Settle in with great reads to celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month-- and beyond!
Revised
April 24, 2026
Whether you're celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month or just looking for a great read, check out these staff-selected titles for little kids, big kids, tweens, teens and adults.
Little kids
Picture books
2025
PICTURE BOOK Koo, Camellia
A young girl and her Yaya get into mischief, meet people and make and dan-tats during her weekly visits to his long-term care home.
2025
PICTURE BOOK Kuo, Julia
A child moves far away from everything comforting and familiar, but slowly discovers home is where the heart is.
2024
PICTURE BOOK Lê, Minh
While building entire worlds out of blocks, cardboard and imagination, two kids wonder if they've reached their breaking point when their latest masterpiece comes tumbling down, until they realize they've built something far greater-- a solid friendship with a strong foundation.
Lexile level
540L
2026
PICTURE BOOK Makhijani, Pooja
A mother and her children have a ritual-- every week they prepare a loaf of bread from scratch, kneading, baking and eating it together.
Big kids
Books
2025
PICTURE BOOK Fang, X.
After Mei Mei breaks her ama's favorite cup, she fears her grandmother's anger and hides the truth. When the family cat Mimi is blamed instead, Mei Mei's guilt grows until she finally confesses, learning honesty is the best choice.
Morgan H loved this! Find out why »
Chapter books
2025
J FICTION Lee, Lyla
Mindy is so excited to go back to Korea-- not only are she, Dad and Julie going to the popular tourist spot, Jeju Island, it's baby Charlie's first big international trip!
2025
J FICTION Miller, Chanel
A self-proclaimed sock detective inside her parents' New York City laundromat, 10-year-old Magnolia Wu and Iris, a new friend from California, set off across the city to solve the mystery of each missing sock, meeting people and uncovering the unimaginable along the way.
Lexile level
850L
Graphic novels
2026
J GRAPHIC Santat, Dan
Sashimi, a fish-creature, sneaks into elementary school to fit in. While avoiding being caught as the legendary "Beast of Barnacle Bay," he befriends a boy named Joey and navigates school life.
Picture books
2024
J 940.5317 Tak
George Takei recounts his family's forced removal from California to U.S. incarceration camps, highlighting their resilience amid injustice.
Lexile level
840L
2024
JB Kochiyama, Yuri
The author, Kai Naima Williams-- great-granddaughter of Yuri Kochiyama-- chronicles the experiences and lessons, hardships and victories and people and places that shaped Yuri's life and influenced her activism.
Tweens
Chapter books
2025
J FICTION Brown, Waka
A 12-year-old Japanese American baseball superfan forced to spend his summer in Oregon with his grandfather instead of playing elite ball.
2024
J 973.0495 Lee
This adaptation of the The Making of Asian America shines a light on the generations of Asian Americans who have transformed the U.S., and who continue to do so today, telling a powerful story of race, racism, bravery and hope.
2025
J FICTION Marianayagam, Maria
Ajay Anthonipillai wins a million-dollar prize in a candy bar he stole trying to impress a popular kid, pushing Ajay to navigate his identity and morality in deciding whether to claim something that could change his family's life forever.
Books
2026
J FICTION Chang, Victoria
Promised safety outside of San Francisco, twelve-year-old Mei Mei travels by herself to Eureka, California where she navigates increasing violence against her community leading up to the expulsion of Chinese immigrants in 1885.
2024
When their parents send them to a Taiwanese American summer camp, sisters-- and polar opposites-- Claire and Michelle learn more about their culture and each other, forcing Michelle to decide whether to embrace her culture and family or assimilate into the popular group at school.
Meredith R loved this! Find out why »
Graphic novels
2025
J GRAPHIC Yan, Stan
Twelve-year-old Eugenia Wang, who has never celebrated her birthday on April 4 due to her mom's superstition, starts to question whether she is cursed when troubling visions of doom begin to surface as she approaches her 13th birthday.
Lori W loved this! Find out why »
Teens
Books
2024
T FICTION Ahmed, Samira
After her dad abruptly abandons her family, Noor Khan is forced to start the last quarter of her senior year at a new school and plans to keep her head down until she discovers hundreds of books being removed from the library and speaks up to effect change.
2026
T FICTION Jean, Emiko
When 17-year-old Emma wishes for proof that love is real, she starts receiving letters from her true love in the future and attempts to uncover the identity of the sender in the past.
2025
T FICTION Lee, C. B.
