4 stars After a summer spent studying for Chinese school, playing soccer, and bonding with her grandmother visiting from Taiwan, Měi Yīng is excited to start fifth grade. But then she becomes the target of new kid Sid’s racist jokes. Should she ignore him like everyone suggests or stand up to his ignorance? Great themes…
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Adapted and illustrated by Victoria Ying Based on Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon by Paula Danziger 3 stars I really enjoyed this series as a kid and it was fun to revisit this story in graphic format. The illustrations are great. Ying’s character designs are wonderful and the art really captures their movements and…
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Illustrated by Tony Ross 3.5 stars I loved this series as a kid and wanted to give it a reread after finishing the graphic novel adaption. In this one, Amber is upset that her best friend, Justin, is moving away. Every time she tries to talk to him about it, he acts like nothing is…
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Translated by Amber Tamosaitis 5 stars Absolutely adorable. A nice, slow-paced story exploring human connections and overcoming past trauma. Yutaka has a hard time eating with other people. He isn’t close with his family and he finds it difficult to connect with others. But after a chance meeting with two brothers, their cooking sessions soon…
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Illustrated by Bhagya Madanasinghe 5 stars Adorable, heartfelt, and delicious! Noor wants to have a samosa party with her friends, but keeps running into problems along the way. With reminders of her Dadijaan’s advice, she pushes through and puts her own unique spin on a family recipe. Such a sweet story. Great themes of perseverance,…
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Narrated by Hope Newhouse 5 stars A tree, a table, and a book. Three little tales have the unexpected power of connecting the past to the present in a whole new way. Absolutely beautiful. Sophie W. is 11 years old. Sophie G. is 88. Despite their age gap, they are best friends. When the elder…
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by Vivien Chien Narrated by Cheryl May 2 stars A fine cozy mystery. I enjoyed this well enough and appreciated the spin on the genre. I do think it kind of dragged by the end but it works fine as a relatively quick, low-stakes read. I listened to the audiobook though and the narrator did…
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Illustrated by Lenny Wen 3 stars A delicious story of community, family, and generosity. Every Saturday, Carina visits Tia Mimi’s to make empanadas. But this week, Tia Mimi is volunteering at the food center, which leaves Carina to collect all the ingredients herself. Along the way, she finds that her diverse neighbors all have their…
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Illustrated by Mika Song 3 stars A follow-up early chapter book to the picture book, A Friend for Henry. One day at school, Henry’s teacher tells the class that they will have a parade on Friday. But that means changing their weekly schedule. Henry soon becomes frustrated by the changing rules, the loudness of the parade…
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Illustrated by Mika Song 2 stars A story about a boy looking for a friend at school who is quiet, shares, listens, and follows the rules. While it is started in the blurb that Henry is autistic, it does not make mention in the actual story as the author wanted the story to be more…
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