Looking to teach little ones about the world? Today we are sharing a fun pop-up book that takes us around the world. I am also sharing links to crafts, activities, and recipes to go with each city and/or its country. The book is The Pop-Up Guide: Cities Around the World by Maud Poulain and illustrated by Sandra de la Prada. It is recommended for ages 3 to 5.
Summer is supposed to be my time to relax, and I have loads of ideas and books to share with you, but the last few weeks are just crazy. Today I am finally focusing enough to share a new book with you. This book shares about het life of Maria Orosa, who was a Filipino heroine. The book is Maria Orosa Freedom Fighter, Scientist and Inventor from the Philippines by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco and illustrated by Mark Salvatus. It is recommended for ages 9 to 14.
Today I get to share with you the second book in the Lia Park series! I reviewed the first book last year and couldn't wait to get my hands on the second one. It was released last week!! The second book is Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms by Jenna Yoon. It is a middle grades novel series recommended for ages 8 to 12.
What child doesn't love running or dancing with a ribbon stick? Over the years we have had different experiences with types of ribbon dance and ribbon play. There was the Frozen birthday party where we gave the girls light blue ribbon wands to play Freeze Dance and feel like Elsa. There was also the DIY Wind Wand I made Hazel when she was young. There is also the fun we had exploring the Mexican rebozo and the Middle Eastern dupatta. Today I am going to share a book where a young Asian girl is inspired by Chinese ribbon dance. The book is Amy Wu and the Ribbon Dance by Kat Zhang and illustrated by Charlene Chua. It is released tomorrow (5/30/23) and is recommended for ages 4 to 8. Before we talk about the book, however let's look at Chinese Ribbon Dance. It is still Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!
Today I get to share a new multicultural picture book. It is actually being released tomorrow! This book shares about a cultural view of a dupatta. A dupatta is the long shawl like scarf Middle Eastern women wear often over their heads and/or shoulders. It is part of the national dress of Pakistan and is worn today by people of India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The book is A Dupatta Is ... by Marzieh Abbas and illustrated by Anu Chouhan. It is recommended for ages 3 to 6.
Before Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month ends, I wanted to explore sumi-e, Japanese ink painting. I was sent three books that share the about this beautiful art and provides tutorials to create your own. Now a while ago I shared my adventure with Chinese brush painting. The idea I had when I bought the supplies was for Hazel and I to do it together. Since sumi-e is similar I thought she would enjoy expanding her skills. She did some Chinese brush painting in art class last year. However in reality she never had time or desire to do it with me, so after waiting quite awhile for her to join me, I did it on my own. When researching books to learn Chinese brush painting I discovered sumi-e. This is the Japanese form of brush painting. I am going to share three books that teach sumi-e from three different masters. Each is a bit different. I have not tried any of the techniques as my life has gotten busy. (If you didn't read about my big news, you can here.) Let's begin with the newest book, A Beginner's Guide to Sumi-e: Learn Japanese Ink Painting from a Modern Master by Shozo Koike. This book was released in October 2021!
As May marches on, we continue to look at Asian and Pacific Island heritage products. Today I am sharing a historical fiction young adult novel that takes place in Korea in 1758. It is The Red Palace by June Hur.
May is Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month. All month long I will try to share books, crafts, and activities to help celebrate this fun heritage. Today I get to share the newest book from one of my favorite series about Asian countries. It is All About Vietnam: Projects & Activities for Kids: Learn About Vietnamese Culture with Stories, Songs, Crafts & Games by Tran Thi Minh Phuoc and illustrated by Nguyen Thi Hop and Nguyen Dong. It is a middle grades reading level but can be shared with younger kids if you do the reading!
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. It is a month I try to focus on Asia and the Pacific Islands. Today I am going to share a book that I feel is a must read for Asian American children especially when there has been such an increase in discrimination and violence toward Asian Americans. The book is I Am Golden by Eva Chen and illustrated by Sophie Diao. It has a reading age of 4 to 6.
Today I get to share with you a new middle school fantasy novel. It is the first book in a series and is being released on May 3rd. Since the main characters are Korean it is also a perfect book to pick up for Asian Pacific Island American Heritage Month. The book is Lia Park and the Missing Jewel by Jenna Yoon. It is recommended for ages 8 to 11.
