant tale is transformed into a beautiful grown-up story by the use of sophisticated analogies, such as the heart as love or friendship and the sapotes as forbidden fruit. With disarmingly innocent language, once there was a boy belies an emotional depth that allows the author to reach out to both the young, and the young at heart. Dub is descended from the Bigambul and Mandandanji people of south-west Queensland
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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Patterns of Australia
Patterns of Australia represents a series of Australian landscapes and habitats (including the rainforest, desert, waterhole, coastal/ocean, bush, river, sky, wetlands, night-time and wildflowers) in “patterns”, as seen through the eyes of acclaimed indigenous artist Bronwyn Bancroft. Each landscape contains animals, birds, plants and flowers particular to that landscape hidden within it, accompanied by text evoking the place and listing the things to find.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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