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Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
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No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies: A Lyric Essay
by Julian Aguon
Biography: Weaving together childhood stories in the villages of Guam with searing political commentary about current events, a Chamorro climate activist, in this part memoir, part manifesto, is a new voice writing at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice.
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From Unincorporated Territory [åmot]
by Craig Santos Perez
Non-fiction: This book is the fifth collection in Craig Santos Perez's ongoing from unincorporated territory series about the history of his homeland, the western Pacific island of Guêahan (Guam), and the culture of his indigenous Chamoru people. "êAmot" is the Chamoru word for "medicine," and commonly refers to medicinal plants. Traditional healers were known as yo'êamte, and they gathered êamot in the jungle, and recited chants and invocations of taotao'mona, or ancestral spirits, in the healing process. Through experimental and visual poetry, Perez explores how storytelling can become a symbolic form of êamot, offering healing from the traumas of colonialism, militarism, migration, environmental injustice, and the death of elders.
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Year of the Reaper
by Makiia Lucier
Young Adult Fiction: In the aftermath of a devastating plague, young Lord Cassia returns home determined to discover who is trying to assassinate the queen and must follow the trail of a terrible secret that could threaten the kingdom's newfound peace.
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The Asian American Experience
by Andrea C. Nakaya
Young Adult Non-fiction: Asian Americans can trace their origins back to a wide variety of countries. There is great diversity among Asian Americans. Understanding what it means to be Asian American means embracing shared experiences and also the many differences that are found in the Asian American story. It is this rich and complex identity that makes Asian Americans who they are.
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Dawn Raid
by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith
Juvenile Fiction: After the police raid their house, Lenny starts talking about protests and injustices against Pacific Islanders by the government, which inspires the whole family to become involved in the movement.
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Sakamoto's Swim Club: How a Teacher Led an Unlikely Team to Victory
by Julie Abery
Easy Biography: Simple rhymes and lush illustrations inspired by the sugar plantations of 1930s Maui combine in the lesser-known story of a dedicated science teacher, Soichi Sakamoto, who used innovative techniques to coach his Hawaiian swimming team all the way to the Olympics.
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Punky Aloha
by Shar Tuiasoa
Picture Book: Armed with her grandmother's magical sunglasses and a lot of aloha in her heart, plucky Polynesian girl Punky Aloha, who is scared to make new friends, sets off on a BIG adventure for the very first time. Illustrations.
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Code Noir: Afro-Caribbean Stories and Recipes
by Lelani Lewis
Cookbook: Code Noir is a cookbook steeped in history. Not just because of the title, which hits on a seventeenth-century decree in which King Louis XIV recorded how enslaved Africans in the French colonies were to be treated, but also because it deals with the food and the people that, through the gruesome course of history, came together in the Caribbean.
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Village Weavers: A Novel
by Myriam J. A. Chancy
Fiction: In 1940s Port-au-Prince, Gertie and Sisi, two girls with an unbreakable bond, are torn apart by a deathbed revelation, and over the decades, they are parted and reunited, slowly learning the truth of their singular relationship, until they are brought together one last time to reckon with and—perhaps—forgive the past.
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Simone Breaks All the Rules
by Debbie Rigaud
Young Adult Fiction: The daughter of strict Haitian parents, Simone creates a Senior Year Bucket List of all the things she hasn't had a chance to do, but soon her list takes on a life of its own, forcing her to make some difficult decisions.
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A Girl's Guide to Love & Magic
by Debbie Rigaud
Young Adult Fiction: When her aunt, an influencer known for dabbling in Haitian Vodou, is possessed by a rogue, mischievous spirit, Cicely Destin enlists the help of her best friend and her crush to set things right before the West Indian Day Parade.
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Focus on Haiti
by Ellen Rodger
Juvenile Non-fiction: Haiti, known for its mountainous and rugged land, is rich in agriculture as well as cultural traditions born from resistance. Read all about the country's land and resources, its beginnings as a profitable colony, the revolution that made it the world's first Black-ruled republic, and the daily life and culture of modern Haitians.
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The Year I Flew Away
by Marie Arnold
Juvenile Fiction: Sent ahead of her parents to live with unfamiliar relatives in Brooklyn, a girl from 1985 Haiti makes a deal with a witch to become a “perfect American” to fit in with bullying peers, before discovering how much she has sacrificed for her wish.
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A Morning with Grann
by Samanka Dumond-Desir
Easy Reader Fiction: Liline, a young Haitian American girl, and her cat Pepper learn a little about Grann's homeland of Haiti while getting ready for the first day of kindergarten.
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My Day with the Panye
by Tami Charles
Picture Book: In the hills above Port-au-Prince, a young girl named Fallon wants more than anything to carry a large woven basket to the market, just like her Manman. As she watches her mother wrap her hair in a mouchwa, Fallon tries to twist her own braids into a scarf and balance the empty panye atop her head, but realizes it's much harder than she thought.
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May 20 - Josephine Baker Day
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Josephine Baker
by José-Louis Bocquet
Graphic Novel: Josephine Baker (1906--1975) was nineteen years old when she found herself in Paris for the first time in 1925. Overnight, the young American dancer became the idol of the Roaring Twenties, captivating Picasso, Cocteau, Le Corbusier, and Simenon. In the liberating atmosphere of the 1930s, Baker rose to fame as the first black star on the world stage, from London to Vienna, Alexandria to Buenos Aires. After World War II, and her time in the French Resistance, Baker devoted herself to the struggle against racial segregation, publicly battling the humiliations she had for so long suffered personally. She led by example, and over the course of the 1950s adopted twelve orphans of different ethnic backgrounds: a veritable Rainbow Tribe. A victim of racism throughout her life, Josephine Baker would sing of love and liberty until the day she died.
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The Many Faces of Josephine Baker: Dancer, Singer, Activist, Spy
by Peggy Caravantes
Young Adult Biography: An in-depth portrait of the famous entertainer's complex life discusses her impoverished childhood, rise to fame in Europe, espionage work for the French Resistance during World War II and adoption of 12 children.
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She Caused a Riot: 100 Unknown Women Who Built Cities, Sparked Revolutions, and Massively Crushed It
by Hannah Jewell
Young Adult Non-fiction: Women's stories are often written as if they spent their entire time on Earth casting woeful but beautiful glances towards the horizon and sighing into the bitter wind at the thought of any conflict. Well, that's not how it f**king happened. When you hear about a woman who was 100% pure and good, you're probably missing the best chapters in her life's story. Maybe she slept around. Maybe she stole. Maybe she crashed planes. Maybe she got shot, or maybe she shot a bad guy (who probably had it coming.) Maybe she caused a scandal. Maybe she caused a riot.
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Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker
by Patricia Hruby Powell
Juvenile Biography: Combines exuberant verse and stirring illustrations in a picture book introduction to the life of the passionate performer and civil rights activist that traces her journey from the slums of St. Louis to the world's most famous stages.
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The Case of the Missing Cheetah
by Veronica Mang
Juvenile Fiction: It's a dark and stormy night when three sleuthing little girls get pulled into a web of mystery. They have mistakenly uncovered a secret society of some of the most famous female spies in history. A glamorous spy named Josephine Baker enlists the girls to find out who has kidnapped Chiquita, her precious pet cheetah. Do the girls have what it takes to become spies themselves?
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Jazz Age Josephine
by Jonah Winter
Picture Books: Featuring illustrations by a two-time Caldecott Honor-winning artist, a tribute to the life of the iconic jazz entertainer depicts her disadvantaged youth in a segregated America, her unique performance talents and the irrepressible sense of style that helped her overcome racial barriers.
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Josephine's Dream
by Joan Betty Stuchner
Easy Biography: Blending history and fiction, this inspirational story of Josephine Baker's childhood, capturing her dreams and performances, details her struggle to see her name in lights in America in the 1920s and her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
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Library Programs of InterestFor a full listing of our programs this month see our Events Page.
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Mercer County Library System
2751 Brunswick Pike Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648 609-882-9246
https://mcl.org
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