May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and I wanted to share some of my favorite fellow AAPI authors who are creating, writing, and telling stories you should read and add to your personal libraries…
Kids Picture Books
For younger kids who are read to or those who love reading on their own, these are just a sampling of some of my favorites written by Asian-American authors or about notable AAPI in history.

Left to Right, Top of Bottom: I am Golden, Noodles Please, Yes We Will, Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, I Love Boba, Yayoi Kusama, What’s That, A Life Made by Hand, Oh So Kind!, Let’s Go Yum Cha, and Watercress.
Tween Chapter Books
When you get into full-on chapter books (where there are minimal images and lots more words), representation becomes even more important as kids really dive into the feelings and lives of each character they follow. Here are a few favorites…

Left to right, top to bottom: Pippa Park Raises Her Game, Trouble Maker, Stand Up, Yumi Chung!, Front Desk.
Adult Books
Here’s a sampling of my favorites for adults that include personal biographies, self-help, and inspiring stories of Asian Americans making an impact today.

Left to right, top to bottom: We Were Dreamers, Crying in H Mart, Rise, Permission to Come Home, Mixed Plate, and Minor Feelings.
If you have other favorites (for any age), please let me know in the comments below!
Top photo by Lily Glass with all of my published books
Best books!
great!
Thanks for sharing this amazing resource! I’m always looking for great new reads for the kids in my life. Also, thank you for including Minor Feelings and Permission to Come Home in your “books for adults” list! Minor Feelings was one of my favorites of 2021 and helped me delve more deeply into my Asian American identity. I’d recommend pairing it with the novel Interior Chinatown. I just started reading Permission to Come Home and can already tell that it’ll be one of my faves for 2022!
That’s great to hear and thanks for your recommendations!
Have you ever checked out Shinsuke Yoshitake? His books are so silly and my kiddo and me finds them so fun!
I haven’t! But I will! Thanks Maggie!