A Beautiful House for Birds (Storytelling Math) by Grace Lin

3 stars A cute board book for learning about patterns. Olivia is decorating a birdhouse and starts painting a stripe pattern. But then she makes a mistake. How will she fix it? A sweet story that nicely showcases patterns. Cute illustrations. The backmatter includes activities for further pattern exploration. A nice simple way of introducing…

Read More

Chang’e on the Moon (Everlasting Tales #1) by Katrina Moore

Illustrated by Cornelia Li 5 stars A gorgeous retelling of the story of Chang’e and how she became the moon goddess. The story focuses on Chang’e’s courage, kindness, and love of the Earth, and her relationship with her husband, Hou Yi. Well-told. The book wonderfully presents the tale’s action, romance, and lessons of kindness, selflessness,…

Read More

Little Bird Laila by Kelly Yang

Illustrated by Xindi Yan 5 stars A touching story filled with sweet moments and delightful humor. Laila is used to translating things from English to Chinese for her parents. But one day, she decides to do something bigger. She sets out to teach them English. Together, the family learns from one another, figuring out all…

Read More

I Miss You Most by Charlotte Cheng

Illustrated by Xindi Yan 5 stars An absolutely stunning exploration of the lasting presence of a loved one. A little girl remembers her grandfather and keeps his memory alive by enjoying the things they once did together. While she is saddened by his absence, she finds joy in living out the lessons she learned from…

Read More

Love without Bounds: An IntersectionAllies Book about Families

by Drs. Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council, and Carolyn Choi Illustrated by Ashley Seil Smith 4 stars A wonderful exploration of some of the different ways people can be part of a family told through rhyming narration. Each page spread introduces readers to a new family who represents different concepts. The book shows different types of…

Read More

Simone by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Illustrated by Minnie Phan 5 stars A remarkable story of bravery, hope, and working toward a better future. Set during the 2020 California wildfires, the story follows Simone as she and her mother evacuate. Though Simone is scared, her mother helps calm her by recounting her own evacuation during a flood in Viet Nam. Using…

Read More

Emilio Sloth’s Modern Manners by Renée Ahdieh

Illustrated by Alea Marley 3 stars A cute picture book that celebrates friendship, taking your time, and minding your manners. Follow Emilio Sloth on his journey to meet a friend for teatime. Along the way, he greets old friends and makes new ones, always polite and mindful of being on time. Goes through some polite…

Read More

Avatar: The Last Airbender: My Cabbages!

By Rebecca Gyllenhaal and Jessica Yang Illustrated by Bonnie Pang Based on the animated series by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko 5 stars Absolutely hilarious. Follow Aang and his friends’ journey to defeat the Fire Lord from the perspective of Merchant Cai, the cabbage merchant. Cai dreams of selling his cabbages throughout the Earth…

Read More