Extend “Asian & Pacific Islander American Heritage Month” All Year

While Asian & Pacific Islander American Heritage Month is celebrated in May, should your classroom activities, library programming, and home learning continue throughout this Covid-19 year?

We know that Covid-19 has inflamed racism against Asian Americans. This aggression has even reached our community with authors like Kelly Yang being attacked during a virtual event and Asian American authors reporting racist name-calling in public.

Your bookshelves hold the tools to combat future attacks. Can you to consciously include, discuss, and celebrate Asian and Asian American books this year and every year?

Here is our list of guides and kits that can help you engage with Asian and Asian American picture books and novels.

I especially want to draw your attention to the novel Unidentified Suburban Object by Mike Jung (Scholastic) and the companion discussion guide on microagressions and allyship.

“Jung excels at showing how racial insensitivity can isolate even a student who is doing everything she can to fit in. Chloe’s life teems with microaggressions: a hanbok she wears is called “exotic,” strangers assume she is Chinese or Japanese, and a well-meaning orchestra teacher calls her “my Abigail Yang,” a famous Korean violin virtuoso. It’s easy to imagine Chloe’s story starting conversations about how seemingly innocent remarks can make a minority student feel like an alien in the only home she’s ever known.”
—Publishers Weekly

I can also offer booklists from our companion non-profit, I’m Your Neighbor Books. I’m Your Neighbor Books is a project that uses the accessibility and artistry of children’s literature to:
1) Create community conversations on immigration
2) Celebrate the lives of New Arrivals and New Americans
3) Build a culture of Welcoming and Belonging

There, you can Browse by Community to discover books to add to your collection.

Our thanks to I’m Your Neighbor Books for providing 12 giveaway copies
of Unidentified Suburban Object by Mike Jung (Scholastic).

The winners are…