January 2009 - BookDragon

The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee [in Christian Science Monitor] [in Bloomsbury Review]

31 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, British, Chinese, Hapa/Mixed-race, Hong Kongese, Korean American, Repost

Something about Janice Y.K. Lee’s debut novel, The Piano Teacher, whispers, “Watch me.” Populated with a cast of “wandering global voyagers,” Lee unfurls her story, set in Hong Kong during and after World War II, layer by layer and in cinematic snippets. Captured in clipped, almost abbreviated...

Bloodvine: A Novel by Aris Janigian

30 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Armenian American, Fiction

Two half-brothers, Abe and Andy, the American descendants of Armenian refugees whose families have escaped the Armenian Genocide, have led very different lives in California's fertile Central Valley. Abe, the eldest, loses his father and is forced to take on adult responsibilities far too early by...

Erika-san by Allen Say [in Bloomsbury Review]

26 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese, Japanese American, Repost

The prolific, Caldecott Medal-winning Allen Say debuts his latest picture book, as gorgeous as all the others. As a child, Erika falls in love with Japan through a framed picture her grandfather bought as a young man. "I want to go there when I grow...

In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar

15 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Arab, Audio, British, Fiction

In 1979, 9-year-old Suleiman already lives a fractured existence in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, controlled by Qaddafi and the ever-present threat of his secret police. While his father is often away on some unknown business, young Suleiman is left behind to take care of...

The Snow Day by Komako Sakai

01 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese, Nonethnic-specific, Translation

Told with evocative, gentle pictures, The Snow Day opens with a young bunny who wakes up to a snow day – which means no kindergarten! Afraid that her little one might catch cold, the Mommy bunny asks him to wait until the snow stops. But...

Tan to Tamarind: Poems about the Color Brown by Malathi Michelle Iyengar, illustrated by Jamel Akib [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Black/African American, Children/Picture Books, Latina/o/x, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Poetry, Repost, South Asian American

A joyful celebration of all sorts of brown-tinted skin colors, reflected in the tan of a spicy masala chai to the cocoa of a frothy hot chocolate to the ochre of a bridal mehendi hand design to the coffee brown of café con leche to the adobe...

Auntie Tiger by Laurence Yep, illustrated by Insu Lee

01 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction

When two bickering sisters are left alone by their mother, she reminds Big Sister she must take care of Little Sister and Little Sister must listen to Big Sister. No sooner does she leave when Auntie Tiger knocks on the door. When the sisters don't...

BookDragon January 2009

The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee [in Christian Science Monitor] [in Bloomsbury Review]

Bloodvine: A Novel by Aris Janigian

Erika-san by Allen Say [in Bloomsbury Review]

In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar

The Snow Day by Komako Sakai

Tan to Tamarind: Poems about the Color Brown by Malathi Michelle Iyengar, illustrated by Jamel Akib [in Bloomsbury Review]

Auntie Tiger by Laurence Yep, illustrated by Insu Lee

Smithsonian Institution
Asian Pacific American Center

About BookDragon

Contact BookDragon

Follow BookDragon!

Looking for Something Else …?