By HeeYoung Kim, West Texas A&M University

Literature is a cultural artifact. Contemporary literature serves as a valuable mirror, capturing our ever-changing beliefs and values. An author’s unique perspective, shaped by their life experiences, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds, permeate their work with distinct viewpoints, opinions, convictions, and biases. Understanding this perspective allows us to uncover hidden motivations and intentions within their words. Collectively exploring books from multiple contemporary authors helps us better comprehend current culture. In this month’s WOW Dozen, I present a collection of children’s books, encompassing picturebooks and young adult novels, that have been published this year by Korean Americans. Through these writers’ lenses, readers can gain insights into diverse ways of life by contemplating the values and dreams of Korean Americans.

WOW Dozen features a list of 12 global books for children and adolescents around a theme, topic, issue or personal favorites. Each Dozen consists of ten newly-published titles with two older “must have” books. Please share or recommend additional books that fit the theme in the comments section or on social media using #WOWDozen. Use the printer icon in the upper left corner of this post to print or save this list as a PDF.​

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• Themes: Anna Kang, Anna KIM, Axie Oh, Christopher Weyant, Danbi's Favorite Day, Ellen Oh, Frances Cha, Goblin Twins, Graci Kim, Hanna Kim, Haru Zombie Dog Hero, HeeYoung Kim, Helena Rhee, In the Tunnel, Jamie Kim, Ju-Hyuk Kim, Julie Kwon, Junghwa Park, Korean Children's Literature, Kulie Lee, Last Fallen Realm, Magic Lunch Box, Marker, Rbel Seoul, Sarah Hwang, Sora's Seashells, Stella Lim, Susan Yoon, Toasty, Waiting for Tomorrow, Wish Shou
• Descriptors: WOW Dozen