Two teen girls from colliding parallel universes meet in a coffeeshop and fall in love.
Stephanie B loved this! Find out why »
2024
T FICTION Ribay, Randy
Set in the 1930s to today, four generations of Filipino American boys grapple with identity, masculinity and father-son relationships.
Lexile level
820L
2025
T FICTION Tian, XiXi
After her brother dies unexpectedly and her family is uprooted once again during her senior year, Stella Chen feels lost and alone, but a trip up the California coast to look at college possibilities with an estranged childhood friend brings a spark back to her life and a glimpse at the future.
Rachel N loved this! Find out why »
Graphic novels
2024
T GRAPHIC HA ROBIN
Set in 16th century Korea, this queer, feminist reimagining of the Fox Maiden legend from Korean mythology follows Kai Song, who is determined to be a warrior as she must come to terms with her true identity and take control of her destiny after learning a deadly secret.
Adults
Books
2025
B Buchdahl, Angela
Born to a Korean Buddhist mother and Jewish father, the author shares her remarkable journey from outsider to one of America’s most influential rabbis.
2025
FICTION Chien, Vivien
Lana Lee teams up with private detective Lydia Shepard to solve the murders of members of the secretive Eight Immortals order in Asia Village, navigating hidden connections, personal stakes and dangerous deceptions to prevent the killer from claiming their next victim.
Daniel S loved this! Find out why »
2025
641.5637 Cho
A personal cookbook that focuses on intuitive, vegetable-forward, and healthier cooking that blends Asian-American flavors with Cali-Californian techniques.
2025
996.9 Goo
An journalist's story of unexpected homecomings, familial hardship and fierce devotion to ancestry creates a new narrative about Hawaii, its native people and their struggle to hold on to their land and culture today.
2025
FICTION Kitamura, Katie
An accomplished actress and an attractive, troubling young man meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. In this novel, two competing narratives unspool, rewriting our understanding of the roles we play every day-- partner, parent, creator, muse-- and the truths every performance masks.
Chaz C loved this! Find out why »
2025
FICTION Kuang, R. F.
Graduate students Alice and Peter must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor's soul: perhaps at the cost of their own.
Rachel N loved this! Find out why »
2024
641.013 Nez
A collection of short essays that investigate the relationship between humans and food, discussing how different dishes and traditions impact our identities and evoke associations and remembrances of joy, grief and desire.
2025
B Nguyen, Vicky
NBC News anchor and correspondent Vicky Nguyen tells the story of her family's daring escape from communist Vietnam and her unlikely journey from refugee to reporter with laughter and fierce love.
2025
FICTION Patel, Vaishnavi
In the city of Kingston, built upon the ashes of Bombay, Kalki Divekar and her friends secretly build a resistance movement from within British rule, balancing survival and rebellion as they navigate personal losses, shifting alliances and the high stakes of fighting for their city.
David C loved this! Find out why »
2025
FICTION SenLinYu
Alchemist Helena Marino, a prisoner with amnesia, fights to survive in a necromancy-ridden world as the ruthless High Reeve attempts to unearth the vital secrets hidden within her missing memories.
Ashley B loved this! Find out why »
2025
FICTION Sutanto, Jesse
When a young woman searching for a missing friend leads Vera to the mysterious murder of influencer Xander Lin, she delves into his enigmatic life, uncovering secrets and identities to help her future daughter-in-law, Officer Selena Gray, solve the case.
Amy B loved this! Find out why »
2025
FICTION Tai, Tara
Cat Li lands her dream job writing love storylines for the next big thing in games only after boss Andi Zhang, who hates happily-ever-afters, grudgingly gives Cat a chance, but when Cat discovers a plot to destroy Andi's career, they must find a way to work together before it's game over.
2025
FICTION Vuong, Ocean
In the struggling town of East Gladness, Connecticut, 19-year-old Hai is saved from despair by Grazina, an elderly widow with dementia, forging an unexpected bond that reshapes their lives and reveals dynamics of love, memory and resilience on the margins of society.
Chris V loved this! Find out why »
Graphic novels
2025
GRAPHIC Curato, Mike
A spilled drink at a Seattle bar introduces AJ-- who's ready to reinvent himself as a gay Asian man-- to K, John and Steve. AJ's "Boy Luck Club" helps him find love, pride and belonging-- until a brutal attack tests everything they know about friendship and family.
Lily D loved this! Find out why »