Family Celebrations: Asian Pacific American Heritage

'Ohana Means Family

Hawaiian family together
Illustrated by: Kenard Pak
Age Level: 3-6, 6-9
Language: Hawaiian

Join the family, or ohana, as they farm taro for poi to prepare for a traditional luau celebration with a poetic text in the style of The House That Jack Built.

Auntie Yang's Great Soybean Picnic

By: Ginnie Lo
Illustrated by: Beth Lo
Age Level: 3-6

While on a visit to her aunt and uncle in Illinois, the narrator and her family unexpectedly find a field of growing soybeans which begins a 40 year tradition. Based on the author's experiences, text and child-like illustrations reveal a caring, surprisingly modern family story from times past.

Diary of an Ice Princess #3: On Thin Ice

Ice Princess playing with dog and young boy
Illustrated by: Barbara Szepesi Szucs
Age Level: 6-9, 9-12

Princess Lina is loving groundling school. Her magic is still under wraps, she hangs out with BFF Claudia every day, and soon their class is taking a field trip to see penguins at the city aquarium! Up in the sky, Lina's Granddad has decided to invite her mischievous cousin Jack Frost to give Lina extra tutorials in Winterheart magic. But when Jack tags along with Lina to school, his tricks wreak havoc on the big field trip. Can Lina keep her cool and save the day?

Diary of an Ice Princess #6: Icing on the Snowflake

Ice Princess with cake and dog
Illustrated by: Barbara Szepesi Szucs
Age Level: 6-9, 9-12

Exciting things are happening in the skies for Lina's royal family. Her cousin, Iris, is getting married and there is going to be a BIG wedding. Lina gets to be a flower girl in the wedding and Claudia gets to come as Lina's special guest! The girls are giddy as they fly up to Granddad's castle for a weekend of pomp and circumstance. Every Windtamer, Spark-Archer, Sky-Painter, and Winterheart is in attendance in all their finery. But the excitement soon turns stressful when Lina learns one of the wedding traditions: Each guest must present a magical present to the newlyweds.

Dim Sum for Everyone

By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 3-6

A Chinese family goes out for dim sum ("little dishes"), choosing their favorites off the restaurant cart and sharing with each other. The illustrations evoke the textures and patterns in this traditional meal, and an endnote provides background on the cultural history and customs surrounding dim sum.

Dumpling Soup

Illustrated by: Lillian Hsu-Flander
Age Level: 6-9

Product Description: Marisa gets to help make dumplings this year to celebrate the New Year, but she worries that no one will eat her funny-looking dumplings. Set in the Hawaiian islands, this story celebrates the joyful mix of food, customs, and languages from many cultures.

Fortune Cookie Fortunes

By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 3-6

The family's meal finishes with fortune cookies, the daughters' favorite part of eating out! They share their fortunes as their engaging look at the world shines through in the simple narration and boldly colored, entertaining illustrations.

Henry's First-Moon Birthday

Illustrated by: Yumi Heo
Age Level: 3-6
Language: English

Product Description: Jenny's baby brother Henry is having his one-month birthday — his first-moon, as it's called in Chinese. And even though Jenny's sure he doesn't deserve it (all Henry does is sleep, eat, and cry) there's a big celebration planned for him. Together, Jenny and her grandma get everything ready, from dyeing eggs a lucky red to preparing pigs' feet and ginger soup. And someday, when Henry's old enough to appreciate all her hard work, Jenny will tell him how lucky he was to have her in charge.

Ling & Ting (Book 2): Ling & Ting Share a Birthday

Ling and Ting under birthday banners
By: Grace Lin
Age Level: 6-9

Ling & Ting are twins. They share a birthday. They bake cakes, and they make birthday wishes. They tell stories and wrap gifts. They also share a birthday secret! The simple text and colorful art makes this early reader a perfect choice for children learning to read.

Maybe Marisol, #2: Surely Surely Marisol Rainey

Illustration of Marisol Rainey with soccer balls and basketballs
Age Level: 6-9, 9-12

Marisol Rainey’s two least-favorite things are radishes and gym class. She avoids radishes with very little trouble, but gym is another story — especially when Coach Decker announces that they will be learning to play kickball. There are so many things that can go wrong in kickball. What if Marisol tries to kick the ball . . . but falls down? What if she tries to catch the ball and gets smacked in the nose? What if she’s the worst kickballer in the history of kickball?

Nadia's Hands

Illustrated by: Jonathan Weiner
Age Level: 6-9
Language: English

Nadia's aunt is about to get married, and Nadia has been chosen as the flower girl. This means that her aunt will be putting mehndi on Nadia's hands, covering them with beautiful designs for the wedding. Nadia isn't sure she wants hands to look so different, and she worries that she will be teased at school. Little by little, though, Nadia comes to appreciate the special Pakistani tradition that she shares with many generations of women in her family. Readers will be fascinated by the lovely oil paintings of the mehndi tradition and designs.

New Clothes for New Year's Day

New Clothes for New Year's Day
Age Level: 6-9

A little girl gets ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year in this gentle and stunningly illustrated book first published in South Korea. Excitement mounts as she details how she dresses for this engaging celebration with universal appeal.

The Perfect Gift (Confetti Kids)

By: Paula Yoo
Illustrated by: Shirley Ng-Benitez
Age Level: 3-6
Language: English

In this story, Mei’s family is throwing a 100-days birthday party for her little brother — a traditional Chinese celebration after the arrival of a baby. Mei’s grandma is in town for the festivities and teaches Mei about the different customs. Mei can’t wait for the party, but she worries about what to give her little brother. With help from her friends and grandma, Mei discovers that the best gifts are those from the heart.

Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding

Illustrated by: Yumi Heo
Age Level: 6-9

Jenny's favorite uncle, Uncle Peter, is getting married. Now Jenny won't be his only "special girl" any longer; she'll have to share him with Stella! But Peter's bride is as happy to have a new niece as she is beautiful and wins Jenny over. Child-like illustrations reflect the traditions and warmth of this Chinese American family.