May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada. The theme for 2025 is: “Unity in Diversity: The Impact of Asian Communities in Shaping Canadian Identity”. These books invite young readers to explore and learn about the diverse cultures and histories of Asian communities in Canada.
Picture Books
A Roof!
Written by Stephanie Elleny Sy
Illustrated by Daniel Tingcungco
Penguin Young Readers Group, 2024
IL: Ages 3-7 RL: Grades p-2
Typhoons are a regular part of Maya’s life in the Philippines, but after this storm, she finds something unusual in her backyard—a roof! There’s an address written on it, and Maya is determined to return it to its family. She’ll need help to make her way through the damage left behind by the typhoon. As she sets out with her tatay, Maya collaborates with a farmer and his carabao, a couple of fishers and their boat, a sapatero, a labandera, a kusinera, and more of her neighbors. Together, they sail around knotted tree roots, hauling, heaving, pushing, and dragging the roof until they find its family—and begin to rebuild their community.
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The Jade Bracelet
Written by H. Dinh
Illustrated by Yong Ling Kang
Random House Publishing Group, 2025
IL: Ages 4-8 RL: Grades p-3
Although Tien loves the Vietnamese traditions her family celebrates, more than anything she wants to fit in at school and be just like her classmates. So, when all the girls start wearing brand-new sparkly bracelets, Tien tries to hide the simple jade bangle her mother gave her in memory of her grandmother. Now her bracelet looks like an old green thing and an embarrassed Tien runs home crying, flinging it on the floor. Her sympathetic mama understands and takes Tien to the shop to buy the popular bracelet. But at the last minute, Tien remembers her grandmother’s love and decides to wear her jade bracelet proudly.
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Veena and the Red Roti: A Story of Hope During Partition
Written by Namita Moolani Mehra
Illustrated by Beena Mistry
Kids Can Press, 2024
IL: Ages 4-8 RL: Grades p-3
Veena loves her home, especially spending time in the kitchen learning how to make roti. But everything changes when India suddenly becomes free from British rule, and the country is to be divided in two according to religion. Fearing for their safety, Veena's family flees in the middle of the night. They make their way to a dusty and crowded refugee camp, where life is difficult and her family struggles. Even the roti is different from what Veena remembers from home. She wants to do something to bring hope and comfort to the people at the camp. By making them tasty roti, maybe Veena can use her skills to lift everyone's spirits.
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The Words We Share
Written & illustrated by Jack Wong
Annick Press, 2023
IL: Ages 4-7 RL: Grades p-2
Angie is used to helping her dad. Ever since they moved to Canada, he relies on her to translate for him from English to Chinese. Angie is happy to help: when they go to restaurants, at the grocery store, and, one day, when her dad needs help writing some signs for his work. Building off her success with her dad’s signs, Angie offers her translation skills to others in their community. She’s thrilled when her new business takes off, until one of her clients says he’s unhappy with her work. When her dad offers to help, she can’t imagine how he could. Working together, they find a surprising solution, fixing the problem in a way Angie never would have predicted.
For Middle Readers
Dragon on the Loose
Written by Marty Chan
Illustrated by Grace Chen
Orca Book Publishers, 2024
IL: Ages 6-8 RL: Grades 1-3
When eleven-year-old Hailey and her friend Kyle make a wish on a Chinese lion statue, they accidentally bring a dragon to life. Scared at first, the kids soon realize that Zhu the dragon means them no harm, and they show the dragon around their city. It's all fun and games until Animal Control gets wind of a wild creature on the loose. The kids have to find a way to send their new friend back home before she’s taken away.
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Every Little Bit Olive Tran
Written by Phuong Truong
Second Story Press, 2025
IL: Ages 6-8 RL: Grades 1-3
Olive Tran is turning ten! Now she can walk to school by herself and go to Kandy Korner whenever she wants. Finally! But when Olive finds out Mrs. Ly was pushed on the street and her brother’s school friends had gross things thrown at them because they’re Asian, she starts to feel less safe. And why doesn’t her best friend Josh want to come to her birthday party at the trampoline park anymore? Olive knows something is wrong, but she is determined to have fun at her party. If she shows kindness, maybe others will too. Every little bit counts!
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The Journey of the Ancestors' Gifts
(The Nguyen Kids, Book 4)
Written by Linda Trinh
Illustrated by Clayton Nguyen
Annick Press, 2023
IL: Ages 6-9 RL: Grades 1-4
The Nguyen kids are going on vacation! It’s their first time in Vietnam and staying in Grandma Nội’s childhood home, so they should be excited. As soon as they enter the house, though, something doesn’t feel right. Why is the door to the ancestors’ room always closed? And why can’t they connect with Grandma Nội using their gifts, the way they can at home? The Nguyen kids are back for the fourth book, this one told in alternating perspectives, in this charming early chapter book series.
