Great reads for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

All Thirteen (middle grade nonfiction)... This is the powerful, amazing story of 12 boys and their soccer coach who were trapped in a rapidly flooding cave. The story garnered national attention and it was beautiful to see that a great number of people from all over the globe worked together to rescue them. Along with moving me, this book also taught me a lot about Thailand and Thai culture. 

American Girl: Corinne (secular, middle grade)... This one has culture and racism focus but not really any history. The focus is much more on other things but I wanted to include this anyway. 

The Caged Birds of Phnom Penh (picture book)... We read this picture book during a Cambodia unit. We learned a little about Cambodian culture and enjoyed our protagonist's clever way of ensuring her dreams come true. 

Chinese Menu (secular, middle grade)... Grace Lin has done such a great job combining fantastical folklore with true history behind various popular Chinese dishes. Bonus- beautiful illustrations! 

Finding Spiritual Whitespace (Christian nonfiction)... This was a beautiful book about healing and diving headfirst into God's comfort but she also dove a bit into her heritage as it pertains to her childhood trauma. I often call this book a Christian mental health memoir. 

The Firekeeper's Son (picture book)... I love Linda Sue Park's writing and we enjoyed this picture book about signal fires in 1800s Korea. 

Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same (leveled readers)... These leveled readers by Taiwanese-American author Grace Lin are fun and cute with just a touch of culture.

Lon Po Po (picture book)... This is a Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood. We actually know this one from a book DVD, 20 Fairy Tales. 

The Magnolia Story (Christian nonfiction)... This book is about the businesses and life of Chip and Joanna Gaines and it does spend a little bit of ink on Joanna's half-Korean heritage. 

Ming's Christmas Wishes (picture book)... This story, set in the 30s, looks at that uncomfortable in-between feeling immigrant's children sometimes feel. Ming's Chinese heritage is proudly and boldly on display in this lovely Christmas story. Ming and her father do briefly pray to a goddess on one page. 

Sylvia & Aki (secular, middle grade)... This one talks about a Mexican-American family working a Japanese family's farm during their time in a Japanese Internment Camp. Both girls' experiences are shown, back-and-forth. This is a true story but it reads like a fiction novel. I really enjoyed this one.

What is Nintendo? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... This one is of course a huge hit at my house and even i enjoyed learning about the history of Nintendo. 

Where is the Great Wall of China? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... Not all of these books have been yeses for us but this one was and gives a good, illustrated look at the history of the Wall. 

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (middle grade)... Part fantasy, part Chinese folklore, full delight 🤗 We listened to this one on audio and were so happy with it!