We have picked our favorite children's books that celebrate Southeast Asian culture. These books are located in the Easy, Juvenile, and Teen sections of the library. Please note that the teen books contain both Teen Middle and Teen High titles.
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Spicy Spicy Hot
by Lenny Wen
Trying her Nenek's sambal to connect with both her family and Indonesian heritage, Lintang finds the delicious dish too HOT and SPICY until Nenek helps her find a way to beat the heat.
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The Yellow âao dáai
by Hanh Bui
When she accidentally tears her grandmother's very special yellow áo dài while practicing the Vietnamese Fan Dance for her school's International Day, Naliah learns how to mend it as well as how to believe in herself and make it her own.
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Cooler Than Lemonade
by Harshita Jerath
Refusing to give up, Eva learns to think outside the box when her neighbor across the street sets up a competing lemonade stand, creating one challenge after another.
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The light Within You
by Namita Moolani Mehra
Arriving in India to spend Diwali, the Festival of Lights, with her beloved Nani, Diya knows her trip will come to an end all too soon and searches for a way to take some of the light and magic of Diwali with her when she leaves.
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Kalamata's Kitchen
by Sarah Thomas
Tomorrow is Kalamata's first day at a new school, and she's nervous! If only Kalamata and Al Dente could go back to the Indian spice market they visited this summer, then maybe she'd remember how to feel brave when new experiences seem scary. Luckily for Kalamata, all the magic required for her journey is right in her own kitchen! As Kalamata and her alligator friend, Al Dente, transport themselves to a magical land filled with tasty ingredients, she realizes being brave is exciting!.
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Eyes That Speak to the Stars
by Joanna Ho
A young Asian boy, who notices that his eyes look different from his friends', realizes that his eyes—like his father’s, grandfather’s, and younger brother’s—rise to the skies, speak to the stars, and are visionary.
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Wishes
by Muon Van
In a tale featuring artwork by an award-winning illustrator, a youngest member of a Vietnamese refugee family finds her perspectives on immigration, family and belonging profoundly changed by her relocation to a new home on the other side of the world.
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Home Is in Between
by Mitali Perkins
Immigrating to America, a young girl navigates between her family's Bengali traditions and her new country's culture.
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Laxmi's Mooch
by Shelly Anand
After Laxmi's friend Zoe points out the hairs on her lip, Laxmi is very self-conscious until her East Indian parents help her to accept and celebrate her appearance.
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A Sari for Ammi
by Mamta Nainy
Ammi weaves the most beautiful saris but never gets to wear any of them. Her two little daughters decide to do something about it--break their piggy bank! But when there isn't enough money to buy Ammi a sari, the two girls must work together to find a solution. Will they be able to buy Ammi the gift she so deserves? With a text full of heart, and bright, cheerful artwork, this story brings readers into the home of a weaver's family in Kaithoon, India, where the creation of saris is an art form. The book includes a glossary of Indian terms and a note about the saris made in this region.
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The Takeout
by Tracy Badua
When a new restaurant opens near her dad's Filipino Indian food truck, serving the exact same foods, Mila dabbles in Filipino folk healing and magical traditions to expose them for the recipe thieves they are.
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When Clouds Touch Us
by Thanhháa Lòai
This breathtaking novel in verse, inspired by the author's experience, follows Hà and her family, refugees from the Vietnam War, as they move to Texas for a new job, and despite not wanting to start over again, Hà discovers unwanted change can bring a good opportunity.
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Starry Henna Night
by Mitali Banerjee Ruths
When eight-year-old Priya is hired to do a henna night for a teenage party, she and her friend Melissa are worried their ideas might be too babyish for the older girls.
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Judy, prisoner of war
by Laurie Calkhoven
Born in Shanghai, China, in 1936, Judy is an English pointer who finds her place on a English gunboat patrolling the Yangtze River, battling pirates, contending with the Japanese occupiers, and protecting her human shipmates--until they all end up in a Japanese prison camp in Sumatra at the beginning of World War II, where every day is a struggle to survive
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American as Paneer Pie
by Supriya Kelkar
Feeling like she lives two lives as the only Indian American girl in her school, Lekha Divekar is excited to meet a Desi newcomer only to discover that her proud new friend has just relocated to America and is not content to be quiet about bullying.
