How My Parents Learned to Eat

How My Parents Learned to Eat

Written by: Ina Friedman
Illustrated by: Allen Say

"A bi-racial child tells the story of how her Japanese mother and American father met, fell in love, struggled to understand each other's ways, and finally married. It's a wonderful portrait of diversity, showing children that superficial differences in cultures don't really mean much and shouldn't get in the way of people appreciating each other."

Amazon.com Review

Web Resources:
http://stancock.iweb.bsu.edu/cyberlessons/Eat.html

Journey Home

Journey Home

Written by: Lawrence McKay
Illustrated by: Dom Lee and Keunhee Lee

"Mai is excited about traveling to Vietnam with her mother. Mom wants to search for her birth family and Mai wants to help solve the mystery. Mai has never been to her mother's homeland, and she wonders what being there will reveal. Will learning about her mother's past help her gain a new sense of identity? Is her "real" home in America or Vietnam?

What Mai discovers about her past will change her life forever. Journey Home is a story for all Americans who, like Mai, want to learn more about themselves through their family histories."

Publishers Synopsis

Web Resources:
http://www.leeandlow.com/p/journey_tg.mhtml

My Chinatown: One Year in Poems

My Chinatown: One Year in Poems

Written and Illustrated by: Kam Mak

"Chinatown -- a place of dragons
and dreams; fireflies
and memories

Chinatown -- full of wonder
and magic; fireworks
on New Year's Day and a delicious
smell on every corner

Chinatown -- where every day
brings something familiar
and something wondrously new
to a small boy

Chinatown -- home?

Kam Mak grew up in a place of two cultures, one existing within the other. Using extraordinarily beautiful paintings and moving poems, he shares a year of growing up in this small city within a city, which is called Chinatown."

Publishers Synopsis

Online Resources:
http://free-reading.net/index.php?title=Introduce_Vocabulary:_My_Chinatown:_One_Year_in_Poems_%28Mak%29

Bringing in the New Year

Bringing in the New Year

Written and Illustrated by: Grace Lin

"This exuberant story follows a Chinese American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. Each member of the family lends a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it’s time to put on new clothes and celebrate with family and friends. There will be fireworks and lion dancers, shining lanterns, and a great, long dragon parade to help bring in the Lunar New Year. And the dragon parade in our book is extra long–on a surprise fold-out page at the end of the story. Grace Lin’s artwork is a bright and gloriously patterned celebration in itself! And her story is tailor-made for reading aloud."

Publishers Synopsis

Online Resources:
http://www.gracelin.com/

Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan's Chinese New Year

Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan's Chinese New Year

Written by: Kate Waters
Illustrated by: Martha Cooper

"On the Chinese New Year, six-year-old Ernie will perform his first Lion Dance. An intimate look at a Chinese household as the family shares a proud moment with Ernie. "A strong supplement for its immediacy, its vibrant color, and its sympathetic look at a Chinese family."

School Library Journal Review
*A Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies*

Online Resources:
http://www.katewaters.com/index.html

Dumpling Soup

Dumpling Soup

Written by: Jama Kim Rattigan
Illustrated by: Lillian Hsu-Flanders

The author uses her childhood memories to write about New Year’s celebrations in Hawaii. The book develops a sense of family warmth associated with the holiday. Because the book is based on a personal memoir, it can be used to motivate children to write about their own memories about various family holidays.

Online Resources:
http://www.jamakimrattigan.com/

The Lotus Seed

The Lotus Seed

Written by: Sherry Garland
Illustrated by: Tatsuro Kiuchi

"A Vietnamese girl saves a lotus seed to remind her of a tragic event. When she leaves Vietnam, she brings the seed to the United States. Through the seed, readers discover the importance of family heritage and history."

Publishers Description

Multicultural Connections: After reading this story, students could interview members of their own families to discover symbols that might be important for their own family heritage and history.

Online Resources:
http://sherrygarland.swiftsite.com/lotus_seed.htm
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/lotus/lotustg.htm