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Mehndi Boy
Written by Zain Bandali
Illustrated by Jani Balakumar
Annick Press, 2023
IL: Ages 6-11 RL: Grades 1-6
The first time Tehzeeb tries mehndi, his passion for the art form blossoms. Soon, he’s creating designs for all his friends and family, and dreams of becoming the most in-demand mehndi artist in town. So Tez is hurt and confused when his favorite uncle tells him mehndi isn’t for boys. His art brings people joy. How could it be wrong? Tehzeeb doesn’t want to disappoint his uncle. But when a crisis before his cousin’s wedding puts his talents to the test, Tehzeeb must find the courage to be his true creative self.
For Teen Readers
A Crane Among Wolves
Written by June Hur
Square Fish, 2025
IL: Ages 13-18 RL: Grades 8-12
1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.
Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death. Based on a true story from Korean history.
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As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow
Written by Zoulfa Katouh
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2022
IL: Ages 14-18 RL: Grades 9-12
Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life.
Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe. But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive.
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Crash Landing
Written by Li Charmaine Anne
Annick Press, 2024
IL: Ages 14-18 RL: Grades 9-12
This YA debut is a searing ode to queer identity, growing up in an immigrant community, and carving a place for yourself in the world with the help of your friends.
Jay Wong is spending the last languid days of summer 2010 trying to land a kickflip and begging for something (anything!) to make her senior year different—to finally give her some stories worth telling. When she meets Ash Chan, it seems like she’s getting what she asked for. Ash is confident, intensely independent, and hell on a skateboard—nothing like anyone Jay knows and exactly how she wishes she could be.
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Emiko
Written by Chieri Uegaki
Tundra Book Group, 2025
IL: Ages 12-18 RL: Grades 7-12
Self-declared matchmaking GENIUS Emiko Kimori has already found success by helping her aunt find true love, so when the new girl in town becomes her new BFF, it's only natural for Emiko to help set her up for social success with a suitable love match. Emiko lives with her Ojiichan in a small town on BC's West Coast surrounded by friends and neighbors, including her childhood friend Kenzo Sanada, who wishes she’d spend less time playing matchmaker. But Emiko can so clearly see who belongs together, even when her targets don't know it themselves. She simply has to meddle — for the sake of true love! As for her own romantic life though . . . who has time for that?
Non-Fiction
Barefoot Skateboarders
Written by Rina Singh
Illustrated by Sophie Casson
Orca Book Publishers, 2024
IL: Ages 3-5 RL: Grades p-k
The remote village of Janwaar in Northern India has been the same for a long time, with the community strictly divided into castes. It's a quiet village… until the construction project begins.
Ramkesh can't tell what it will be—it's all ramps and hills. When it's done, he sees kids playing on it, on strange boards with wheels... Soon, he's invited to try, and he's hooked—practicing tricks and soaring on his skateboard. At first, it's all boys, but Ramkesh invites his sister, and other girls join too. Word gets out that the tiny village is a hotbed of skateboarding talent, and people flock from all over to see it, and to teach the kids new tricks.
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Kimiko Murakami: A Japanese Canadian Pioneer
Written by Haley Healey
Illustrated by Kimiko Fraser
Heritage House Publishing, 2023
IL: Ages 6-8 RL: Grades 1-3
This picture book introduces young readers to Kimiko Murakami (1904–1997), a brave and determined woman whose life embodied the ganbaru spirit. Born in the village of Steveston, BC, and raised on Salt Spring Island, Kimiko was part of a long tradition of Japanese-Canadian families who made their livings fishing and farming. During the Second World War, she was among the 22,000 Japanese Canadians who were sent to live in internment camps because they were seen as “enemy aliens.” The camps were dirty and crowded, but worst of all, they robbed Japanese Canadians of their basic rights and freedoms. Following the War, Kimiko and her family were allowed to return to Salt Spring Island and had to rebuild their farm and their life from scratch. Through it all, Kimiko—a pioneer and survivor—never lost hope.
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The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed The Face of Hockey
Written by Chad Soon & George Chiang
Illustrated by Amy Qi
Orca Book Publishers, 2024
IL: Ages 9-12 RL: Grades 4-7
Larry Kwong became the first player of Asian descent in the NHL when he played one shift with the New York Rangers in 1948. Even though Larry's achievement happened more than 70 years ago, his contribution to hockey is only now being recognized. He broke hockey's color barrier and fought racism and discrimination at every step of his career. From his humble beginnings on the outdoor rinks in Vernon, British Columbia's Chinatown all the way to playing at Madison Square Garden and in the NHL, this inspiring hero has a timeless story for young readers
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A Song for the Paper Children
Written by Christopher Tse
Plumleaf Press, 2024
IL: Ages 9-12 RL: Grades 4-7
A Song for the Paper Children is a tribute to early Chinese immigrants, some of whom came to Canada after the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed to severely restrict their entry. These "paper children," courageous men and women, endured legislated racism, financial hardship, and frequent acts of violence and discrimination, but they followed in the footsteps of their predecessors to lay the foundation for a Chinese Canadian community today that is vibrant, resilient and here to stay.
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Book list curated by Spencer Miller