Each year, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is observed during the month of May.
In classrooms across the country, it's a time to honor the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to America’s rich cultural heritage.
Ready-Made Reading Resources
Below, you'll find recommended reading for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, along with links to our curated vocabulary lists for each text. Our suggestions include a wide array of compelling fiction and nonfiction titles that will appeal to the range of readers in your classroom.
Authentic Examples, Relevant Context
For each text, the Vocabulary.com curriculum team develops a collection of vocabulary lists, extracting the words that are most essential for strong reading comprehension. The terms on each list are presented in carefully chosen excerpts from the original source, ensuring that students learn through authentic examples and relevant context.
Bear in mind that the recommendations below represent only a fraction of our vocabulary lists. You can find more great resources on our Lists page.
Explore by country:
Cambodia |
Malaysia |
China |
Philippines |
India and Pakistan |
Taiwan |
Japan |
Vietnam |
Korea, North and South |
Cambodia
First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
China
The Ch'i-lin Purse by Linda Fang
Typical American by Gish Jen
Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
Parachutes by Kelly Yang
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
India and Pakistan
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
There's Something about Sweetie by Sandhya Menon
Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Save Me a Seat by Gita Varadarajan and Sarah Weeks
The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Japan
Keep It Together, Keiko Carter by Debbie Michiko Florence
Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
So Far from the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins
Hiroshima by Laurence Yep
Korea, North and South
Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi
Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden
Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim
Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee
A Step from Heaven by An Na
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park
Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook
Frankly in Love by David Yoon
Malaysia
The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf
The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf
Philippines
I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib
The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
Taiwan
American Panda by Gloria Chao
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
Vietnam
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai
Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge