#AsianBooksChallenge Wrap-Up

Books and Boba had a great Asian Books Challenge in the month of May. You didn't have to read all of the books, but you were asked to recommend a book for each day under each topic/genre/format. It's a great hashtag to scroll through with many amazing titles. As you know I read children's and YA books for the most part, so those are the kinds of titles you'll see with a few stray adult titles. I've read all except The Railway & the one on my TBR and would highly recommend them. 

Here are the books I chose for each day. When I have published one (mostly at Rich in Color), I'm including formal interviews to go along with the titles and sometimes interviews with the authors.

1. First book you read by an Asian author - I'm sure it was something by Laurence Yep, but I read many of them so I'm going to say Dragon's Gate since it got the Newbery and I tended to read the award books. I know, I know. So nerdy. But our 6th grade teacher made us choose ten of them to read and do reports on over that year so I kind of got in that habit. (I think he's the first author I read, but which book? Not as clear)

2. Favorite 2019 book by Asian author - Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali. I wrote about it here. 

3. Book with an Asian on the cover - The Weight of Our Sky [my review] by Hanna Alkaf [author interview]

4. Set in an Asian country I've never been to - The Astonishing Color of After by R.X. Pan [my review]

5. Sci-fi novel by Asian author - Want by Cindy Pon [group discussion]

6. Asian-inspired fantasy - Green Langtern: Legacy by Minh Lê

7. LGBTQIA+ Asian MC - Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki

8. Read the book, watched the adaptation - To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

9. Historical fiction with Asian MC - The Downstairs Girl [my review] [author interview]

10. YA novel by an Asian author - Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram [author interview]

11. Translated work by Asian author - The White Book by Han Kang

12. South Asian MC - You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins [my review] [author interview]

13. Romance with Asian MC - When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon [discussion group]

14. Favorite series by an Asian author - Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace/Pacy Lin

15. Central Asian MC - this was difficult. I didn't think I had read anything for this one, so I looked up some titles and decided that *The Railway by Hamid Ismailov would be one I could read. This is a bit of a book gap for me. First off, I had to look to see precisely which countries are included in the area of Central Asia. Reera mentioned a book that I had previously read and had forgotten fit this - Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata.

16. Mixed-race Asian MC - Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi [my review]

17. Asian re-telling of fairy-talke, myth, or classic - Mulan: Before the Sword by Grace Lin [my review]

18. Mystery/thriller by an Asian author - Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert [author interview]

19. Southeast Asian MC - Angel de la Luna and the 5th Glorious Mystery by Eva Galang [my review]

20. MG novel by an Asian author - Listen, Slowly by Thannhà Lại

21. Story about Asian refugess - Gathering Fireflies by Mai Chao

22. Asian Muslim MC - Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed [my review]

23. Graphic novel by an Asian author - Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada [my review] [author interview in comic form]

24. Asian Superhero - The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang [my review]

25. Asian MC with a disability - *The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

26. Asian American literature classic - *Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

27. West Asian MC - Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian [my review]

28. Summer trip to the "motherland" - Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

29. Non-fiction by an Asian author - We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang and Let's Make Ramen!: A Comic Cookbook by Hugh Amano

30. 2020 debut novel by an Asian author - Pippa Park Raises Her Game by Erin Yun [my reivew]

31. Next book by Asian author on TBR pile - The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar 

If you'd like to see the list on Twitter with most of the cover images, you can start with the first tweet: 

Jumping in a few days late. Day 1 #AsianBooksChallenge Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep was likely the first book I read by an Asian author.

— Crystal Brunelle (@librarygrl2) May 12, 2020

*Adult titles - all else are kidlit and YA

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Last week on the blog: 

Review: All the Things We Never Knew

Asian American Heritage Month

Last week in books:

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine - YA novel that's a nice mix of snark, history, family drama, and love. 

Scavenge the Stars - YA gender swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo with lots of adventure and a slight bit of romance. 

Indian No More - a middle grade historical fiction book that would make an excellent class read aloud. There would be much to research and learn about with the termination law and relocation of many Indian families.  

Bird Summons - an adult novel about three Muslim women in Scotland who take a road trip to the grave of who they believe was the first white woman in Scotland to convert. Quite an unusual book because it goes a bit beyond surface realities. This was my final book for the #RamadanReadathon. That was again an interesting reading challenge to do. 

Dictionary for a Better World - this picture book of poetry is simply fantastic. It has poetry that encourages empathy, activism, and is encouraging and inspirational. There are also quotes related to each of the poems from a wide variety of people. Each poem also has a brief explanation or aside from the author. In addition, each poem format is labeled and explained so readers may also choose to write poems.

