BookDragon Family Tag

Travel Team by Mike Lupica

15 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

If it's Saturday, it must be time to head to a court, field, gym, pool, or some sort of athletic facility ...

Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream by Jenny Han, illustrated by Julia Kuo

14 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Korean American, Middle Grade Readers

Her name is Clara Lee .. "first and last. It just sounds better that way. Like peanut butter and jelly, like trick-or-treat, or fairy and princess, those words just go together. Just like me, Clara Lee." She's the newest – and first Korean American! – heroine from...

Haunting Jasmine by Anjali Banerjee

12 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian American, South Asian American

What better way to get over a broken heart than moving into a unique, welcoming bookstore, filled not only with fabulous books but a few wise (less than living) writers, too? As long as they can spin a convincing yarn, why quibble with such minor...

Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan

10 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Afghan, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Pakistani American, Young Adult Readers

Sometimes even the saddest tragedies can eventually lead to happy new beginnings ...

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua [in San Francisco Chronicle]

08 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost

Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother did more than speak to me. It screamed, shouted and lectured me. It made me simultaneously laugh with empathy and cringe with embarrassment and exasperation. "This is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs," the...

Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza

04 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction

Sometimes my inability to process dialects actually has an upside ...

The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography by Tetsu Saiwai

01 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Biography, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Tibetan, Young Adult Readers

Every new year seems to begin with a fervent prayer/wish/hope for true PEACE. So far in my own lifetime, worldwide peace hasn't been achieved. Still, I have a few more years left in me and surely enough stubbornness to believe peace can truly happen before...

20th Century Boys (vol. 12) by Naoki Urasawa, with the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller

31 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

It's New Year's Eve 2014 ...

Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes

28 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Martha Boyle opens her front door one day to find the mother of her dead classmate, Olive Barstow, with what seems to be almost a message from beyond. Olive, a girl too new in...

One Story, Thirty Stories: An Anthology of Contemporary Afghan American Literature edited by Zohra Saed and Sahar Muradi, foreword by Mir Tamim Ansary

27 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Afghan American, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Short Stories

The title of this diverse anthology is taken from the opening line of Afghan fairy tales, not unlike 'once upon a time.' In this case, afsanah, seesanah – one story, thirty stories...

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

23 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

If Gregory Maguire is not exactly a household name, his signature work, Wicked, certainly is known throughout the world, living an everlasting life on stages everywhere in its Tony...

Sing a Song of Tuna Fish: A Memoir of My Fifth-Grade Year by Esmé Raji Codell, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

22 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Jewish, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction

This one starts with a mini-dilemma of choice ...

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

18 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

This time of the year, in spite of my higher-than-usual crank factor with all the commercial hubbub, I do enjoy escaping into mushy, happy books. Here's one to add to the holiday list,...

However Tall the Mountain: A Dream, Eight Girls, and a Journey Home by Awista Ayub

17 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Afghan, Afghan American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

"However tall the mountain, there's always a road," so goes the Afghan proverb that opens Awista Ayub's inspiring memoir. Thank goodness for the energy of youth to actually find the...

I See the Sun in Nepal by Dedie King, illustrated by Judith Inglese, translation by Chij Shrestha

16 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Bilingual, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nepali, Nonethnic-specific

From China to Nepal, boutique press Satya House Publications offers the second title in their I See the Sun series in which a young girl shares her day...

Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin, translated by Chi-Young Kim [in Library Journal]

15 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, Repost, Translation

*STARRED REVIEW The Korean title of this indelible novel, Omma rul put’ak hae, contains a sense of commanding trust that is missing in its English translation: “I entrust Mommy [to you].” That trust...

Itsuwaribito (vol. 1) by Yuuki Iinuma

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

Living in the "Village of Orphans," Utsuho is constantly in trouble. He doesn't do his chores, he disappears when needed, but worst of all, he lies. "Lying is the worst thing ...

Miracle on 49th Street by Mike Lupica

13 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

As much as this time of the year makes me sooooo cranky with too much focus on the frantic buy-buy-buy messages all around us, it also makes me a total mushpot for...

The Runaway Wok by Ying Chang Compestine, illustrated by Sebastià Serra

11 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction

To commemorate a dear friend's birthday, today's title had certain content requirements: something about a new year, obedient children (every parent's dream-birthday wish!), delicious food, giggly humor, all wrapped up in colorful packaging. Thankfully,...

Replay by Sharon Creech

09 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

His name is Leonardo, he'll answer to Leo, but he's most often called "sardine" by his nearest and dearest because several years ago, "Leo got squashed in a corner and cried ...