May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. If you have been following me for a while, you know that I always been doing a book a day for AAPI Heritage Month for a few years. Here all of the books now here so you can reference them easily throughout the year instead of having to scroll back through socials, and if you want to incorporate them during AAPIHM (or any other time of year!) you can! Download a PDF with all the book links here. I’ve also linked a video for EACH book! As always, preview videos before showing to your class to make sure they fit your situation.
Full disclosure: some affiliate links. I get a small kickback and it won’t change your price. No pressure!
1. The Song of Malan
Culture: Chinese, Malan Neighborhood, Shahekou District, Dalian, Liaoning.
Author: Lu Xu
Illustrator: Huanhuan Ge
ISBN: 1487811756
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: About the Malan Children’ s Band which was formed in rural China after years without music.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SAzN2ZPzAU&t=8s
2. Father’s Chinese Opera
Culture: Chinese
Author, Illustrator: Rich Lo
ISBN: 978-1628736106
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: An introduction to Chinese opera.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76Ojw_xVRLw
3. The Cambodian Dancer: Sophany’s Gift of Hope
Culture: Cambodian
Author: Daryn Reicherter
Illustrator: Christy Hale
ISBN: 978-0804845168
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: An introduction to Cambodian Dance
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmgSdvqy-ZM
4. Tari: The Little Balinese Dancer
Culture: Balinese
Author: Pamela Noensie
Illustrator: Garretta Lamore
ISBN: 978-0804848985
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: An introduction to Balinese Dance
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG9GZIOAftI
5. Amazing Women of the Middle East: 25 Stories from Ancient Times to Present Day
Culture: Lebanese
Author: Wafa’ Tarnowska
Illustrators: Margarida Esteves, Hoda Hadadi, Sahar Haghgoo, Christelle Halal, Esteli Meza
ISBN: 978-1623718701
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Fairuz, a Lebanese singer, is one of the profiled women.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01W8Snwi8DI
6. Sangeet and the Missing Beat
Culture: Indian
Author, Illustrator: Kiranjot Kaur
ISBN: 978-1989996058
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to the tabla.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAwgD_YxRgM&t=1s
7. Dancing Hands
Culture: Filipino
Author: Joanna Que, Charina Marquez
Illustrator: Fran Alvarez
ISBN: 978-1797213323
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Sign language changes with language, friendship. language barriers.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN7AAdjXIIg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leTo5-lzex4
8. American Desi
Culture: Indian
Author: Jyoti Rajan Gopal
Illustrator: Supriya Kelkar
ISBN: 978-0316705301
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Bicultural representation, Indian culture.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBYSpR8N6pc
9. We Are Lion Dancers
Culture: Chinese
Author, Illustrator: Benson Shum
ISBN: 978-0593658864
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to Lion Dancing
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH955Yiveb0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-JGrwOtv-I
10. Amy Wu and the Ribbon Dance
Culture: Chinese
Author: Kat Zhang
Illustrator: Charlene Chua
ISBN: 978-1665916721
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to Chinese Ribbon Dancing
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yNpxUF4VPs
11. Animal Band
Culture: Indian
Author: Chitwan Mittal Ma
Illustrator: Ambika Karandikar
ISBN: 978-8195785117
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to Indian music and instruments. Bilingual book in Hindi and English
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwJ5FMx86Qg
12. Soy Sauce
Culture: Chinese, Japanese, Korean
Author, Illustrator: Laura G. Lee
ISBN: 978-1523528387
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: This book shows there are differences in various Asian cuisine. There are many sound works/onomatopoeia that can be used. This would also lend itself to creating an ostinato on the words “soy sauce” that could be used between each page of the book.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT6MDZQUGt4
13. Dragon Dance
Culture: Chinese
Author: Joan Holub
Illustrator: Benrei Huang
ISBN: 978-0142400005
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: A good introduction to Lunar New Year, and an introduction to Dragon Dance.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcWaPMg-rf8
14. Bhangra Baby
Culture: Indian (Punjabi region)
Author: Kabir Sehgal, Surishtha Sehgal
Illustrator: Ani Bushry
ISBN: 978-1665936156
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to Bhangra, a Punjabi folk dance.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycTlIyQ2MHg
15. Ho’onani Hula Warrior
Culture: Hawaiian
Author: Heather Gale
Illustrator: Mika Song
ISBN: 978-0735264496
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to Hula. Non-binary representation. Based on Ho’onani’s story which first appeared in the documentary A Place in the Middle: https://aplaceinthemiddle.org
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjb27zTDaG4&t=7s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEC55oSulaE
Hula Is More than a Dance:—It’s the ‘Heartbeat’ of the Hawaiian People https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLjwluzYtM4
16. Diamond in the Sky: A Suzuki Biography
Culture: Japanese
Author: Shinichi Suzuki, Jerlene Cannon
ISBN: 978-1589514003
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Biography – Shinichi Suzuki
