Gasa-Gasa Girl by Naomi Hirahara [in AsianWeek]
26 May, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese American, Repost
Perfect beach read: A father arrives in NYC to visit his estranged daughter and stumbles onto a murder for which his daughter is arrested as the prime suspect. Little by little, he must not...
The Best Wake-Up Call of All: Cynthia Kadohata's Kira-Kira Wins 2005 Newbery
Calls coming in at 4:26 a.m. don’t usually make people jump up and down and scream for joy. But Cynthia Kadohata, still half-asleep in her...
Ever wonder why dogs always check out each other’s waggers? Well, here’s the secret, complete with fabulously entertaining pictures.
Review: 
Wanda’s convinced that a monster lives in her closet. While everyone tries to tell her otherwise, Grandma actually confirms Wanda’s worst fears. But Grandma helps Wanda feel much better by making life for her...
Here’s a lovely collection of simple poems enhanced by colorful paper collages that capture a child’s wonder at everyday details: from the dawn to apples to the ocean to the snow to fish and...
An energetic little girl spends a delightful day with her father, frolicking through the neighborhood playground, landing softly in the safe embrace of Daddy’s hug.
Review: 
What’s a slumber party without special, cool things to do? This little handbook adds pizzazz to your overnight girlfriend fun – from spa treatments to crafts to cooking to playing games to...
A small boy creates perfect little moments of love for everyone around him – for his pets, his siblings, his grandmother and, of course, his parents.
Review: <a...
Who doesn’t want to spend all day in their pajamas? Nakata superbly captures the energy of a little boy as he grows month to month, marking each memorable occasion – from a January snow...
The Philip Kan Gotanda Chronicles
He captured early-20th-century Hawai‘i with his bittersweet tale of thwarted love in Ballad of Yachiyo. He was the first playwright to ever dramatize life immediately after...
In the latest installment in the Rei Shimura mystery series, Massey brings her hapa Japanese American heroine to Washington, DC, where she is designing a sleek fusion restaurant. Her political socialite cousin suddenly goes...
In spite of its rather cheesy title, this is actually both an informative and fun read. Part history, part photo album, part cultural document, part memoir, part language lesson, even part cookbook,...
This is one of those perfectly sized, well-designed books that add that something extra to an already enlightening reading experience. Perhaps the most powerful section of Uyehara’s slim volume is...
When the elephant walks, he sets off a chain of events that delightfully ends with a very crowded tree trunk filled with big scared animals looking down at one tiny...
When a little boy’s mother refuses to let him have a dog, he brings home a dragon instead. But the dragon is so badly behaved, that in the end, the...
A delightful tale – both comical and bittersweet – of a little cat who grows big, falls out a window, and gets lost. Outside in the big scary world, she is able...
A lonely red rubber ball is passed over by many, but finally finds a true friend. Delightful, fun pictures for the youngest readers.
Review: 
Silent No More: The Varsity Victory Volunteers of World War II
Write what you know best” is the advice that writers probably hear most often. Franklin Odo, activist, academic, and museum curator extraordinaire, does exactly that. His latest title, No Sword...
With one of the best covers I’ve ever seen on an academic text, this diverse collection of essays explores the global phenomenon that was Pokémon (from “pocket monster,” in case you were...