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Cooper, a young Korean-American, is part of two worlds, but he feels that he doesn’t belong in either. He is particularly ashamed when Mr. Lee speaks to him in Korean and he can’t understand or respond. That frustration gets him into some trouble at Mr. Lee’s shop, until he begins to realize that he and Mr. Lee have more in common than he realized. Cooper’s story speaks to the frustration that many bicultural young people will recognize as they continue to search for their own identity.

Cooper’s Lesson

Sun Yung Shin

Illustrator:

Kim Cogan

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: Xiao Jimmy’s Grandma Ni Ni is his favorite person in all the world. Ni Ni cooks delicious jiao zi, teaches Jimmy Chinese characters, and always has wonderful stories and fascinating objects — like the key collection — to share with him. So when Jimmy learns that Ni Ni must move far away to California, he feels he is losing his best friend. In time, however, Jimmy discovers there are ways to bridge distance, and to make new friends in the process. This warm and reassuring novel explores a special relationship that crosses cultures and generations, and holds strong when tested.

The Key Collection

Andrea Cheng

Illustrator:

Yangsook Choi

Age Level:

6-9

Product description: “Fly free, fly free, in the sky so blue, When you do a good deed, it will come back to you.” Mai loves feeding the caged birds near the temple but dreams that one day she’ll see them fly free. Then she meets Thu and shares the joy of feeding the birds with her. This sets a chain of good deeds in motion that radiates throughout her village and beyond. Set in Vietnam, Roseanne Thong’s inspiring story is elegantly illustrated with watercolor on wood by Eujin Kim Neilan.

Fly Free!

Roseanne Thong

Illustrator:

Eujin Kim Neilan

Age Level:

6-9

Yoshi loves to build anything and everything, and when he finds a fan depicting a boat with a golden sail chasing the moon, he sets out to construct the boat. Yoshi continues to build everything the magic fan shows him, until the villagers become angry with him for building foolish things. What they don’t realize, however, is that Yoshi has built something that will save the village with a different kind of magic. Readers will find themselves poring over the stunning, detailed illustrations set on fan-like flaps in the center of each page.

The Magic Fan

Keith Baker

Age Level:

6-9

Xiao Ming and his mother are spending a winter day in the forest, and the snow is the perfect place to draw characters for words such as “tree” and “sparkling.” Xiao Ming’s mother helps him see the picture within each character — a trick sure to appeal to readers new to the Chinese written language. The colorful, intricate illustrations, created by cut-paper collages, will fascinate young children. This book is one of a four-part series by the author about Chinese characters related to the different seasons.

In the Snow

Huy Voun Lee

Age Level:

3-6

Sophy longs with all of her heart to attend school, but it is too far away to walk without running shoes. When a kind stranger sends her a pair of shoes, Sophy doesn’t waste any time running all 8 kilometers straight to the school. She is the only girl and the boys ridicule her, but once given the opportunity, Sophy is determined to realize her dream. Lovely paintings evoke Sophy’s spirit and the beauty of the Cambodian countryside.

Running Shoes

Frederick Lipp

Illustrator:

Jason Gaillard

Age Level:

6-9

In his Cambodian village, Arn’s home was filled with music and laughter. But when the Khmer Rouge arrived, Arn’s world was turned upside down and he never saw his family again. Arn worked in a labor camp for children for four long years, where he was chosen to play the khim, a traditional wooden stringed instrument. Today, Arn is recognized around the world for his efforts to bring healing to Cambodia and his commitment to preserving the Cambodian songs and instruments that saved his life.

A Song for Cambodia

Michelle Lord

Illustrator:

Shino Arihara

Age Level:

6-9

Product Description: Neel loves listening to Chachaji’s stories over steaming cups of tea. Chachaji’s tales of great Hindu gods and demons, and of his adventures in the Indian Army, leave Neel openmouthed. But it is the tale of his great-uncle’s favorite teacup that teaches Neel the most, for Chachaji’s cup holds far more than sweet, spicy masala chai. It holds the story of a family and a country split in two during the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan. When the precious cup and Chachaji’s health both prove to be more fragile than they look, Neel knows what he must do.

Chachaji’s Cup

Uma Krishnaswami

Illustrator:

Soumya Sitaraman

Age Level:

6-9

Jeanne M. Lee presents the ancient Chinese folk poem that tells the legend of Mu Lan. Dressed as a young man, Mu Lan goes to battle in her father’s place and becomes a revered warrior even as those around her don’t know her true identity. Beautifully detailed illustrations accompany the poem, as does a brief author’s note. Bilingual English-Chinese.

The Song of Mu Lan

Jeanne Lee

Age Level:

6-9

Young Soichiro Honda loved to figure out how things work, and better still, create his own inventions. As a young man, he struggled in school, but he soon became a successful mechanic and manufacturer — steps that would one day enable him to realize his dream of building motorcycles and automobiles. Mark Weston shares fascinating details of Honda’s life story and Katie Yamasaki’s whimsical paintings evoke Honda’s pioneering spirit and imagination in this intriguing biography.

