It was strange to me that many important Japanese American stories were not told by Japanese Americans. I tried, therefore, to focus my Top 10: Japanese American Children’s Books list on lesser known authors telling important stories. I hope this list will inspire more authors in this genre!
I chose these books because there was something special about each of them that helps me to connect to my Chinese roots and I hope that you enjoy them to, even if your ancestry isn’t Asian.
The best picture books, chapter books, easy chapter books and graphic novels according to kids! Vote now to pick 5th Annual Children’s Choice Book Awards winners.
We came up with three more little boy book club ideas using advanced picture books and non fiction picture books to teach our boys about micro loans, Ancient Egypt and helping endangered animals.
Chinese New Year is February 3rd in 2011. It’s the Year of the Rabbit. Is this your year? If so, you were born in 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 (don’t forget to adjust for the Chinese New Year start date). Rabbits are known for being lucky, kind and peaceful. They get along well with sheep and pigs (those born in the Year of the Sheep and the Year of the Pig, not the actual animals necessarily).
Learning about our differences can be a powerful way for children to see from another person’s point of view. I encourage all parents to introduce some of these books or others like these to their children and use these stories as a reference when children bring up differences in school, particularly with special needs classmates. Because how great would it be if it were OUR child who can reach out like MacKenzie in The Friendship Puzzle?! The Friendship Puzzle and My Brother Charlie are a particularly powerful combination for anyone who has a sibling or classmate with autism and would be a great pair of books for any child starting kindergarten.
These are my Top 10 Booklists. Did you know that I actually put my favorite book as #1 and my second favorite book as #10? I wasn’t sure if people would read the lists as a countdown from 10 to 1 or as a list from 1 to 10. The #10 spot also is the first book that you see, so I wanted to make sure it was an enticing one.