Materials from Asia
In the far west of India, in Gir National Park, dwells one of the rarest big cats on Earth: the Asiatic lion. Known for its distinctive belly flap and the bushy tassels on its tail, the Asiatic lion once roamed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Bay of Bengal. But human hunting and expansion into their territory eroded the lions’ numbers, until only twelve remained alive.
A boy whose grandfather is gone wonders why he said nothing to his family and friends, but finds comfort in the familiar smell of the clothing left in his closet and tailor shop.
Tong Tong could never have imagined what everyone around him was thinking. But when he gets hold of some magic candies, suddenly there are voices everywhere. He can hear how his couch feels, what upsets his dog, that his demanding dad loves him. He even gets to catch up with his dead grandmother. It turns out, these voices in Tong Tong’s life have A LOT to say! Is Tong Tong ready to hear it?
At turns funny, weird, and heartfelt, this imaginative picture book from award-winning Korean author Heena Baek will take readers along on Tong Tong’s journey as he goes from lonely to brave.
Just before Chinese New Year, Dandan discovers that her family is moving to America, far away from her best friend Yueyue; before they leave Yueyue gives her a stack of red paper and a spool of string so she can share the art of paper cutting with Americans–and when Chinese New Year comes around again Dandan remembers Yueyue’s gift and introduces her new friend Christina to this ancient art.
A cinematic journey through the Seoul subway that masterfully portrays the many unique lives we travel alongside whenever we take the train.
Twelve-year-old Nozomi lives in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. She wasn’t even born when the bombing of Hiroshima took place. Every year Nozomi joins her family at the lantern-floating ceremony to honor those lost in the bombing. People write the names of their deceased loved ones along with messages of peace, on paper lanterns and set them afloat on the river. This year Nozomi realizes that her mother always releases one lantern with no name. She begins to ask questions, and when complicated stories of loss and loneliness unfold, Nozomi and her friends come up with a creative way to share their loved ones’ experiences. By opening people’s eyes to the struggles they all keep hidden, the project teaches the entire community new ways to show compassion.
One sweltering summer night, while the many residents of one apartment building are struggling to fall asleep, the moon begins to melt. Granny hears it dripping and runs out to catch the moon drops in a bucket. At first unsure what do with the drops, she is soon inspired to turn them into popsicles—moon pops!—to help cool down her neighbors.
But as everyone drifts off to sleep, a new problem arises. The fabled rabbits who, according to folklore live on the moon, have lost their home! With the last of the moon drops, Granny grows a new moon from the potted plant in her window. As the moon ascends to the starry sky above, the rabbits return to their home, and Granny returns to her bed.
Sona Sharma’s house is full of three generations of people who joke often and argue sometimes. Relatives come over unannounced, the phone rings frequently, and friends drop by all the time. Then one day Amma tells Sona that she is going to have a baby. Is that good? Sona isn’t so sure. She doesn’t want to share her room or her things with a new baby, not to mention the attention of Amma, Appa, Thatha, and Paatti. And despite Amma’s assurance that the sky always has room for new stars, Sona doesn’t feel stretchy or bighearted like the sky. But when she learns there will be a baby-naming ceremony, she’s determined to find the best name for her new brother or sister—one as nice as her own, a Hindi word for “gold.”
A lonely eleven-year-old Hmong girl with the unique ability to see spirits, she spends her summer days babysitting her little brother and playing with her best friend, a cat spirit no one else can see. One day Pahua accidentally untethers an angry spirit from the haunted bridge in her neighborhood–whoops. When her brother suddenly falls sick and can’t be awoken, Pahua fears that the bridge spirit has stolen his soul. She returns to the scene of the crime with her aunt’s old shaman tools, hoping to confront the spirit and demand her brother’s return. Instead, she summons a demon
From New York Times bestselling author Sayantani Dasgupta comes the story of a demon who must embrace her bad to serve the greater good. Pinki hails from a long line of Rakkhosh Resistors, demons who have spent years building interspecies relationships, working together to achieve their goal of overthrowing the Snakey oppressors and taking back their rights. But she has more important things to worry about, like maintaining her status as fiercest Rakkhosh in her class and looking after her little cousins. There is also the teeny tiny detail of not yet being able to control her fire breathing and accidentally burning up school property. Then Sesha, the charming son of the Serpentine governor, calls on Pinki for help in defeating the Resistance, promising to give her what she most desires in return — the ability to control her fire. First she’ll have to protect the Moon Maiden, pretend to be a human (ick), and survive a family reunion. But it’s all worth it for the control of her powers… Right?