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Heritage Month Spotlight Celebrating Pacific American Heritage Month
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), a time to commemorate the contributions of peoples of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States. This month long celebration of Asian heritage began much like Black History and Women's History Month — as legislation. Congress passed a joint Congressional Resolution in 1978 to commemorate Asian American Heritage Week during the first week of May. This date was chosen because two important anniversaries occurred during this time: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in America on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10, 1869. Congress later voted to expand it from a week long to a month long celebration. ASIAN/ASIAN AMERICAN BIOGRAPHIES @ BOOKTALK Be Water, My Friend: The Early Years Of Bruce Lee Author, Ken Mochizuki "When I saw a photo of Bruce Lee sitting on the floor reading a book in front of the shelves of his library, I knew I wanted to do this book. Readers needed to know this side of Bruce Lee!" Cool Melons - Turn To Frogs! The Life And Poems Of Issa Illustrator, Kazuko G. Stone An excellent article reprinted by permission from the nice folks at CREATIVE CLASSROOM magazine. (Part 1 of 2) Cool Melons - Turn To Frogs! The Life And Poems Of Issa Author and Haiku Translator, Matthew Gollub Reprinted by permission from CREATIVE CLASSROOM magazine. (Part 2 of 2) The East-West House: Noguchi's Childhood in Japan Author and Illustrator, Christy Hale  Christy Hale discusses the motivation and process behind her book, and demonstrates the process of creating her mixed-media illustrations and reads passages from the book.Hiromi's Hands Author and Illustrator Lynne Barasch "Hiromi's story reflects the warmth of family that is important to all children. It also shows how dreams can be realized by even the youngest child. It only takes perseverance and purpose." Honda: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars Author Mark Weston, and Illustrator Katie Yamasaki "Honda's story is one of rags to riches—from sweeping a garage where he was not even allowed to touch the cars to starting one of the greatest car-making companies in the world." Passage To Freedom: The Sugihara Story Author, Ken Mochizuki "The more involved I became in Hiroki Sugihara's story of his father's remarkable act of humanity, the more convinced I was that the narrative needed to be in the first person—but with Hiroki telling the story in retrospect, in the tone of one who knows now what he didn't understand then." Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story Author, Paula Yoo Author Paula Yoo talks about how Anna May's pioneering hard work and persistence paid off and paved the way for better roles for women and actors of color in film today.
Sixteen Years In Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story Author, Paula Yoo "I want readers of all ages to realize that persistence and hard work are key to making your dreams come true." Su Dongpo: Chinese Genius Author and Illustrator, Demi "Perhaps Su Dongpo's greatest legacy was the example he set with his indomitable spirit." ASIAN/ASIAN AMERICAN THEMED TITLES @ BOOKTALK Balarama: A Royal Elephant Author/illustrators, Ted and Betsy Lewin Elephants, the largest land animals on Earth, have long been a part of life throughout India. Some of these huge creatures are trained to do heavy work. Others perform in public festivals. In Balarama, Ted and Betsy Lewin take us on an adventure to the festival Dasara.Cycle of Rice, Cycle of Life: A Story of Sustainable Farming Author/photographer, Jan Reynolds Author, photographer, and adventurer Jan Reynolds introduces Balinese rice farming, a traditional, sustainable method of growing and harvesting rice that works with nature, not against it. The Have A Good Day Cafe Authors, Frances Park and Ginger Park FP: "Ingenuity, hard work, and embracing more than one culture is a wonderful way to make a dream come true." Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia Author/illustrators, Ted and Betsy Lewin "We try not only to show the action visually, but to make the reader hear, smell, and feel what's happening." Journey Home Illustrators, Dom Lee and Keunhee Lee Q: You both teach art to children. How do you encourage young people to express themselves through art? A: We try to give them confidence in their own artistic activities. It is important for young children to realize that they have no boundaries when it comes to art. It is also good for students to be able to concentrate on their thoughts and talk with their minds. We encourage our students to keep journals of their artwork. Little Sap And Monsieur Rodin Author, Michelle Lord and Illustrator, Felicia Hoshino FH: "I hope children of all ages will be inspired to seek out the arts by visiting local museums, seeing live performances, or even better, traveling the world and immersing themselves in different cultures." Only One Year Author, Andrea Cheng "Recently, I have had several students from Asia, Africa, and Latin America who have been separated from their children. Only One Year comes from their stories." Raymond's Perfect Present Author, Therese On Louie LEE & LOW'S NEW VOICES HONOR AWARD winner talks about the story behind Raymond's Perfect Present. Shanghai Messenger Illustrator, Ed Young "I tried to convey the feeling of Shanghai, the way it sounds and feels to me." Where On Earth Is My Bagel Authors, Frances Park and Ginger Park Frances and Ginger Park talk about their shared love for books, bagels, and chocolate. ASIAN/ASIAN AMERICAN COLLECTION Click here to view an advanced search of asian american interest titles. LEARN MORE Visit these sites to learn more about APAHM: Education World Factmonster.com The White House Web site Learn about Black History Month National Hispanic Heritage Month National Native American Heritage Month |
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