Honda: The Boy Who Loved Cars

Mark Weston

Illustrator:

Katie Yamasaki

Age Level:

6-9

Be Water, My Friend

Ken Mochizuki

Illustrator:

Dom Lee

Age Level:

9-12

Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story

Paula Yoo

Illustrator:

Dom Lee

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Biography, Nonfiction

As a young boy, Hoi comes to America from China to help build the railroad. Only a skinny boy at first, his love for American pies quickly helps him gain in size and strength — and earns him the nickname of Pie-Biter. Pie-Biter eventually became a successful trader with the help of Spanish Louis, and while no one knows what happened to Pie-Biter when he returned to China, travelers from China often talk about the pie shops in their villages — serving Pie-Biter’s favorite flavors! Trilingual in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

Pie-Biter

Ruthanne Lum McCunn

Age Level:

6-9

Emi is filled with sadness as she prepares to leave her home for the internment camp where she and her fellow Japanese-Americans will be forced to live. Just before she leaves, her best friend Laurie brings her a special bracelet so that Emi will not forget her. When Emi loses the bracelet though in the crowds, she feels that has lost so much more and even more alone — until she realizes that maybe she doesn’t need the bracelet to remember Laurie after all.

The Bracelet

Yoshiko Uchida

Age Level:

9-12

As a young boy, Hiroki Sugihara lived in Lithuania, where his father was a diplomat. One morning, the family woke up to find a crowd of people outside of the house. They were Jews from Poland looking for visas and safe passage to Japan. Despite the danger that he and his family would be in, Hiroki’s father began writing visas for the refugees and continued for many days, saving thousands of lives — “Sugihara’s survivors.” This unforgettable story as remembered by Hiroki will resonate with readers for a long time to come.

Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story

Ken Mochizuki, Hiroki Sugihara

Age Level:

6-9

At home, Masako speaks Japanese and sips green tea with her parents. But at her friends’ houses near San Francisco, May speaks English and enjoys pancakes and tea with milk and sugar. When May’s parents decide to return to Japan, she feels lost. May finally begins to find her way in the big city of Osaka, where she makes a special friend who also speaks English — and drinks his tea with milk and sugar. Allen Say brings tenderness and humor to his mother’s unforgettable story in this beautiful tribute to his parents.

Tea with Milk

Allen Say

Age Level:

9-12

This is the story of two Mrs. Gibsons, a tall African American woman from Tennessee, and a petite Japanese woman from Gifu. While there were many differences in the way they dressed, cooked, and expressed their feelings, the two Mrs. Gibsons shared something much more important — they both loved young Toyomi and her father. Based on author Toyomi Igus’ childhood, this heartwarming story about her mother and grandmother is truly a multicultural celebration in the truest sense.

Two Mrs. Gibsons

Toyomi Igus

Illustrator:

Daryl Wells

Age Level:

6-9

Nanami is nervous about translating for her American grandmother, Gram, and her Japanese grandmother, Baachan — especially when the conversation takes a turn towards World War II. As they collect wakame seaweed together, though, she soon realizes that the two wise women have even more in common than she imagined. This lovely tribute celebrates bicultural and bilingual children and the promise of peace.

The Wakame Gatherers

Holly Thompson

Illustrator:

Kazumi Wilds

Age Level:

6-9

“My heart beats in two places.” So begins the tale of Jangmi, a young girl who is preparing to leave her home in Korea (382 Shin Dang Dong) for a new home in Massachusetts (112 Foster Terrace). Jangmi can’t bear the thought of leaving her house, her favorite willow trea, the monsoon rains, and most of all, her best friend Kisuni. Jangmi’s story and its hopeful conclusion will resonate with children who have left a beloved home or friend behind.

Good-Bye, 382 Shin Dang Dong

Frances Park

Illustrator:

Yangsook Choi

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Fiction

Wei can hardly believe his luck — he is about to become an American citizen and lose a tooth on the same day! What starts as double luck becomes double trouble, however, when he loses his tooth in front of the federal courthouse. Marion Hess Pomeranc presents a funny, heartwarming story about the blending of cultures and the excitement of becoming a new U.S. citizen.

The American Wei

Marion Hess Pomeranc

Illustrator:

DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan

Age Level:

6-9

Meet Hiromi, a young girl who wants to follow in her father’s footsteps as a sushi chef in New York City. Although Papa is reluctant to take Hiromi to the fish market at first, he soon realizes that she is truly interested in his craft, and he begins to train his daughter, who will eventually become one of the first female sushi chefs in New York. Based on a true story, this story offers a kid-friendly and fascinating look into the art of sushi, as well as the possibilities that America offers in bringing different cultures together.