AAPI Educational Content Guide for Kids

Published in

Advancing Justice — AAJC

6 min readMay 25, 2022

AAPI educational content for kids (Photo Credit: Bookshop, Amazon, Right To Be, Kelly Yang, Joanna Ho)

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Congress designating the month of May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM), an expansion of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week as established in 1979.

Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have a long and rich history in the United States, yet many of these stories are often overlooked in the classroom and beyond. The precipitous rise in hate incidents against Asian Americans during the past two years has demonstrated how pernicious stereotypes, bias, and prejudice can proliferate when left unaddressed. Like many within our community, Asian Americans Advancing Justice — AAJC believes that education and exposure from an early age are the most effective ways to disrupt harmful stereotypes and bias that perpetuate racism.

There is growing interest from students and families to have more diverse and inclusive teaching about the histories of all communities in our country, including Asian American history. Advocacy efforts by civil rights groups and community organizations have brought about historic legislation in states like Illinois and New Jersey, where Asian American history is mandated in the K-12 curricula. Thanks to these efforts and changes, more parents, educators, and students around the country will learn more about Asian American history and communities.

To celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage month this year, Advancing Justice — AAJC has compiled a list of educational content for little (and big) readers to read, watch, listen, and learn about the stories and contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.

For Early Childhood

BOOKS:

A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee-Tai

Always Anjali by Sheetal Sheth

Read-aloud Storytime: Always Anjali by Sheetal Sheth and Illustrated by Jessica Blank, Read by Padma Lakshmi

And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell, Justin Richardson and Henry Cole

Bilal Cooks Daal by Aisha Saeed

Building Zaha: The Story of Architect Zaha Hadid by Victoria Tentler-Krylov

Drawn Together by Minh Le, Dan Santat

Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho

Readaloud Storytime: Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and Illustrated by Dung Ho, Read by Ming-Na Wen

Ho’onani: Hula Warrior by Heather Gale and Illustrated by Mika Song

The Gift of Ramadan by Rabiah York Lumbard

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

Readaloud Storytime: The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi, Read by Randall Park

Too Many Mangos by Tammy Paikai

Young, Proud and Sung-jee: A Children’s Book Fighting Anti-Asian Racism During Covid-19 by Joyce Y. Lee and Emily Ku and Illustrated by Maggie Chen

VIDEOS:

Be a Super Ally with the 5Ds — Bystander Intervention for Kids

Sesame Street:

Proud of Your Eyes Song
Ji-Young’s Song with the Best Friends Bang!
H is for Hair
See Us Coming Together Song with Ji-Young, Elmo and their friends Song

Who am I? What’s on my Head? by LittleSikhs.com

Read-Aloud Storytime:

Grandpa Grumps by Katrine Moore and Illustrated by Xindi Yan, Read by Harry Shum Jr.
The Story of Bruce Lee
Always Anjali by Sheetal Sheth and Illustrated by Jessica Blank, Read by Padma Lakshmi
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and Illustrated by Dung Ho, Read by Ming-Na Wen
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi, Read by Randall Park