The Coming Week:
I am currently reading Dragon Hoops via the new Overdrive collection I just purchased for our elementary school. I had no idea the consortium allowed staff access to teen and adult titles. I'm super excited. Bonus reading. I'm also reading Making Comics by Lynda Barry which is essentially her college course of the same name so it has all kinds of drawing and writing activities to do in the new journal I made. I'm not sure what else I will get to as it will be a busy week. It's our last week for new learning and then we have two and a half days on school next week. Have fun reading!

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 251/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 136/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 81/200

#MustReadin2020 - 17/36
#YARC2020 - 29/55
#RamadanReadathon2020 - 10

Asian American Heritage Month

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month so this is a good time to share some titles I have in my elementary school library (or have on order). These are all books that I have read and would recommend, but this is not my heritage so keep that in mind.

Picture Books

Summoning the Phoenix by Emily Jiang illustrated by April Chu
The Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito illustrated by Julia Kuo
A Different Pond by Bao Phi illustrated by Thi Bui
Drawn Together by Min Lê illustrated by Dan Santat
It Began with a Page by Kyo Maclear illustrated by Julie Morstad
Queen of Physics by Teresa Robeson illustrated by Rebecca Huang
A Map Into the World by Kao Kalia Yang illustrated by Seo Kim
Paper Son by Julie Leung illustrated by Chris Sasaki
Bilal Cooks Daal by Aisha Saeed illustrated by Anoosha Syed
The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh by Supriya Kelkar illustrated by Alea Marley
My Grandma and Me by Mina Javaherbin illustrated by Lindsey Yannkey
Under My Hijab by Hena Khan illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel
Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang illustrated by Charlene Chua
Mommy Sayang by Rosana Sullivan
A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin
Feast of Peas by Kashmira Sheth illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler
The Wedding Portrait by Innosanto Nagara
Here I Am by Patti Kim illustrated by Sonia Sanchez

Beginning Chapter Books

Yasmin Series (Books 1-12) by Saadia Faruqi illustrated by Hatem Aly
Astrid and Apollo and the Starry Campout by V.T. Bidania illustrated by Dara Lashia Lee [My Review Here]
Pacy Series by Grace Lin
Melody of the Qeej by Mai Kou Xiong illustrated by Vang Lee
Ling and Ting Series by Grace Lin
Jasmine Toguchi Series by Debbi Michiko Florence illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic
Shoua and the Northern Lights Dragon by Ka Vang illustrated by Aimee Hagerty Johnson
Nina Soni, Former Best Friend by Kashmira Sheth illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky
Diary of an Ice Princess by Christina Soontornvat illustrated by Barbara Szepesi Szucs
The No-Dogs Allowed Rule by Kashmira Sheth illustrated by Carl Pearce
Mindy Kim Series by Lyla Lee illustrated by Dung Ho (the illustration are sometimes stereotypical and that's unfortunate - I'm hoping that changes as the series progresses)
Ruby Lu Brave Series by Lenore Look

I haven't read the Planet Omar books, but am looking forward to it. 

Middle Grade Chapter Books & Graphic Novels

 

American as Paneer Pie by Supriya Kelkar
Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim
Mulan Before the Sword by Grace Lin
Pippa Park Raises Her Game by Erin Yun [My Review Here]
Green Lantern: Legacy by Minh Lê illustrated by Andie Tong
Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai
Star Gazing by Jen Wang
Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly
More to the Story by Hena Khan
Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj
My Fate According to the Butterfly by Gail D. Villanueva
All the Ways Home by Elsie Chapman
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata
The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond Series by Sayantani DasGupta
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar
The Gauntlet Series by Karuna Riazi
Power Forward by Hena Khan

Pacific Island Books - Hawaii

Shark King by R. Kikuo Johnson

In My Neighborhood/Ma koʿu kaiūlu by Kalani Pūloku Taylor Vahey

Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan illustrated by Lillian Hsu-Flanders

It's really Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, but I have very few books that fit the Pacifika  category. If, like me, you have realized that you haven't read many books by or about Pacific Islanders, here are some places to go for titles. I am hoping that next year, I will be familiar with more of these:

Pacific Island Books for Children and Teens
Aotearoa Books - Pacifika Children's Fiction
The Quiet Pond's Recommendations - Books by Maori and Pasifika Authors
Electric Lit's post 13 Books by Pacific Islanders

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Last week on the blog: 

Memoirs and Coming of Age

Last week in books:

The Map of Salt and Tears was an adult title I read for the #RamadanReadathon. It's a dual narrative with one character far in the past and one in about ten years ago. Someone on Twitter recommended it when we were talking about Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know and it's dual timeline of the past and present. 

It's a Whole Spiel is a YA anthology written by Jewish authors. It was a lovely collection. 

Show Me a Sign was an interesting middle grade book about a small New England community where there was a large deaf population so people there all learned sign language. I had never known about this actual place. It dealt with ableism, racism, friendship, and grief among other things. 