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-JLpXZOIkk
17. Boys Don’t Fry
Culture: Malaysian
Author: Kimberly Lee
Illustrator: Charlene Chua
ISBN: 978-0141198354
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Breaking stereotypes. Onomatopoeia/sound story
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1_1xdC-r4U
18. Charlotte and the Nutcracker: The True Story of a Girl Who Made Ballet History
Culture: Filipino
Author: Charlotte Nebres
Illustrator: Alea Marley
ISBN: 978-0593374900
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: While this book may be known about Charlotte Nebres, the first Black ballerina to dance the role of Marie in the New York City ballet, Charlotte is actually biracial. She was also the first Filipino ballerina to dance the role. Her grandparents immigrated from Trinidad and the Philippines. This is a great book for Nutcracker season, and also to help students see biracial does not always mean White and “something else”. https://asamnews.com/2019/12/09/young-filipina-american-ballerina-makes-history-in-the-nutcracker/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEs8qpNbkVM
19. The Hawayano: A Tale of a Filipino Plantation Worker in Hawaii
Culture: Filipino
Author: Porolifle B. Flores
Illustrator: Nicole Lim
ISBN:
Buy the book
Use: This book is written by my friend Melissa Fuller Flores’ mom! This one comes with two recordings and musical notation for two Filipino folk songs.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NLwmATSHbo
20. Bharatanatyam in Ballet Shoes
Culture: Indian
Author: Mahak Jain
Illustrator: Anu Chouhan
ISBN: 978-1773216157
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Bicultural representation. Introduction to Bharatanatyam.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWhA3ldZcyY
21. The Mountain Man of Music
Culture: Chinese
Author: Jillian Lin
Illustrator: Shi Meng
ISBN: 978-1533618320
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to Zhu Zaiyu, a Chinese musician and mathematician who noted 12 equal tempered tones before Bach.
Video: Unfortunately I was unable to find a video of any musical example and there is little out there about Zhu Zaiyu. There is a short video here about him. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Uc54AOESt4Q
22. Keep Dancing: Kids’ Sports Stories
Culture: Filipino
Author: Cristina Oxtra
Illustrator: Seb Burnett
ISBN: 978-1515883531
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to Tinikling, Men in dance
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqnbJWyydqs
23. Eyes that Weave the World’s Wonders
Culture: Chinese adoptee
Author: Joanna Ho, Liz Kleinrock
Illustrator: Dung Ho
ISBN: 978-0063057777
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Cross racial adoption representation
Video: I have chosen not to highlight a video for this one as adoption is a very personal matter for many people. If you are looking to highlight an adopted artist, Gowe is a Korean artist who was adopted by a Chinese American couple.
24. Yo-Yo and Yeou-Cheng Ma: Finding Their Way
Culture: French Chinese
Author: Ai-Ling Louie
Illustrator: Cathy Peng
ISBN: 978-0978746506
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Biography – Yo-Yo and Yeou-Cheng Ma
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiwkBFR6rW0&t=118s
25. Drums of Noto Hanto
Culture: Japanese
Author: J. Alison James
Illustrator: Tsukushi
ISBN: 978-0789425744
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to taiko drumming, rhythm practice
Tika tika – “tiki”
Tika-ti – “don kada”
Tim-ka – “DON da”
Tam Ti – “domba”
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66yWF6zuCoQ
26. The Golden Slipper (A Vietnamese Legend)
Culture: Vietnamese
Author: Darrell H. Y. Lum
Illustrator: Makiko Nagano
ISBN: 978-0816734054
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Cultural telling of known story. Vietnamese culture
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxr5J1dZGO8
27. Seoul Food
Culture: Korean, Black
Author: Erin Danielle Russell
Illustrator: Tamisha Anthony
ISBN: 978-0593464380
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Biracial representation, Korean culture
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPyG8pTIW5o
28. Mommy Sayang: Pixar Animation Studios Artist Showcase
Culture: Malaysian
Author, Illustrator: Rosana Sullivan
ISBN: 978-1368015905
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Ill parent, Malaysian culture
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMl9ckwwvI4
29. Soraya’s Nowruz Dance
Culture: Persian
Author: Anahita Tamaddon
ISBN: 979-8593221919
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Introduction to Nowruz and Persian dance.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC6mgUFXQqo
30. Honk Honk Beep Beep Putter Putt!
Culture: Pakistani
Author: Rukhsana Khan
Illustrator: Chaaya Prabhat
ISBN: 978-1774882641
Buy the book on Amazon
Use: Onomatopoeia/sound story.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E15V5koHPBA
31. What Kids Need to Know About Filipino Instruments
Culture: Filipino
Author: Felicidad A. Prudente, Ph.D.
Illustrator: Nina Martinez
ISBN: 9789715089081
Buy the book from Pumplepie Books. (They’ve been great to work with in the past!)
Use: Introduction to Filipino instruments
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PQlwXZQhoI
Get links to all of them here. Or download a PDF with all the links.
I hope this has given you some great ideas for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and all year round! If you want a few more in depth pictures of each book, make sure you follow me on Facebook or Instagram so you can see the preview pics as I post them. As always, you can see even more books and books from past years on The Ultimate Music Ed Booklist.
