80+ Asian American Children's Book Lists

Take a look at these Asian American books for kids! Celebrate Korean, Southeast Asian, Vietnamese, Chinese cultures and more with these children’s books!

One of the most exciting things for me about blogging was discovering Asian American books for kids. This genre was just starting to emerge a few years ago when I started blogging.

Growing up, I read extensively but I never found books that were like me — an Asian American 2nd and 3rd generation girl living in the suburbs. I’m thrilled to find that this is no longer the case.

80+ Asian American Children’s Book Lists

Resources for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Recognizing Children’s Books for AAPI Heritage Month (a huge list)

AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Children’s Book Authors

Celebrating Asian Americans for Women’s History Month

22 Banned Asian American Children’s Books #fREADomToRead

12 Wonderful Picture Books Related to Taiwan

Picture Books Set in Southeast Asia

Asian Immigrant Family Children’s Books

Vietnamese American Children’s Books

Children’s Books About Mongolia

Children’s Books about Singapore

Picture Books set in Asia or about Asian-Americans

#OwnVoices Half Filipino Character Face-Off

Chinese New Year Picture Books INSTEAD of Tiki Tiki Tembo

Asian New Year Picture Books and Crafts

Asian Drumming Crafts, Recipes, and Books

Vietnamese Folk Tales for Kids

Lao and Hmong Children’s Books

Wonderful Children’s Books About Thailand

Wonderful Children’s Books on Myanmar (Burma)

Hawaiian Folk Tales & Children’s Books

9 Asian Cinderella Picture Books Including the Original

Funny Asian Fractured Fairy Tales

Filipino American Children’s Books

14 Asian American Picture Books About Food

Martial Arts Match Up: Books with Martial Art

Janet Wong on Lunar Year Traditions with Book List!

Funny Asian Fractured Fairy Tales

3 Amazing Wordless Picture Books

I love these wordless picture books by Asian and Asian American authors/illustrators so much that I made videos of them on my Instagram.

My Favorite Asian American Books for Kids

12 Books to Explore China for Chinese New Year

Top 10: Best Asian American Books by CoolAsianKids

CoolAsianKids made a wonderful list of their favorite Asian American KidLit.

Asian in America (Amy Chua, new Asian KidLit, dumpling recipe!)

These recently published books show the new diversity of Asian American KidLit as well as the high quality of this genre.

Asian American Children’s Book Awards 2014

APALA Awards for Best Asian American Children’s Books 2013

Exploring Vietnam: Culture and KitLit

I created a series of posts a while back that I called Teach Me Tuesday. I wanted to explore a country using children’s books as well as different elements of their culture from art to food to artisans. This was the first post I did of this series on Vietnam (and my best one!). The Teach Me Tuesday series is here.

Sri Lanka with Kids Books, Recipe, and Design

A friend from Sri Lanka gave me a recipe that he loved as a child and this sparked this post. Finding the books is always the toughest part for me.

Exploring Laos with Books for Kids, Culture, and Art

The more I learned about Laos, the more I want to go to this mysterious, beautiful, and tragic country.

Bangladesh: Culture, Alpanas, Children’s Books, Recipe, and More!

Top 10: Philosophical Zen Picture Books for Kids

Picture Books about Taiwan and Taiwanese Americans or from Taiwanese American Creators

Korean American Books for Kids

I’m half Chinese and Japanese and I married a Korean. My first multicultural book lists were on these three ethnicities as a way to show my children their heritage. The Korean American culture is so strong in America that this first post went viral.

Korean American Picture Books

New Children’s Picture Books on Koreans and Korean Americans!

10 Picture Books Celebrating Korean Culture

15 Great Korean Folk Tales for Kids

Top 10: Korean American Children’s Books (ages 2-16)

This is the first post of mine ever to go viral.

15 Great Korean Folk Tales

Discovering Korea for Kids with Kids’ Books, Art, and Food

I wanted to learn more about my husband’s family history so this is a very personal journey of discovery.

Korean-American Picture Book Teaches Multicultural Lesson

I don’t often do individual book reviews but finding this great Asian American book at the library made me want to post on it.

Japanese American Books for Kids

Children’s Books Featuring Sumo

Japanese American Picture Books Celebrating Joy Through Creativity

Obon Spirit Boats & Obon Children’s Books

21 Wonderful Japanese Folk Tales

Japanese Internment Books for Kids

Learning About Japan Picture Books for Kids

For your young ninja, books to learn about Japan.

Connecting Science and Art: Hokusai’s The Great Wave

It’s amazing how a single piece of art can have a ripple effect, inspiring others all around the world and for many generations.

In Memory of Hiroshima Bombing Books and Crane Origami for Kids

Top 10: Japanese American Children’s Books (ages 2-16)

WWII Internment seems to dominate Japanese American books for kids. I agree that it is an important lesson in history — my own mother was forced to relocate but I also hunger for books that explore other facets of being Japanese American.

Let’s Go Fly a Kite!

Kite flying is an important ritual in Asia and I’ve rounded up every great kite flying book thanks to a little help from my friends and readers.

Best Bilingual Japanese Books for Kids

This was my response to a reader request.

Japan: Books for Kids on Shogun, Family Crests, Block Prints

I explore my own Japanese history in this post.

Japanese American Post Internment Story: Journey Home (ages 8-12)

These older books explore the Japanese American internment experience during WWII, a shameful chapter in America’s history.

Pearl Harbor Day Books for Kids

A Unit to Learn About the Tokyo Olympics

Chinese American Books for Kids

There is such a diversity of Chinese American books for kids from philosophy, culture, and contemporary times.

The Chinese Exclusion Act – What They Don’t Teach in History Books

Picture Books Featuring Chinese Words

Chinese American Picture Books To Fill Your Heart and Belly

Top 10 Books to Learn About Chinese Culture

Top 10: Chinese American Children’s Books (ages 2-14)

I wanted to show the breadth and depth of Chinese American books for kids. These were our favorites.

24 Wonderful Chinese Folk Tales for Kids

Top 10: Best Chinese New Year Books for Kids

I never had a great Chinese New Year picture book despite always doing a Chinese New Year presentation for my children’s preschool so I was determined to upgrade!

4th of July Picture Books with an Asian Twist

Fourth of July from a Chinese American immigrant’s perspective via picture books. Yep, this is what I blog about!

Grace Lin’s Latest Chapter Book is Her Best Ever!

I’m a huge fan of Grace Lin. I consider her the Amy Tan of children’s literature.

Grace Lin’s Dumpling Days: Delicious as Always!

I love the Pacy series which is based on Grace Lin’s life. This chapter book about her trip to Taiwan actually covers several of Lin’s own summer vacations.