South Asian Kidlit

Title: Mina vs. the Monsoon Author: Rukhsanna Guidroz Illustrator: Debasmita Dasgupta Publisher: Yali Books, 2018 Book Type: Fiction Ages: 4-8 Theme: Multicultural, soccer Opening: Mina was feeling sad. She was watching peacocks walk past the mango tree outside her house, when one of them let out a piercing cry. Mina knew the monsoon rains were coming. She was going to be… Read more »

Diwali is coming up on November 7th this year. We tell our kids Diwali is big like Christmas is here in America. I personally haven’t celebrated Diwali in India but I hear it’s quite amazing. This lovely board book is a wonderful introduction for those new to the holiday and those who already celebrate it…. Read more »

Dear Faithful readers, thanks so much for stopping by for another South Asian Kidlit round-up! Last one for 2018. You can use the rest of this year to catch up on your reading since there are a whole bunch of new books coming out in 2019! If you would like to check-out past round-ups click… Read more »

Last week I posted Part 2: Picture Books. Today, I’m posting novels from Chapter Books to Young Adult. Lots of great reads! The books listed below are traditionally published and are either by a South Asian author, contains a South Asian Main Character, or involves South Asian culture. The books are organized by Category and… Read more »

Sorry, this is a little late. Things have been busy, busy, busy. In my last round-up post, I mentioned it was a bumper crop year for South Asian books – picture books in particular. It turns out I missed a handful of books and decided to include them in Part 2. I had so many… Read more »

Title: Room In Your Heart Author: Kunzang Choden Illustrator: Pema Tshering Publisher:  Kitaabworld, March 27, 2018 Book Type: Fiction Ages: 4-7 Theme: Kindness, Generosity Opening Lines: To the east of Thimphu and west of Trongsa, somewhere among the mountains high, lived an old woman in a little house. A gray cat, a yellow dog and a brown speckled… Read more »

The Indian holiday of Holi is coming up next week, March 1 & 2, 2018 so it seemed appropriate to review this wonderful new picture book which introduces the holiday that will appeal to both newcomers to the holiday and those already familiar. Title: Festival of Colors Author: Kabir Sehgal & Surishtha Sehgal (check out the interview… Read more »

I am so excited to bring you this year’s crop of South Asian Kidlit books. There are so many books coming out this year that I will be breaking it down into three posts over the course of this year. And for the first time ever we have over 10+ picture books coming out in… Read more »

Welcome back! Summer is flying by and we’ve got a lot of wonderful South Asian Kidlit books coming out in the next few months. It is wonderful to the see the breadth of South Asian books that are coming out from real-world stories, to contemporary, and fantasy. Last week, I was interviewed by Kristi at… Read more »

Hope everyone is keeping warm this winter. Here in California, we’re just trying to stay dry in one of the wettest winters ever. Not that I’m complaining. It’s better than the string of drought years. I am still working away on my picture books and have started working on a YA historical novel. Speaking of… Read more »