APIDA children’s literature-picture books

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Before I move to discuss some picture books I have on hand I’ll link to another couple of book lists that are helpful. They aren’t all picture books but I’m going to focus on picture books here.

31 Books to Celebrate Asian/Pacific Heritage Month

Asian American Kids Books AAPI Month from the Today Show

The Today Show list is chosen by four bestselling children’s authors including Joanna Ho-“Eyes That Kiss in the Corners” and Minh Lê-“Drawn Together”.

Vertical rectangular book Cover. The title, Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, is on the bottom left side of the cover. The cover shows a young girl in profile looking towards the left side of the book. She has long dark hair that sweeps towards the left side of the cover. She has a small green barrette in it. Her skin is light brown with reddish brown cheeks. She is holding a pink flower in her hand. Her eye (left eye) "kisses in the corners". She is wearing a short sleeved red top or dress. There is an orange and black butterfly in the top left hand side.

“Eyes that Kiss in the Corners” (2020) is written by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Dung (pronounced Zung) Ho. “I have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea”. The girl at the center of this lyrical and joyous work expresses love for her family and for herself by noting they all have eyes that kiss in the corners: her mother, her grandmother and her little sister. Her Mama’s eyes tell her she is a miracle, her Amah’s eyes are filled with so many stories “I can fall inside them and swim until time stops”. Her sister Mei Mei’s eyes gaze at her “like I am her best present”, “when she looks at me in that Mei Mei way, I feel like I can fly”. The narrator’s eyes then “crinkle into crescent moons” and her eyes tell stories of the past and hope for the future in a few pages of fantastical imagery. The story ends with the narrator, her Mama, her Amah and Mei Mei together. “My eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea are a revolution. They are Mama and Amah and Mei Mei. They are me. And they are beautiful.” The illustrations are gorgeous and detailed bringing in elements such as defined lotus blossoms, Chinese dragons, koi, to accompany the soft illustrations of the narrator and her family. Dung Ho lives and works in Vietnam. On her illustrator bio she says that she draws inspiration from nature and that she loves to draw interesting characters with unique personalities. The book is a journey for me and it never ceases to uplift me no matter how many times I’ve read it. There are layers here and much can be done. I feel it’s a must-have for any classroom library and home. It’s truly uplifting and powerful.

Vertical rectangular book cover shows a young boy and his grandfather hugging in the center of the cover. The grandfather's head is above the young boy's head. They have light brown skin and they are both smiling. The grandfather is wearing a red sweater over a white shirt and brown tie. The title of the book covers the boy's body. The title is "drawn together" in lower case with "drawn" above "together" and the thick letters graphically resemble Thai. The authors' names are inserted between the two words of the title. On the top left side of the cover is a drawing of a boy wearing a blue tunic with a red belt, a red cap and a red superhero cape. He is holding a wand with a star on it. The top right hand side shows a Thai warrior in black and white detailed lines.

When I used to get books from the school library during our class’ weekly visits I would often choose wordless books. There are many stunning wordless books and the flights of imagination readers can go on when there isn’t a specific word they need to read is powerful. Drawn Together (2018), written by Minh Lê and illustrated by Dan Santat, isn’t a wordless book but it speaks to power of visuals as a communication tool. A young boy is dropped off at his grandfather’s house but the young boy doesn’t speak Thai and the grandfather doesn’t speak English. They eat, the grandfather eats what looks like ramen and the boy is served a hotdog and chips. The boy asks his grandad a question but neither understands the other. They watch tv but the boy gets frustrated and he goes to his backpack and takes out art supplies. He draws himself as a boy with a superhero cape and a magic wand. On seeing this the grandad pulls out his own sketch book. “Right when I gave up on talking, my grandfather surprised me by revealing a world beyond worlds. And in a FLASH-we see each other for the first time”. The grandfather draws himself as what looks like a Thai warrior and together they draw themselves in different settings building “a new world that even words can’t describe”. But distance sneaks in and separates them, on either side of a chasm with a dragon swimming in the waters below. The boy has his grandfather’s paint brush and the grandfather has the boy’s magic wand and together they fight the dragon and find themselves together again.

On reading this book I sensed the back and forth of words and pictures and how well they work together. Dan Santat uses a somewhat realistic style at the beginning and at the end of the story. The faces are expressive without a lot of detail and storyboards are used to advance the action. The relationship between the boy and his grandfather is always central. When the grandfather’s drawings come into the story they are finely detailed with reference to Thai culture and art. The two voices/people have their individual natures but those natures come together in such beautiful fashion. It’s a stunningly beautiful book.

