Children's Book Suggestions | Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Celebrate Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month with these chapter books for readers in Grades 2-7!

Updated February 15, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
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Mindy Kim and the yummy seaweed business
Lee, Lyla
Paper Book
Fresh Off the Boat meets Junie B. Jones in this first novel in an adorable new chapter book series about Mindy Kim, a young Asian American girl who is starting a snack business! Mindy Kim just wants three things: 1. A puppy! 2. To fit in at her new school ...

An elementary school students starts a seaweed snack business and helps her classmates learn to love a new-to-them food, perfect for fans of The Baby-Sitters Club. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

The tryout
Soontornvat, Christina
Paper Book
Could anything be more mortifying than trying out for cheerleader in front of your whole grade? This hilarious, highly relatable story will make you laugh, cry, and cheer! Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier. An Instant #1 Bestseller! "A captivating middle...

Based on a true story from the author's childhood, this novel about trying out for the middle school cheerleading squad is a perfect fit for friends of Smile and Real Friends. (Young Teen Graphic Novel Grades 5-7)

The secret of the jade bangle
Trinh, Linda
Paper Book
"Engaging and empowering"--STARRED review, Nonstop Reader A charming early chapter book series that explores Vietnamese culture and identity through the eyes of the Nguyen siblings, with elements of the supernatural, spirituality, and social justice woven in. 

Three siblings inherit magical gifts from their late Grandma Ná»™i, who recently passed away, that teach them more about their Vietnamese heritage. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

Front desk
Yang, Kelly.
CD
Winner of the Asian / Pacific American Award for Children's Literature* "Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day,...

Mia, an aspiring writer and recent immigrant from China, helps her parents run an Anaheim motel in 1990s LA. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

How to win a slime war /
Respicio, Mae.
Paper Book
Slime entrepreneurs face off in an epic battle to see who can sell the most slime, while navigating sticky situations with friends and family. From the award-winning author of The House That Lou Built comes another story about a creative kid with something to prove. Alex...

A Filipino middle schooler starts a slime business at his new school while managing his father's pressure to play soccer instead. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Marikit and the ocean of stars
Cruz, Caris Avendaño
Paper Book
A magical middle grade debut, inspired by Filipino folklore, about a ten-year-old girl who embarks on a quest in the world of gods and spirits to save her and her family from a sinister shadow god. Perfect for fans of The Girl Who Drank the Moon and When You Trap a Tiger.<...

A young girl enters a magical realm on a quest to save her family in this lyrical ode to Filipino mythology. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Stargazing
Wang, Jen
Paper Book
Stargazing is a heartwarming middle-grade graphic novel in the spirit of Frizzy and Mexikid, from New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Jen Wang. Moon is everything Christine isn't. She's confident, impulsive, artistic . . . and though they...

Compulsive rule-follower Christine is drawn to impulsive, artistic Moon, but Moon's free-wheeling ways are related to a burgeoning health crisis. (Children's Graphic Novels Grades 3-5)

The Party Diaries :
Ruths, Mitali Banerjee.
Paper Book
In this full-color early chapter book series, Priya starts a party-planning business to help save the planet -- one party at a time! Pick a book. Grow a Reader! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to...

An animal-loving kid uses her organization and arts & crafts skills to plan parties that raise funds for a good cause! In the first book, she kicks off her business by planning an orange-themed birthday for a family friend. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

Measuring up
LaMotte, Lily
Paper Book
An ALA Top 10 Graphic Novel of 2021 · A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection · Fall 2020 Kids Indie Next List · Featured in Today Show's AAPI Heritage Month List · Amazon Best Books November Selection · Cybils Awards Finalist · An NBC AAPI Selection · Featured in...

A young cook and recent immigrant from Taiwan enters a cooking competition, where she hopes to use her Taiwanese culinary skills to win enough money to visit her grandmother. (Children's Graphic Novel Grades 3-5)

Inside out & back again
Lai, Thanhha.
Paper Book
Inside Out and Back Again is a #1 New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor Book, and a winner of the National Book Award! Inspired by the author's childhood experience as a refugee--fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama--this coming-of-age debut novel told...

A novel in verse inspired by the author's childhood, when her family settled in Alabama in 1975 following the Vietnam War. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Theo Tan and the fox spirit
Sutanto, Jesse Q.
Paper Book
After inheriting a grieving fox spirit, a Chinese American boy must learn to embrace his heritage to solve the mystery of his brother's death in Jesse Q Sutanto's magical, action-packed middle grade fantasy, Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit. Theo Tan doesn't want a spirit...

A magical fox spirit helps a Chinese American boy investigate his brother's mysterious death. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Troublemaker /
Cho, John,
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller! An Indiebound bestseller! An Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor Book! Troublemaker follows the events of the LA Riots through the eyes of 12-year-old Jordan...

A Korean American middle schooler experiences the 1992 LA riots while crossing the city to help his dad at their family store in Koreatown. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

When you trap a tiger /
Keller, Tae.
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL * WINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE * #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A PARADE BEST KIDS BOOK OF ALL TIME * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOK OF THE CENTURY Would you make a...

A young teen girl learns about her family history through the power of stories when she goes to stay with her aging halmoni. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Tamamo the fox maiden : and other Asian stories
Spike
Paper Book
"A must for myth-loving middle schoolers." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL "And they lived happily ever after . . . I assume." Vengeful spirits, flying ogres, helpful teapots, ghost pepper ghosts, and trickster tigers? That's just the start of this lively...

Asian authors and illustrators team up for a graphic novel of short stories inspired by traditional Asian folktales. (Young Teen Graphic Novel Grades 5-7)

You are here : connecting flights
Oh, Ellen
Paper Book
A powerful and engaging exploration of contemporary Asian American identity through interwoven stories set in a teeming Chicago airport, written by award-winning and bestselling East and Southeast Asian American authors including Linda Sue Park, Grace Lin, Erin Entrada Kelly, Traci Chee, and...
Try a bunch of different Asian American authors in this book of short stories set in an airport, edited by We Need Diverse Books co-founder Ellen Oh. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

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