Bilingual Books: Asian Pacific American Heritage

This book, based on experiences of the author's mother and grandparents, tells the story of a Japanese American family relocated to an internment camp in Utah. Even in the harsh landscape of the desert, a young girl is able to find beauty in unlikely places, and to re-establish her identity through art, by drawing what she remembers of her life before coming to the camp. Historical notes included. Bilingual English and Japanese.

Xiao Ming and his mother are spending a summer day at the beach, and the sand is the perfect place to draw characters for words such as "sand" and "water." Xiao Ming's mother helps him see the picture within each character — a trick sure to appeal to readers new to the Chinese written language. The colorful, intricate illustrations, created by cut-paper collages, will fascinate young children. This book is one of a four-part series by the author about Chinese characters related to the different seasons.

American born Ami Chi travels to her parents' native Vietnam, to visit her grandmother. There she finds that some things don't change — like friendship — even in a strange, new land. Bilingually told and illustrated by richly colored paintings, Ami's story has resonance.

Xiao Ming and his friends are spending an autumn day on a farm, and it is the perfect place for him to show his friends how draw different Chinese characters for words such as "grain" and "fire." The colorful, gentle illustrations, created by cut-paper collages, will appeal to young children. This book is one of a four-part series by the author about Chinese characters related to the different seasons.

Spring has arrived and Xiao Ming can't wait to spend the day in the park with his mother. All around them are signs of the season: insects flying, leaves on the trees, and flowers in bloom. Xiao Ming's mother teaches Xiao Ming how to write the words for these things in Chinese by first drawing pictures of them. Following the highly acclaimed At the Beach and In the Snow, this is Huy Voun Lee's third book on Chinese character writing.

Xiao Ming and his mother are spending a winter day in the forest, and the snow is the perfect place to draw characters for words such as "tree" and "sparkling." Xiao Ming's mother helps him see the picture within each character — a trick sure to appeal to readers new to the Chinese written language. The colorful, intricate illustrations, created by cut-paper collages, will fascinate young children. This book is one of a four-part series by the author about Chinese characters related to the different seasons.

When a prophecy proclaims that the unborn Kamehameha would grow to overshadow the ruling chiefs, his life from birth is in danger. Nae'ole races with the helpless infant across the Kohala district of Hawai'i Island to bring Kamehameha to safety. Three generations of the Kawai'ae'a family join together to give us this unique look at place names of the Kohala area and the important events that shaped Hawaiian history. Bilingual edition.

This engaging story of how one community comes together to save their home is told in English and in Tagalog. Bright illustrations help move the story of successful resistance along while conveying a bit of Filipino history and culture.

 

Hau, a young girl from Koolauloa, is overshadowed by her beautiful and talented older sisters named Niu, Puhala, and Lehua. But with the help of her kupuna, Hau begins to blossom as she discovers her unique talents and contributions.

As a young boy, Hoi comes to America from China to help build the railroad. Only a skinny boy at first, his love for American pies quickly helps him gain in size and strength — and earns him the nickname of Pie-Biter. Pie-Biter eventually became a successful trader with the help of Spanish Louis, and while no one knows what happened to Pie-Biter when he returned to China, travelers from China often talk about the pie shops in their villages — serving Pie-Biter's favorite flavors! Trilingual in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

When Rama is wrongfully banished to the forest, Ravana uses a fiendish trick to kidnap the prince's beautiful wife, Sita. So Rama enlists the help of an army of fearless monkeys and their amazing leader Hanuman, to rescue her and regain his kingdom. Jessica Souhami retells this ancient Hindu tale with bold illustrations adapted from her own shadow puppets, based on Indian paintings. Bilingual English/Punjabi.

Jeanne M. Lee presents the ancient Chinese folk poem that tells the legend of Mu Lan. Dressed as a young man, Mu Lan goes to battle in her father's place and becomes a revered warrior even as those around her don't know her true identity. Beautifully detailed illustrations accompany the poem, as does a brief author's note. Bilingual English-Chinese.

Janet Wong shares a young boy's hopes and dreams for the New Year — he has had so much bad luck in the past year, but he is certain that this year will be much luckier! A heartwarming and honest portrayal of what the chance to start over means for all of us. An author's note provides insight into her background and this festive occasion.  This book is also available in Chinese and Korean bilingual editions.