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Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Booklist

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a light pink background with a lavender stripe, a coral stripe, and a coral half-circle design
May 1, 2023

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month -- a celebration recognizing the contributions and influence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. We've compiled a booklist by and about Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans for all ages!

Click on a title to find it in our catalog; and find many more titles at cobbcat.org.

Children's Picture Books

A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin

Bilal Cooks Daal by Aisha Saeed

The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name by Sandhya Parappukkaran

Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers by Rajani LaRocca

Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin

A Different Pond by Ban Phi

A Dupatta Is… by Marzieh Abbas

Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho

Eyes That Speak to the Stars by Joanna Ho

Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say

Hot Hot Roti for Dada-Ji by F. Zia

Laila’s Lunchbox by Reem Faruqi

Leila in Saffron by Rukhsanna Guidroz

A Map Into the World by Kao Kalia Yang

My First Day by Phùng Nguyên Quang

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

The Ocean Calls by Tina Cho

‘Ohana Means Family by Ilima Loomis

Children's and Preteen Chapter Books

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Any Day With You by Mae Respicio

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Finally Seen by Kelly Yang

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanha Lai

New From Here by Kelly Yang

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park

Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim

When you Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

Teen and Young Adult Fiction

American Panda by Gloria Chao

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai

Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Emergency Contact by Mary HK Choi

Frankly in Love by David Yoon

I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee

Internment by Samira Ahmed

Love, Hate, & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim

My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao

While You Were Dreaming by Alisha Rai

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed

XOXO by Axie Oh

Adult Fiction

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo

Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

A Burning by Megha Majumdar

The Calligrapher’s Daughter by Eugenia Kim

The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho

A Free Life by Ha Jin

Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang

Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang

The Leavers by Lisa Ko

Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam

Someone Else’s Life by Lyn Liao Butler

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

When I’m Gone, Look For Me in the East by Quan Barry

Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri

Yellowface by RF Kuang

Adult Nonfiction

All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung

Concepcion: An Immigrant Family’s Fortunes by Albert Samaha

Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner

House of Sticks: A Memoir by Ly Tran

Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution by Helen Zia

The Magical Language of Others: A Memoir by E.J. Koh

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

Not Quite Not White: Losing Race and Finding America by Sharmila Sen

Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston