Librarian Prep Post: Building AAPI Heritage Month Collections
As you plan displays and programming for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, books can serve as powerful entry points for learning and discussion. These titles showcase diverse voices and experiences, helping readers better understand the histories and cultures that shape Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
The Most Beautiful Thing
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
Drawn from author Kao Kalia Yang’s childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this heartfelt picture book offers a window into the life of a family with little money and a great deal of love.
A Map into the World
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
Kao Kalia Yang’s award-winning picture book features a young Hmong American girl who seeks out beauty everywhere. She then shares all she’s seen with her grieving widower neighbor and they find a true connection.
The Rock in My Throat
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 4
In this moving true story, Kao Kalia Yang shares her experiences as a Hmong refugee child navigating life at home and school in America while carrying the weight of her selective mutism.
A Home on the Page
Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 4
After young Nou finds “Asians Go Home” spray-painted outside her house, she wonders where home truly is. Family members share how they find home, and Nou begins writing stories, creating a place where she belongs.
Kahoʻolawe
Interest Level: Grade 2 – Grade 5
Discover the story of the smallest Hawaiian island, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians, from its formation long ago to its present-day restoration as a protected site. A remarkable narrative accompanied by stunning ill
Dreams to Ashes
Interest Level: Grade 2 – Grade 5
A powerful nonfiction picture book about the history of Chinese immigration to the West Coast, presented through the lens of the 1871 Los Angeles Chinatown Massacre. An essential account that offers both heartbreak and hope.
Japanese American Interment Camps
From the Series Heroes of World War II (Alternator Books®)
Interest Level: Grade 3 – Grade 6
During World War II, more than one hundred thousand Japanese Americans were forced to live in internment camps. Life in the camps was difficult, but imprisoned Japanese Americans remained brave. Learn about these courageous heroes who fought for justice.
The Real History of Angel Island
From the Series Left Out of History (Read Woke™ Books)
Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 8
People often learn about Ellis Island when they are taught the history of immigration in the US. However, many people also came through Angel Island. Discover the history of the Angel Island Immigration Station.
The American Dream?
Interest Level: Grade 6 – Grade 12
Shing Yin Khor’s graphic travelogue about driving through what’s left of Route 66 begins as a road trip and ends up more like a pilgrimage in search of an ever-shifting definition of America.
Kiyo Sato
Interest Level: Grade 6 – Grade 12
Kiyo Sato was one of many Japanese Americans to be moved to internment camps during World War II. This narrative biography, supported by informational sidebars, revisits a troubling part of America’s history through the eyes of a young woman who lived through it.
The Red Car to Hollywood
Interest Level: Grade 9 – Grade 12
In LA’s Chinatown in 1924, sixteen-year-old Ruby Chan rebels against her parents’ conventional plans for her future. A friendship with nineteen-year-old Anna May Wong, a rising Hollywood film star, opens up new possibilities.
Find More Titles for AAPI Heritage Month
Explore more of our hand picked titles for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by checking out our past librarian prep post’s!
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