Vertical rectangular book cover for A Different Pond. The title is on the center of the page up the top, The cover image is of a young boy with his father and they are standing on the shores of a lake. They are seen from a distance and the father takes up about a third of the page vertically and the boy is half his size. The father is on the left and is wearing a brown jacket and blue pants. He is holding a fishing rod. The boy is wearing a blue jacket and brown pants. Two buckets are on the shore next to the father. On each side of the cover you see a half of a tree. Behind the boy and the father and taking up most of the room on the cover is a starry night sky. The book has a silver sticker on it

A Different Pond (2017) is written by Bao Phi and illustrated by Thi Bui. In this story a father and his son get up early to go fishing before the dad starts work at his second job. The family are refugees in the United States. While they are fishing the father tells the son about being back in Vietnam and fishing with his brother. It’s a tender story of family love and sharing special moments. Bao Phi draws on his own childhood memories and family stories. In the author notes Bao Phi said he wanted to honor the struggles of his parents and that difficult stories were told about the war and where they came from, not to scare or harm but because these traumas were a part of their life. The father and his brother went to fight in the war but only the boy’s father came back.
Written details such as describing the stars as freckles and half a peppercorn like a moon split in two accompany the compelling illustrations from Thi Bui. Thi Bui is particularly gifted at drawing facial expressions and conveying sentiment and relationships in her artwork. The color scheme here is mostly the blues and greys of an early morning with yellow coming in as they return home with fish for dinner. The boy wears a red shirt throughout that is initially covered up by a blue jacket that he takes off at home. These choices add to the intimacy of the story. This is highly recommended and while it is a relatively simple story on the surface there is much to be gained from multiple readings.

From All the Wonders: A Different Pond: Layers of Visual Narrative.

Also Let’s Talk Picture Books : Thi Bui

Square book cover for My First Day. The title of the book is written at the top of the cover. Underneath there is a picture of very large waves with foam on their tops. They are a bluey-green color. Behind the waves are clouds with pink tinges. Just under the title on the right side there is a young boy in a canoe, drawn in mid-flight above the waves and in front of where the clouds drop away.

My First Day (2021) by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huynh Kim Liên (together they are Kaa Illustration) is the story of a boy living on the Mekong Delta and his journey to school-the first time he makes the trip by himself. He paddles down past obstacles such as snakes and crocodiles. “The jungle calls your name, asks you to be brave. Still, fear slithers in like a python. […] But what you know can make a difference, turn the unfamiliar into family. I get to trace the edges of my path-do it for myself, write my name across the blackboard of the river”. Each page is a delight with exaggerated and detailed images such as giant waves the boy navigates with ease: “There is still a world to learn”. The authors/illustrators are artists living in Ho Chi Minh City. The book was published under the Make Me A World imprint-curated by Christopher Myers. Christopher Myers writes that the book “collapses the space between same and different and in doing so creates something very close to wonder in our everyday”. As well as being a book about a journey a young boy takes it’s also the story of the Mekong Delta and opens up curriculum in that area too. Rivers are a generative topic with same and different as well as discussion of animals that live in rivers. You can dive into these images and lose yourself over and over again.

Horizontal rectangular book cover. The book title, CHICKEN of the SEA, is in the middle of the cover near the top. To the left of the title there is a skull and crossbones flag. The cover shows the heads of three chickens on the deck of a wooden boat. The middle one is looking out to sea and the two on either side are looking at the middle one. They all have red combs. The middle chicken has a black and white striped head. The chicken on the left has a ginger head. The chicken on the right has a yellow head.

This book is the brainchild of Viet Thanh Nguyen‘s son (story) and Thi Bui’s son (illustrations). This book puts a big smile on my face. The story is just like a child might tell it and it has a happy ending all around. Ellison Nguyen (named after Ralph Ellison) was inspired to write the story after attending an artist’s retreat when he was four. He met Thi Bui and Bao Phi at this event and A Different Pond is one of Ellison’s favorite books. This inspired his own storytelling. Pirates arrive at the chicken’s farm and asks for volunteers for his crew. ‘Chicken-Are you willing? Or are you CHICKEN?” The chicken join the crew and become Chicken of the Sea. The chicken are told gold is the greatest treasure in the world. “You may know what gold is, but we didn’t…because we’re CHICKENS.” The crew go to the island of the Dog Knights and a fight ensues that ends in a truce and a big party. The captain says the chickens are terrible pirates and they reply “That’s because we’re chicken. And that’s a good thing”. The illustrations are the work of Thi Bui’s son Hien. The brightly colored pages are filled with action and good humor. It’s simply a joy to read and will put a smile on anyone’s face.

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