Origin/Ethnic Background Archives - Page 83 of 232

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock [in Shelf Awareness]

01 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Young Adult Readers

*STARRED REVIEW Set in remote 1970 Alaska, when indigenous communities still mourned losses that came with statehood in 1959, The Smell of Other People's Houses explores relationships that bind, falter, recover, and flourish. First-time novelist Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock introduces the distinct voices of four teenagers who, over...

The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma [in Library Journal]

29 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Fiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers

*STARRED REVIEW "My brothers and I became fishermen in January of 1996 after our father moved out of Akure, a town in the west of Nigeria, where we had lived together all our lives," explains nine-year-old Benjamin. With Father's strict daily oversight missing and Mother busy with...

Dear Bunny … by Katie Cotton, illustrated by Bianca Gómez [in Booklist]

28 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in British, Children/Picture Books, European, Fiction, Repost

A little girl answers her bunny’s question of “What’s your favourite thing in the world?” in a sweetly revealing letter. She chronicles their day together, listing everything she likes to do with her furry buddy, from choosing socks to appreciating how her bunny cools her...

Everyone by Christopher Silas Neal [in Booklist]

27 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

As diverse and unique as each of us are, some traits are shared by everyone. Christopher Silas Neal (Over and Under the Snow, 2011) makes his solo debut here, channeling a boy who is learning to accept and appreciate his own emotions, and, in the...

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee [in Christian Science Monitor]

22 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Korean American, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

'The Queen of the Night' blends opera and mystery into a grandiose read Fourteen-plus years after his Whiting Award-ed debut, Edinburgh, hit shelves in late 2001, literary social media-darling Alexander Chee returns with The Queen of the Night, in which another – albeit very different –...

Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Özge Samanci

19 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Memoir, Turkish, Young Adult Readers

At age 6, Özge Samanci was desperate to be "on the other side of the binoculars" – that is, to be at school, being watched by her mother from across the street, just as she and her mother occasionally spotted and waved at her older sister Pelin,...

The Tea Party in the Woods by Akiko Miyakoshi

18 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Japanese, Translation

Perhaps "fractured fairy tale" isn't the most inviting descriptor, but the growing genre of parodied, subverted new versions of familiar stories can be fabulously enticing, not to mention downright inventive and – oxymoronic as it sounds – incredibly original. Thanks to Canada's marvelous indie Kids Can...

In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri [in Christian Science Monitor]

17 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audience, European, Indian American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost, South Asian American

‘In Other Words’ traces Jhumpa Lahiri's love affair with the Italian language A few days before Christmas 1994, Jhumpa Lahiri made her first trip to Italy. She left a week later, in “[l]ove at first sight” not with a person, but with the Italian language. Over...

A Wild Swan and Other Tales by Michael Cunningham, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu [in Library Journal]

16 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Japanese, Nonethnic-specific, Repost, Short Stories, Young Adult Readers

If Bruno Bettelheim's classic The Uses of Enchantment posited that fairy tales could help children understand their darkest fears, then Michael Cunningham's (The Hours) reenvisioned Other Tales charges adults to challenge perspectives. Ten stories are turned every-which-way by the author, who deftly subverts with both...

Samira and the Skeletons by Camilla Kuhn, translated by Don Bartlett [in Booklist]

15 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, European, Fiction, Repost, Translation

*STARRED REVIEW For Samira, learning about skeletons proves to be downright mortifying. Samira insists that neither she nor her best friend, Frida, could possibly have anything so terrible inside of them. But after their teacher confirms the awful truth, suddenly Samira can’t help but visualize being...

Master Keaton (vol. 5) by Naoki Urasawa, story by Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki, translated and adapted by John Werry

12 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, British Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hapa/Mixed-race, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

For those of us of a certain (old) age, we might remember an animated rabbit used to sell artificially colored, chemically flavored powder that altered milk into some sort of sweet goop: Quiky the Quik Bunny would quip "You can't drink it slow, if it's Quik."...

Dear Yeti by James Kwan

10 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction

Ready for an adventure with big bad beasts in a battle to the death against the fiercest elements? What? Not tonight? How about something a bit more ...

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende, translated by Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson [in Library Journal]

09 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Japanese American, Jewish, Latina/o/x, Repost, Translation

Multiple narratives swirl around Alma Belasco, a Polish teenager who escaped the Nazis in 1939 and arrived in San Francisco to share a privileged life with an indulgent aunt and uncle. Now 73, Alma is a favorite resident in a senior facility, devotedly looked after...

The Year of the Monkey: Tales from the Chinese Zodiac by Oliver Chin, illustrated by Kenji Ono

08 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Bilingual, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Fiction, Japanese American

Today is Lunar New Year ...

Ultraman (vol. 2) by Eiichi Shimizu, illustrated by Tomohiro Shimoguchi, translated by Joe Yamazaki, English adaptation by Stan!

05 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Volume 1 promised "This is the beginning of a new age" on its intriguing cover page. And yep, did it ever deliver – for oldster-fans delirious with gleeful nostalgia and a brand new generation of young 'uns lucky to discover this hero-version-2.0! Yes, indeedy, Ultraman is...

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn [in Library Journal]

04 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Repost

*STARRED REVIEW While Gillian Flynn’s high-flying Gone Girl hasn't wandered far from bestsellers lists, the wait is on for what she'll publish next. She's reportedly working on a delayed new novel – a murder set in the Midwest – and has signed on with the Hogarth Shakespeare...

Otters Love to Play by Jonathan London, illustrated by Meilo So [in Booklist]

02 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in British, British Asian, Children/Picture Books, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Repost

Last year’s beaver den is this year’s cozy lair for a mother otter and three newborn pups. When they are finally allowed out, they lose no time leaping and tumbling, pouncing and wrestling, because, well, otters love to play. With their waterproof fur coats, the pups...

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older [in School Library Journal]

01 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Caribbean American, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Middle Grade Readers, Puerto Rican, Repost, Young Adult Readers

*STARRED REVIEW If a picture is worth a thousand words, what does it mean when paintings start morphing, shifting, and even weeping actual tears? For Sierra Santiago, who thought she would spend her summer making the mural of her dreams, these newly moving pictures are clear warnings...

All Year Round by Susan B. Katz, illustrated by Eiko Ojala [in Booklist]

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

A dimple-cheeked girl, a flame-haired boy, and a black-and-white puppy share adventures, no matter the season. For each month, a specific shape suggests a unique detail associated with that month. “Circle round, / ready to roll. / Add two sticks, / a carrot, and coal” reads...

Avatar: The Last Airbender | Smoke and Shadow (Parts One and Two) created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, script by Gene Luen Yang, art by Gurihiru, lettering by Michael Heisler

22 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Chinese American, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Pan-Asian Pacific American, Young Adult Readers

Avatar Aang takes a temporary narrative back seat to his Fire Lord buddy Zuko in Part One of the newest Last Airbender three-part installment. Now that Zuko has been reunited with his long-lost mother Ursa [you'll need to read The Search for the full backstory], he's bringing...

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