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Recently Released Asian Books for Young Readers & GIVEAWAY // #ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2023

#ReadYourWorld Book Jam 2023 in partnership with Children’s Book Council is excited to present Maria Wen Adcock with her book list of Recently Released Asian Books for Young Readers!

We are also giving away a signed copy of her book, It’s Chinese New Year, Curious George! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom.

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In recent years the publishing industry has seen an increase in diverse books for young readers, thanks to the efforts of many including the non-profit organization Multicultural Children’s Book Day.

When compiling a list of eight children’s books to recommend, it was challenging as there were so many books I wanted to share. The list below focuses on books by Asian authors that were released within the last six months from the publication of this post and featured Asian culture or characters. I’ve listed the books in alphabetical order.

Don’t forget to check out my giveaway for It’s Chinese New Year, Curious George where one lucky reader will win a signed copy of my book! Giveaway details are at the end of this post.

 

Recently Released Asian Books for Young Readers

 

A Sweet New Year for Ren by Michelle Sterling 

In this charming story, a young girl named Ren longs to help her family prepare for the Lunar New Year, but everyone thinks she’s too little. When she struggles to make pineapple cakes, her family shows her the way. The pride Ren feels in helping her family with traditions and food is heartwarming. [Picture Book, ages 4-8]

Ameya’s Two Worlds by Aditi Wardhan Singh 

Ameya is an Indian American girl who attends her cousin Vaishali’s wedding in India. When her cousin Dev questions if she is really Indian, she wonders if he is right. With the support of her mother, Ameya realizes that a person can be many things and embraces her two worlds. [Picture Book, ages 5-9]

Diwali in My New Home by Shachi Kaushik 

Priya, a girl from India whose family moves to the United States, notices that people in her new country are not familiar with the Indian holiday of Diwali. She misses celebrating it in the same way she did in India but learns that sharing the holiday with new people can be just as festive. The book provides a kid-friendly introduction to Diwali. [Picture Book, ages 4-8]

How Do Vaccines Work? By Katrina Liu

This Informational fiction STEAM book features an Asian girl and her father which provides the science behind immunizations. It tackles the immune system, viruses, bacteria, and more in a kid-friendly way. Young readers will also see how the main character overcomes her fear of shots.  [Picture Book, ages 4-7]

It’s Chinese New Year, Curious George by Maria Wen Adcock 

Follow along with Curious George as he celebrates Chinese New Year with his friend Mei and her family. With rhyming text, colorful illustrations, and sturdy tabbed pages, this book is a wonderful introduction to the holiday for young readers which they can read again and again through the early school years. [Board Book, ages 0 and up]

Little Bun by Amanda Hsiung Blodgett 

In this bilingual Chinese English storybook about feelings, Little Bun helps young readers to verbalize what they’re feeling inside. It’s a much-needed book that can support social-emotional skills in children while introducing children to Chinese culture. [Picture Book, ages 2-6]

Luminous by Julia Kuo

A young girl and her mother explore the luminous world of living things around them that light up the night. Throughout the story, there are supporting paragraphs that further explain scientific points in the storyline, thus making this book both very educational and enjoyable to read. [Picture Book, ages 4-8]

Toco’s How We Look by Akhila Das Blah and Kshama Alur

Created by the founders of Indigrow, Toco’s How We Look Playbook teaches kids to celebrate differences and provides talking points to spark conversations. Kids explore topics such as “Why do my eyes look different” or “Why is my skin darker” in an age-appropriate way. An additional digital companion InstaPlay Kit includes printables and activities. [Picture Book, ages 3-8]

 

SIGNED COPY of It’s Chinese New Year, Curious George GIVEAWAY!

We are also giving away a signed copy of It‘s Chinese New Year, Curious George. To enter, please use the Rafflecopter below. We can only mail to U.S. and A.F.O. addresses.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Maria Wen Adcock is the author of It’s Chinese New Year, Curious George [January 2023] published by Clarion Books/Harper Collins. Maria is a first-generation Chinese-American writer and founder of the award-winning multicultural parenting blog www.BiculturalMama.com. She has appeared on The Dr. Oz Show< Bloomberg News, Newsday, and Huffington Post. Maria is a board member of Multicultural Kid Blogs, an organization supporting diverse parenting bloggers, and co-host of the annual publishing event Multicultural Children’s Book Day. She resides on Long Island with her husband and two children. To learn more, check out her website and follow her @BiculturalMama on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.