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
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Mindy Kim and the yummy seaweed business
Lee, Lyla
Paper Book

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

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

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)

A spoonful of time
Ahn, Flora
Paper Book

Making Korean food with her grandmother, who's experiencing dementia, allows Maya to travel back through her grandmother's memories to learn about her life. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The cobra's song
Kelkar, Supriya
Paper Book

A classical Hindustani singer must harness the power of her voice to protect her town from a shapeshifter straight out of Indian folklore. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Much ado about baseball
LaRocca, Rajani
Paper Book
Math nerds on their quirky Connecticut town's baseball team discover that the snacks provided by their sponsor are magically improving their sports skills. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)
Front desk
Yang, Kelly
Paper Book

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)

Prairie lotus
Park, Linda Sue
Paper Book

A biracial Asian girl who longs to be a dressmaker settles in a small South Dakota town inspired by the Little House on the Prairie books. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Maizy Chen's last chance
Yee, Lisa
Audiobook

After her grandfather falls ill, a young teen from LA spends a summer in the Midwest helping out at her grandparents' restaurant and learning more about her heritage. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The very unfortunate wish of Melony Yoshimura
Brown, Waka T.
Paper Book

A spooky retelling of a Japanese folktale set in Portland. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

How to win a slime war
Respicio, Mae
Paper Book

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)

The spirit glass
Chokshi, Roshani
Paper Book

A vengeful ghost steals the key that allows a Filipino girl to speak with the spirits of her parents in this fantasy adventure story based on Filipino mythology. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Haru, zombie dog hero
Oh, Ellen
Paper Book

A beloved dog helps his human boy unmask the evil corporation bent on destroying their town. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Marikit and the ocean of stars
Cruz, Caris Avendaño
Paper Book

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)

Unsettled
Faruqi, Reem
Paper Book

In this novel in verse, a Pakistani girl struggles to adjust to life in America after her father gets a new job in Peachtree, Georgia. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Stargazing
Wang, Jen
Paper Book

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)

Keep it together, Keiko Carter
Florence, Debbi Michiko
Paper Book

Keiko finds herself stuck in the middle between two best friends, one who throws herself headlong into makeup and dating and one who doesn't. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Pahua and the soul stealer
Lee, Lori M.
Paper Book

A Hmong teen discovers she's a legendary shaman warrior when she rescues her brother's spirit from the underworld in this Rick Riordan Presents fantasy adventure. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Awesome orange birthday
Ruths, Mitali Banerjee
Paper Book

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)

Make a move, Sunny Park!
Kim, Jessica
Paper Book

Shy sunny flourishes on her school dance team, despite the fact that it causes serious problems with her best friend, Bailey, who didn't. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

That thing about Bollywood
Kelkar, Supriya
Paper Book
An Indian American middle schooler refuses to acknowledge her difficult feelings around her parents' divorce until she begins spontaneously breaking out in Bollywood-style song and dance routines to express her feelings. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)
Living with Viola
Fung, Rosena
Paper Book

A graphic novel that explores anxiety and mental illness from the perspective of a Chinese Canadian middle schooler. (Young Teen Graphic Novel Grades 5-7)

Measuring up
LaMotte, Lily
Paper Book

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)

More to the story
Khan, Hena
Paper Book

A retelling of Little Women starring a Pakistani Muslim American family living in modern-day Georgia. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

The last fallen star
Kim, Graci
Paper Book

A Korean American girl attempts to include her adopted sister in the family's magic with disastrous results. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

The unbeatable Lily Hong
Ma, Diana
Paper Book

A Chinese Muslim teen is torn between pursuing her own dreams of filmmaking or helping to save her family's traditional dance business during a reality TV competition. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Lei and the fire goddess
Maunakea, Malia
Paper Book

A Hawai'ian teen whose lost interest in continuing her family's storytelling traditions must lift a family curse after insulting the volcano goddess, Pele. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Inside out & back again
Lai, Thanhha.
Paper Book

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)

Ghost book
Lai, Remy
Paper Book

A girl who can talk to ghosts befriends a spirit during Hungry Ghost month in this funny graphic novel from Chinese Australian author Remy Lai. (Young Teen Graphic Novel Grades 5-7)

Theo Tan and the fox spirit
Sutanto, Jesse Q.
Paper Book

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

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

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)

Shakti
Sindu, SJ
Paper Book

After an attempt to use ancient magic to stop a group of bullies accidentally curses her town, an Indian American tween must make peace with herself in order to save it. (Young Teen Graphic Novel Grades 5-7)

Mabuhay!
Sterling, Zack
Paper Book

Two teen who are less than enthused about helping with their family's Filipino food truck find themselves cursed by monsters from Filipino folklore. (Young Teen Graphic Novel Grades 5-7)

Tamamo the fox maiden : and other Asian stories
Spike
Paper Book

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
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)
Finding Junie Kim
Oh, Ellen
Paper Book

Learning about her Korean family history helps a bullied middle schooler gain confidence. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)


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