BookDragon Origin/Ethnic Background

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...

Kindergarten Day USA and China by Trish Marx and Ellen B. Senisi

22 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Chinese, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

Here's some flip-flop reading fun in honor of my little nephew's birthday today – which makes him old enough to start preK next month ...

American Babies by The Global Fund for Children

21 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

Here's another adorable chunky book for the youngest chubby little hands to hold ...

Lucky Girl: A Memoir by Mei-Ling Hopgood

20 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Memoir, Nonfiction, Taiwanese, Taiwanese American, Young Adult Readers

The first reaction to finishing Lucky Girl is 'lucky readers.' Definitely of the 'you can't make this stuff up'-genre, journalist Mei-Ling Hopgood's debut memoir is one lucky surprise after another. Paced just right to keep you reading, the Taiwanese-born Hopgood reveals a remarkable story of her Midwest...

Sharing Our Homeland: Palestinian and Jewish Children at Summer Peace Camp by Trish Marx, photographs by Cindy Karp

19 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Arab, Children/Picture Books, Israeli, Jewish, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Palestinian

Too often, media headlines are filled with Arab/Palestinian and Jewish/Israeli conflict and tragedy. Here's a resonating anecdote filled with images of real-life kids from both sides of the religious/political/historical borders, enjoying a real-life camp where "...

The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo

18 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

As the new boy in town, living in a motel with his near-silent father, young Rob Horton literally hasn't unpacked. He keeps a virtual suitcase tightly locked with his deepest feelings and thoughts, most notably memories about his mother who passed away six months ago...

Time to Pray by Maha Addasi, Arabic translation by Nuha Albitar, illustrated by Ned Gannon

16 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Arab American, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Middle Eastern

After reading (and being bothered, aggravated, and ultimately haunted by the unlikely-to-ever-be-forgotten Nomad by Ayaan Hirsi Ali), I seem to be in search of sweeter literary anecdotes about the Muslim experience. As she did in her debut, The White Nights of Ramadan, Kuwaiti-born author Maha Addasi lovingly...

Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

13 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Memoir, Nonfiction

With the publication of her first memoir, Infidel (2007), Ayaan Hirsi Ali spent the better part of a year seeing her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Born in Somalia, at times neglected, abandoned, or abused by her parents, the strictly-raised Muslim child that...

Fly Free! by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Eujin Kim Neilan

12 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Korean American, Vietnamese

Outside the temple gates, young Mai feeds the caged sparrows ...

Author Interview: Karen Tei Yamashita [in Bookslut]

06 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Fiction, Japanese American, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Repost

For the last two months or so, Karen Tei Yamashita will not get out of my life. And I say that with a goofy-grinned "wahhh" of delighted surprise. While I’ve been an ardent admirer of Yamashita’s books for some 20 years (yup, I have all...

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers (vol. 3) by Fumi Yoshinaga, translated by Akemi Wegmüller

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

Award-winning Fumi Yoshinaga's dramatically entertaining gender-bender series, which offers an alternate history of premodern Japan, concludes the story began in volume 2 of how the first female shogun inherited her post and rose to power as recorded in the Chronicle of a Dying Day. Having grown...

Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls – Sexual Identity, the Cyberbubble, Obsessions, Environmental Toxins by Leonard Sax

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

If you're a parent (or a parental figure) to a girl (even if that girl is still an infant!), you MUST read this book. Which means you can stop reading this post here. Go get the book already ...

DupliKate by Cherry Cheva

30 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Thai American, Young Adult Readers

While I have to confess Cherry Cheva's sophomore novel is not quite the fabulous fun of her 2008 debut, She's So Money, I'll also insist that DupliKate (with the oh so perfect title!) is undoubtedly an entertaining read that will keep you quickly turning the pages. My teenage daughter chose...

Bijou Roy by Ronica Dhar

28 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian American, South Asian American

Six months after Nitish Roy’s death, his wife and two daughters gather in Calcutta, India where Bijou Roy as the oldest must send her father’s ashes down the holy river to eternal rest. The haphazard ceremony – made even more so because she is not...