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BookDragon Absolute Favorites

The Arrival by Shaun Tan [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Young Adult Readers

arrivalA spectacular book-without-words that traces one family’s immigration story with brilliant imagination. In an unnamed troubled land, a man leaves his wife and young daughter behind in search of freedom in a new country. His adjustments...

Motherbridge of Love by Anonymous, presented by Xinran and Mother Bridge of Love, illustrated by Josée Masse [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Children/Picture Books, Chinese, Nonethnic-specific, Poetry, Repost

motherbridge-of-loveA lovingly illustrated poem, which was originally submitted anonymously by an adoptive mother to the Mothers' Bridge of Love, a London-based charity founded by acclaimed writer Xinran that reaches out to Chinese adopted children around...

Samsara Dog by Helen Manos, illustrated by Julie Vivas [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

samsara-dogGet ready to weep: Dog’s many lives are beautifully recounted in this gorgeous title about life cycles and reincarnation, based on the Buddhist belief of samsara (also found in Hinduism, Sikhism, and other religions). Born again and...

Author Interview: Marjane Satrapi [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Iranian, Memoir, Nonfiction, Persian, Repost, Translation, Young Adult Readers

persepolisMarjane Satrapi on the "Axis of Evil," Cheese, and Exploring Family History Marjane Satrapi changed my reading life. Before I picked up Persepolis, her fabulous autobiographical debut about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, I had...

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus

01 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Audio, Bangladeshi, Memoir, Nonfiction

Banker to the PoorThis is one of those life-changing books. Truly. I read it just before my first-ever trip to India (hoping to also go to Bangladesh at some point, but hasn't happened...

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang + Author Interview [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Author Interview/Profile, Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, Young Adult Readers

american-born-chineseGene Luen Yang, National Book Award Nominee, Makes Publishing History ...

Buddha by Osamu Tezuka [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Repost, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Buddha1-8 Buddha, Volume 1: Kapilavastu Buddha, Volume 2: The Four Encounters Buddha, Volume 3: Devadatta Buddha, Volume 4: The Forest of Uruvela Buddha, Volume 5: Deer Park Buddha, Volume 6: Ananda Buddha, Volume 7: Prince Ajatasattu Buddha, Volume 8: Jetavana Graphic novels are big...

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

memory-keepers-daughterWhat a beginning: a snowstorm, a home birth, surprise twins, and a split-second decision by a father to give away his Down Syndrome-daughter while his wife believes their lost child has died. While the small leftover...

Flotsam by David Wiesner

19 Sep, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

FlotsamWinner of the 2007 Caldecott Medal (and oh so very well-deserved!), Wiesner creates yet another masterpiece of gorgeous wonder – without a single word! A young boy out for a day on the beach discovers...

part asian • 100% hapa by Kip Fulbeck [in Christian Science Monitor]

23 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Hapa/Mixed-race, Nonfiction, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Repost, Young Adult Readers

part-asian-100-hapa"hapa (hä'pä) adj. 1. Slang. of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry. n. 2. Slang. a person of such ancestry. [der./Hawaiian: Hapa Haole (half white)]" Thus opens Fulbeck's fabulous compilation...

Q&A by Vikas Swarup [in AsianWeek]

08 Sep, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Repost, South Asian

Q&AIn spite of its devastating moments, this is one fabulous novel about a billion-rupee quiz show winner, a lá Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, who is unjustly arrested for cheating. Rescued from being further tortured,...

The Painting by Nina Schuyler [in AsianWeek]

03 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Japanese, Repost

PaintingFirst and foremost: This is one of the best books I’ve read this year in spite of the historical improbability laid out at the novel’s end. Ayoshi, a woman artist in 1869 Japan, paints in order...

If You Are Afraid of Heights by Raj Kamal Jha [in AsianWeek]

08 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Repost, South Asian

If You Are Afraid of HeightsFrom the author of the devastating The Blue Bedspread comes another stunning, multilevel novel of human suffering and uneasy hope. The unique opening addresses...

The Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo [in AsianWeek]

28 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Repost

Pearl Diver.TalarigoOkay, so I've been known to get on a soapbox more often than not about inauthentic voices usurping other people's identities, i.e. white men writing as Asian women, especially sets me off – oh,...

P Is for Passport: A World Alphabet by Devin Scillian, illustrated by a collection of nationally acclaimed artists [in AsianWeek]

17 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Children/Picture Books, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Repost

P is for PassportWhen have you ever had an alphabet book that used “xenophobia” for the letter X? “… you’ll need to leave one X at home, and that’s for ‘xenophobia,’” it reads....

The Complete Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi [in AsianWeek]

30 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Iranian, Memoir, Nonfiction, Persian, Repost, Young Adult Readers

persepolisAlready a bestseller in France, where it was first published, Satrapi’s achievement is capturing her childhood in spare comic book images that speak utter volumes. Satrapi, whose great grandfather was a Persian emperor, recalls her life...

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini [in AsianWeek]

30 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Afghan, Afghan American, Fiction, Repost

Kite RunnerA resonating, breathtaking first novel that chronicles the relationship of two boys, born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan – both motherless, both nursed by the same woman and both lives inextricably linked, even in...

The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices by Xinran + Author Interview [in Bloomsbury Review]

01 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Chinese, Nonfiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers

good-women-of-chinaXinran: The Voice of the Good Women of China The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices is one of those books you just can’t put down. Part memoir, part history, part tragedy, part social documentary, Good Women...

Where Europe Begins by Yoko Tawada, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky and from the Japanese by Yumi Selden [in AsianWeek]

31 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Japanese, Repost, Short Stories, Translation

Where Europe BeginsAn undeniably superb, even breathtaking short story collection about life spent in the “in-between” by the Japanese-born, German-domiciled, multi-dimensioned Tawada. Review: "New and Notable Books," AsianWeek, January...

Yellow Umbrella by Jae Soo Liu, with music by Dong Il Sheen [in AsianWeek]

29 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Korean, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

Yellow UmbrellaThis may be the kids’ find of the holiday season. An utterly delightful walk in the rain with the most colorful, inviting umbrellas, set to infectiously happy, twinkling music. My kids couldn’t stop pushing...

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Smithsonian Institution
Asian Pacific American Center

Capital Gallery, Suite 7065
600 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20024

202.633.2691 | APAC@si.edu

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SmithsonianAPA brings Asian Pacific American history, art, and culture to you through innovative museum experiences and digital initiatives.

About BookDragon

Welcome to BookDragon, filled with titles for the diverse reader. BookDragon is a new media initiative of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), and serves as a forum for those interested in learning more about the Asian Pacific American experience through literature. BookDragon is inhabited by Terry Hong.

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