BookDragon Author: SIBookDragon

Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (vol. 6) by Motoro Mase, translated by John Werry, English adaptation by Kristina Blachere

14 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Federal employee Fujimoto delivers ikigami – death notices from the National Welfare Program, which insists that its arbitrary system of randomly killing one in every 1,000 citizens will teach people to value life. Fujimoto has been in doubtful turmoil about the death-system, although he knows...

The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai by Xu Ruiyan [in Library Journal]

14 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Repost

While Xu crafts breathtaking prose in her debut, her storytelling doesn't yet match her formidable writing prowess. The book opens with a tantalizing premise: Li Jing – 32-year-old Shanghai finance wizard, devoted son, husband, and father – emerges from a horrific accident with Broca's aphasia, which leaves...

Raindrops: A Shower of Colors by Chiêu Anh Urban, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli

13 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Vietnamese American

Since we’ve been greeted the last few mornings with showers, I figure Raindrops was the most appropriate title to post today … This chunky book for little fingers proves to be a most clever adventure in learning colors … not just the basics, but how certain...

From North to South | Del Norte al Sur by René Colato Laínez, illustrated by Joe Cepeda

12 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Bilingual, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Latina/o/x

José and his Papá live in San Diego. Mamá used to live with them until the factory where she works was raided, and Mamá was sent away to Tijuana, Mexico. Two weeks since her sudden disappearance, José and Papá will finally be able to see...

In Celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage: A Survey of New & Notable Books [in Bloomsbury Review]

10 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Repost, Young Adult Readers

I've been doing an annual New & Notable roundup of APA titles for The Bloomsbury Review for more than a few years now. This year's installment is running a little later than usual. I know you can't see it here, but the roundup is referenced...

Author Interview: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni [in Bloomsbury Review]

10 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Indian American, Repost, South Asian American, Young Adult Readers

Sharing Humanity: A Talk with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni about Her Latest Novel, One Amazing Thing Over the last decades, tragedies – both human-made and those wrought by an ever-angry Mother Nature – seem to be coming at humankind with fast and furious regularity. The latest oil...

heartbeat by Sharon Creech

09 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Poetry, Verse Novel/Nonfiction

I fully admit to being poetically challenged (damaged?). I don't get musicals either. But something about free verse is sooo gloriously addictive – when the rhythm is just right and you can't seem to put the pages down ...

The Tooth by Avi Slodovnick, illustrated by Manon Gauthier

07 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

Young Marissa wakes one morning with a toothache – too much candy does have painful consequences! So it's off to the dentist instead of school. She experiences the morning hustle bustle of a busy city, careful to hold her mother's hand tightly. The most "unusual"...

Maneki Neko: the Tale of the Beckoning Cat by Susan Lendroth, illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi

05 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese, Japanese American

We've all been greeted by the seated, squat kitty with one paw raised as if saluting her 'come-on-in-hello' to anyone and everyone either entering or just passing by in front of Asian shops and restaurants. Her name, in Japanese, is more of a description: she's...

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language by Deborah Fallows [in Christian Science Monitor]

04 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese, Memoir, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Repost

In the book of Exodus in the King James Version of the Bible, Moses first called himself a “stranger in a strange land.” From then on up through Robert A. Heinlein’s 1961 novel of the same phrase, the “stranger in a strange land”-genre has been...

Author Interview: Grace Lin [in Bookslut]

02 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Author Interview/Profile, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, Taiwanese American, Young Adult Readers

I really should have taken a picture: my too-fast growing tween son, cuddled in bed reading to his little cousin (my not-quite-5-year-old nephew with the most amazing eyes you’ll ever gaze into), hearing the very familiar words of Grace Lin’s delicious Dim Sum for Everyone. “Do...

Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men by Leonard Sax

30 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

If you're a parent, go get this book and start reading NOW. Even if you don't have a son. While you're ordering, make sure to also include Leonard Sax's latest, Girls on the Edge, another life-changing read. If you're a parent, truly, you owe it...

Kobato (vol. 1) presented by CLAMP

29 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

I think this is my introduction to CLAMP, an all-woman collective of manga artists that began in the mid-1980s with varying members through the years, but consistently cranking out high-sales series that often get turned into anime. Go, girls, go! That said, I probably need to...

Mimi Says NO by Yih-Fen Chou, illustrated by Chih-Yuan Chen

28 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

Mimi's independent ways continue ...

Mimi Loves to Mimic by Yih-Fen Chou, illustrated by Chih-Yuan Chen

28 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

The adorable Mimi is a typical toddler just on the edge of finding her independence, but still needing a bit of assistance now and then from Mommy and Daddy, even Grandma and Grandpa. She's good at throwing her toys in the trash can, but hasn't...

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina

27 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

That it has taken me months to write this specific post is NOT an indicator in any way that this book was not informative, entertaining, useful, and often just downright fun. I also 'read' most of it via iPod, which I'd also highly recommend because...

God’s Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

26 Jul, by SIBookDragon in African, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Vietnamese American

Open the first spread of this warm little wonder – just out as a durably thick board book for the chunkiest little fingers – and marvel at those sleeping, trusting, dreaming faces ...

Fugitive Visions: An Adoptee’s Return to Korea by Jane Jeong Trenka

25 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Korean, Korean American, Memoir, Nonfiction

Jane Jeong Trenka's follow-up to her phenomenal debut memoir, The Language of Blood, is a searing, disturbing account of why transracial adoption does not work. Newly divorced, having severed her relationship with her adoptive parents, escaping from a violent stalker now in jail, Trenka arrives in Korea having...

Welcome to My Neighborhood: A Barrio A•B•C by Quiara Alegría Hudes, illustrated by Shino Arihara

24 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese American, Latina/o/x, Puerto Rican

"A is for abuela. And abandoned car," begins an adventurous afternoon for two friends – one Latina, the other Asian Pacific American – as they explore the familiar yet unique streets and corners of the little girl's neighborhood. From the Chino-Latino corner store to the fire hydrant...

Black Blizzard by Yoshihiro Tatsumi, translated by Akemi Wegmüller; edited, designed, and lettered by Adrian Tomine

23 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Holy moly! This manga is older than I am! No snickering, please! First published in Japan in 1956 by a then very young Yoshihiro Tatsumi (who memorialized his own artist-as-a-young-man development in his autobiographical graphic memoir A Drifting Life – in which you can also read more...