Asian American books for kids including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, South Asian and more.
I am thrilled to announce a new picture book with Red Comet Press. Kung Fu Crane Girl will be illustrated by debut artist Yujie Huang. This is the *true* story of the girl who created karate. Just for a little background, karate originated from Crane style Kung Fu in Southern China. Kung Fu Crane…
In Japan, the crane (tsuru) is a symbol of peace, good fortune, and longevity. It is a bird of happiness and spreads good luck. It is believed that folding 1,000 paper cranes (senbazuru) will help to bring about hope, healing, and peace. These children’s books featuring origami cranes also send a message of hope and…
In Conversation: Mia Wenjen and Jolene Gutiérrez Mar 31, 2026 Mia Wenjen and Jolene Gutiérrez both grapple with the cruelty of internment and family separation in their new picture books Barbed Wire Between Us and Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp, respectively. The two authors spoke about depicting difficult subject matter for young readers,…
This song is based on the powerful book – Barbed Wire Between Us – that follows two little girls held in the same detention camp (Fort Sill, Oklahoma) decades apart. Sadly, their story of family separation and illegal detention echoes recent news about places such as the ICE detention facility at Dilley and others, causing…
I am so happy to announce that We Sing From the Heart is a Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27. The purpose of the Mountain Laurel Book Award Program is to promote reading of quality books by young people in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to encourage teacher/librarian collaboration in young adult and children’s literature,…
Thank you to the National Council for the Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council for selecting Fortune Cookies for Everyone! as a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People! Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Colleen Kong-Savage,…
I’m thrilled to celebrate the book birthday of Barbed Wire Between Us today! It’s the story of my heart. I wanted to tell the story of a Japanese grandmother standing outside the Kids in Cages ever since I saw haunting images in the media during Trump’s first administration. My early attempts were dark and definitely…