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Samira Surfs
by Rukhsanna Guidroz
After months rebuilding a new life in Bangladesh with her family, Samira decides to become a Bengali surfer girl of Cox’s Bazar, in this novel in verse about a young Rohingya girl’s journey from isolation and persecution to sisterhood, and from fear to power.
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Born Behind Bars
by Padma Venkatraman
Growing up in prison because his mother is serving time for a crime she didn’t commit, Kabir is forced into the outside world and goes on the run in a place that cares little for homeless, low-cast children.
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Word Travelers and the Taj Mahal Mystery
by Raj Haldar
Eddie and MJ are suddenly transported to India where they must use their word knowledge to solve a mystery and help their new friend Dev save his school.
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That Thing About Bollywood
by Supriya Kelkar
An Indian American girl who would bury her feelings about her parents’ separation involuntarily breaks into a Bollywood song-and-dance routine before waking up to an alternate reality where everyone is behaving like a Bollywood character.
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A Wish in the Dark
by
Christina Soontornvat
Escaping from the prison where he was born, Pong discovers harrowing truths about the gap between the world’s privileged ruling class and impoverished laborers, while the prison warden’s daughter who is hunting him uncovers other daunting secrets.
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Family Style : Memories of an American from Vietnam
by Thien Pham
Told through the lens of meaningful food and meals, this graphic novel chronicles the author's childhood immigration to America where food takes on new meaning as he and his family search for belonging, for happiness and for the American dream.
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Lost in Taiwan
by Mark Crilley
When Paul becomes lost in Taiwan, he meets Pei-Jing, who teaches him about the local culture as she helps him find his way home.
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The Karma Map : A novel
by Nisha Sharma
A youth group's temple road trip through India is a liberating escape for former mean girl Tara Bajaj and aspiring photojournalist Silas D'Souza-Gupta to explore their past and their feelings for each other.
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Tamarind and the star of Ishta
by Jasbinder Bilan
Sent to India to stay with her estranged family, Tamarind is met with culture shock, secrets and unanswered questions about her late mother as she searches for her own identity with the help of a mysterious mountain girl named Ishta. Simultaneous eBook.
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American Betiya
by Anuradha D. Rajurkar
Secretly dating a boy her mother deems unsuitable, a young artist struggles with family boundaries, her evolving sense of identity and the complexities of a mixed-heritage relationship in the wake of her boyfriend’s home troubles and a visit to India.
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Radha & Jai's Recipe for Romance
by Nisha Sharma
While attending the Princeton Academy of the Arts, dancer Radha is determined to invent herself from scratch and, after much convincing, helps Jai, the captain of the Bollywood Beats dance team, have a show-stopping senior year.
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Counting Down with You
by Tashie Bhuiyan
Karina Ahmed has a plan. Keep her head down, get through high school without a fuss, and follow her parents' rules...Tutoring the school's resident bad boy was already crossing a line. Pretending to date him?...But Ace Clyde does everything right, he brings her coffee in the mornings, impresses her friends without trying, and even promises to buy her a dozen books (a week) if she goes along with his fake-dating façade.
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Amina's Song
by Hena Khan
A companion to the award-winning Amina’s Voice finds Amina discouraged by the lack of interest her Greendale friends show in her visit to Pakistan before giving a class presentation about Malala Yousafzai.
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Sister of the Bollywood Bride
by Nandini Bajpai
Seventeen-year-old Mini plans a magnificent Indian wedding--from their deceased mother's jewelry to a white wedding horse--for her older sister Vinnie, a medical resident, but a hurricane threatens to destroy it all.
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Barakah Beats
by Maleeha Siddiqui
Leaving Islamic school to attend public school, twelve-year-old Nimra Sharif joins the school’s popular eighth grade boy band, Barakah Beats, in an attempt to fit in.
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