The last few years have been tough on everyone. We have had a worldwide pandemic, racial riots and demonstrations, life basically shutting down and restarting and so much more. It has been hard on adults and imagine how hard it has been on kids. Then imagine how hard it is for Asian American kids. Today I'm going to share a middle grades novel that delves into just that. An Asian American family returns from Hong Kong just as the virus is beginning to spread out of China. The father however stays in Hong Kong to keep his job. The kids have to pick up their life here at a house they only usually visit in the summer. Plus, deal with the fact that anyone who looks Chinese isn't always treated well. The book is New from Here by Kelly Yang.
Today we are talking about haikus. I love a good haiku and love that they are relatively easy to write. A haiku is a simple three-line poem that usually follow a syllable rule (five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in the third). They started in Japan and are often about nature. Today I am sharing a new book (released today) about a Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho, and his journeys. Basho is generally known for making haikus a poetry genre. He lived in 1644-1694. After suffering some personal tragedy he went out on five long journeys which he recorded in travelogues. This book is about his journeys based from his travelogues. It is Basho's Haiku Journeys by Freeman Ng and illustrated by Cassandra Rockwood Ghanem.
Today I get to share with you a jigsaw puzzle of a beautiful zen garden in Japan. As I have mentioned before one of the many benefits of doing a puzzle is that it is relaxing. I find having a tranquil picture even more relaxing!! The puzzle is Tranquil Zen Garden in Kyoto, Japan 1,000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle from Tuttle Publishing.
With the Tokyo Olympics still going on I thought this week I would share two books that have Westerner authors who have chosen lives in Japan. They share their experiences in their books. Both of these books are written for adults and definitely have some adult overtones to them. The first book is manga or a graphic novel. It is written by a French born author. It is Tokyo Love Story by Julie Blanchin Fujita and is bilingual in both English and Japanese.
Since Monday was Memorial Day and I spent the weekend with family and friends I didn't do my multicultural post this week. Today I am going to share some of the resources I have to explore Japan. I know Japan will be a popular country to look at this summer with the Olympics being held in Tokyo. We will start with All About Japan by Willamarie Moore and illustrated by Kazumi Wilds.
Today I am going to share another 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. It is a beautiful photograph from Japan. It is the Samurai Castle and Cherry Blossoms 1,000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.
So I had big plans to start reviewing books on Japan. I have quite a pile. However they are going to wait until next week and into June because I found one other Asian country to cover on my bookshelf. Today I am going to share with you Story of the Mongolian Tent House by Dashdondog Jamba, retold by Anne Pellowski and illustrated by Beatriz Vidal. Before I begin my review, I would like to add that there are not a whole lot of books about or from Mongolia or many crafts or resources for kids. When I did a search for craft ideas most of them were adult crafts and for sale. I think this is a topic that needs a bit more exploring and I am going to share what I did find.
May is Asian American Heritage Month. Last week we focused on Vietnam and this week we will focus on China. I have two books to share with you today. One of them I reviewed an older edition several years ago. The other is a book of children's stories from both China and Tibet. I began to wonder about Tibet. Tibet was taken over by the Communist Chinese Government in 1949. The leader of Tibet prior to that was the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama escaped to India and lives there in exile with over 100,000 Tibetan refugees. (Source) We will start with Favorite Children's Stories from China and Tibet by Lotta Carswell Hume and illustrated by Lo Koon-chiu.
I have been very lucky to be able to get products to review from Tuttle Publishing. Since their company focuses on Eastern countries I always find their products perfect for sharing in May (though I share them all year long). Besides books they have other products including jigsaw puzzles. I thought it would be fun to share some of the puzzles I have from Tuttle this month. I have shared others previously. Plus since the puzzle is of the Borobudur Temple, I thought I would share some fun facts about the temple.
May is Asian/Pacific Islander-American Heritage Month. Last May I focused on Japan and I thought this year I might try to do that with Vietnam, but as I looked at my resources this year I decided I would do one post on Vietnam and posts about other Asian and Pacific Island countries. Today we will focus on Vietnam and I will share two books--a cookbook and a picture dictionary. At the end I will share a round-up of some activities and books on the topic of Vietnam and the culture.
