I have just recently gone on a book-borrowing frenzy to prepare for our new theme.

Widget courtesy of the talented Iphigene.

We thought that the theme would be timely since we are also gearing up for the upcoming Asian Festival of Children’s Content here in Singapore by end of May. And it so happens that May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Essentially, we would be featuring the following books:

1. Books that speak about Asian realities and with Asian protagonists (not necessarily confined to the immigrant experience)
2. Books that speak of the Immigrant experience (does not have to be confined to just Asians, but all immigrants coming from different parts of the globe) and
3. Books that highlight the Asian Immigrant Experience.

Fabulous Picture Books

Our Asian theme won’t be complete without our favorite author/illustrator of all time: Allen Say. I made sure I borrowed several of his books that are available in our library: El Chino, Stranger in the Mirror, Emma’s Rug, and the Caldecott Medalist Grandfather’s Journey. I thought that the latter would be a perfect fit for the Caldecott Reading Challenge we have joined this year, as well as our very own Award-Winning-Books Reading Challenge (do sign up here if you haven’t joined us yet).

I am also excited to go over these books: Landed by Milly Lee and pictures by Yangsook Choi; Sumi’s First day of School Ever by Soyung Pak and illustrated by Joung Un Kim; Yoon and the Jade Bracelet by Helen Recorvits and Gabi Swiatkowska; and Dumpling Soup by our favorite blogger Jama Rattigan and illustrations by Lillian Hsu-Flanders.

I also discovered a few Eve Bunting books that highlight the Asian experience as well as immigrant realities: So Far from the Sea by Eve Bunting and illustrations by Chris K. Soentpiet; How many days to America? A Thanksgiving Story by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Beth Peck.

I am also excited to share a few Elizabeth Partridge books: Kogi’s Mysterious Journey and Oranges on Golden Mountain as illustrated by Aki Sogabe. Fatimah’s Kampung by iain buchanan is also a great find.

YA Novels and More Picture Books

Here a few more books that I hope to be able to feature for our theme: Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora and illustrations by Raul Colon; Love as strong as ginger by Lenore Look and Stephen T. Johnson; Before we were free by Julia Alvarez; and The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, a Newbery Medalist – perfect for the Newbery Medal Reading Challenge that we have also joined this year.

I hope that I find the time to read Beyond the Western Sea, Book One: The Escape from Home by Avi and The other side of the truth by Beverley Naidoo.

I am also glad to find a few Laurence Yep novels: The Rainbow People and American Dragons. I have my own copy of Dragon’s Gate, Dragonwings and Sea Glass. So I do have my reading cut out for me – good luck with that. As per usual, I comfort myself in thinking that good intentions should at least count for something, right? right?

Here’s another Laurence Yep title, Tongues of Jade and a Minfong Ho book, The Stone Goddess.

Since we can not get enough of Helen Frost and novels-in-verse and this book speaks of the immigrant experience (moving from Scotland to Canada), it is perfect for our theme: The Braid.

My beloved cousin, whose judgment I trust when it comes to books, has also recommended that I include American Son by Brian Ascalon Roley as part of our Asian immigrant theme. I’m glad I was able to find this in our Central Public Library.

I am also excited to read this Pulitzer Prize for fiction by Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I actually have quite a few Filipino books here that I am hoping to feature, but since they’ve been sitting in my bookshelves now for a long time, I won’t be including them here in my post.

Book Launch of Singapore: Insights from the Inside and my Author/Contributor Copies

Book cover is priceless!

I shared about the Book Launch of Singapore: Insights from the Inside a few days back (click here for my post). I was so thrilled that I was already given my author/contributor’s copy of the book during the launch. As I have shared earlier, I was invited to be among the 31 foreign friends or expatriates tasked to share their ‘insights’ or experiences with this lovely country. Here are a few photos from the Book Launch.

Giant poster of the book cover.

With my daughter.

With the Editor, David Fedo and all the other essay contributors who were able to make it during the launch. I am teeny-tiny in sparkling red.

How about you dear friends? What books found their way in your mailbox this week?

If you have any book recommendations that you feel we can include for our theme, we’d be more than happy to hear them.