My favorite of the picture books were the biographies: It Began with a Page, By and By, and Thanks to Frances Perkins. 

The Coming Week:
I just started King and the Dragonflies and I am enthralled. I will likely read some more for the #RamadanReadathon, but otherwise, it's a toss up of what I will grab. Have a great week!

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 244/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 129/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 76/200

#MustReadin2020 - 17/36
#YARC2020 - 29/55
#RamadanReadathon2020 - 9

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Last week in books:

 

Rick by Alex Gino was fantastic. It's really a perfect middle grade as Rick is navigating friendship and questioning his identity. He's also getting closer to his grandfather. For students wondering about LGBTQIAP+ and what all those letters might mean, this is a good way to start a discussion. For young people who are going through their own time of questioning, this is a great book to hand them. 

Unmarriageable was one for #RamadanReadathon. It is a Pride and Prejudice set in Pakistan. It was a nice romcom. There was fat shaming that reallly goes unaddressed until the very end. I also didn't enjoy that she used the same names for some of the characters. It made the author's job easier because then people know without being told, but I felt it made it too much like the original. I enjoyed it for the most part, but for Pride and Prejudice retellings, I preferred Pride by Ibi Zoboi and Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin. 

Another book for #RamadanReadathon was Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know. It was also on my MustReadin2020 list. This had two storylines going on - one in Paris in the present and one hundreds of years prior. It's an art mystery with a bit of flirtation. Loved it.

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune was lovely. I really enjoy books that revolve around food. This also had a bit of romance and family drama. I have been seeking out romances and lighter fare so this was perfect for that.

Another romance was Fumbled. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't a big favorite. The Goodreads reviews indicate that the first book in the series was better so I may try that one later. 

All Boys Aren't Blue is a memoir and is fantastic. I was lucky enough to go to the book release online event and also heard George speak at Everywhere Bookfest or Y'allWest. I can't remember which. Anyway, he has a wonderful sense of humor and I so appreciate all that he shared. I think this book will be helpful to many young people. 

I have no idea why The Banshee Train was checked out to me. I found it on my shelf and have no recollection of checking it out. It was a story about how a train had fallen when the tracks were out over a huge ravine. Later, another train is coming through and a banshee starts chasing it. I probably grabbed it because I'm always looking for books that are scary, but not too scary for my younger picture book readers. It's okay, but because it looks so dated, I'm not sure children will pick it up even with a banshee.

Go With the Flow is an excellent graphic novel dealing with menstruation. It really attacks the idea that periods shouldn't be talked about and are even almost treated like they are shameful. I'm super excited for this one to be out in the world. 

The Coming Week:
Their Eyes Were Watching God is on my pile along with Show Me a Sign. I also have The Map of Salt and Stars checked out. Have a great week filled with awesome reading adventures.

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 234/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 125/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 68/200

#MustReadin2020 - 17/36
#YARC2020 - 28/55
#RamadanReadathon2020 - 8

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

If you go to my Goodreads account, you can see what I have read recently & click on the books to learn more.

Last week in books:

I finally finished the original version of Stamped From the Beginning the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. It's more than 500 pages with small print, but it is definitely worth every minute spent. I had listened to the YA adaptation, Stamped, a few weeks ago. I listened to it again while I was reading the original and hopefully, with three exposures, I have absorbed some of the information. I am excited to share the YA adaption with teachers and portions of it with students. These are powerful books that encourage action.

I was seeking out some lighter fare this week too, so was happy to get my copy of The Chai Factor for #RamadanReadathon. It was an adult romantic comedy set in Toronto. I love to visit that part of the world so am always enjoying books set there. What I loved was that because it wasn't YA, I didn't have to look read it through the eyes of a reviewer so it was pure relaxation. 

Even if the Sky Falls was also a romance with a share of humor though it also included a bit more of a struggle. As American as Paneer Pie was an ARC from the publisher and is a very nice middle grade about immigrant families and really does a good job at showing that there are multiple ways to be Indian American and that identity is important, but it is not the only significant thing about a person.

The picture books were good and my favorite was The Overground Railroad which was about The Great Migration. It seems to slowly be changing, but it really is amazing how many non-Black people are completely unaware of that huge part of U.S. history. Bears Make Rock Soup has some brief traditional tales alongside art. What caught my attention is that the author is an enrolled member of the Oneida of Wisconsin. There aren't very many books published by Native authors from Wi so that's one I'm happy to add to our library collection.

The Coming Week: I was called to come pick up some books I had on hold. I'm excited to start more adult books that I don't have to review. Woot! I am also reading All Boys Are Not Blue which is fabulous and will start Felix Ever After too. Happy reading!

Reading Challenge Updates: 

Goodreads Challenge 2019 - 226/500

Diversity on the Shelf 2020 - 120/250
Chapter Books 2020 - 68/200

#MustReadin2020 - 16/36
#YARC2020 - 25/55