Asian Heritage Month Reads

During the Second World War, approximately 4,000 Japanese-Canadians were "repatriated" to Japan. Among those Canadians sent back were members of author and poet Sally Ito's family. As a Japanese Canadian child growing up in the suburbs of Edmonton, Alberta, Ito's early life was a lone island of steamed tofu and vegetables amidst a sea of pot roast and mashed potatoes. Through the Redress Movement, Parliamentary acknowledgement of wartime injustices, and the restoration of citizenship to those exiled to Japan, Ito considers her role as an author, meditating on culture and identity. Later, she returns to Japan and re-lives the displacement of her family through interviews, letters, and shared memories. Her journey compellingly weaves her family's path through the darkest days of the Pacific War, its devastating aftermath, and the repercussions on cultural identity for all the Emperor's orphans.

At only five years old, Saroo Brierley got lost on a train in India. Unable to read or write or recall the name of his hometown or even his own last name, he survived alone for weeks on the rough streets of Calcutta before ultimately being transferred to an agency and adopted by a couple in Australia. Always wondered about his origins, and with the advent of Google Earth, he had the opportunity to look for the needle in a haystack he once called home. After years of searching, he miraculously found what he was looking for and set off to find his family. A young man rediscovers not only his childhood life and home, but an identity long-since left behind.

An autobiography of Da Chen, who describes how he and his family survived the Cultural Revolution in China.

The author shares the story of her experiences coming of age in Iran during the revolution of 1979, discussing her situation as a member of the small Jewish population in the country at a time when Islamic fundamentalists gained control.

The author tells about the happy life she led in China up until she was twelve-years-old when her family became a target of the Cultural Revolution, and discusses the choice she had to make between denouncing her father and breaking with her family, or refusing to speak against him and losing her future in the Communist Party.

A chance discovery of letters written by her immigrant grandfather leads Jessica J. Lee to her ancestral homeland, Taiwan. There, she seeks his story while growing closer ot the land he knew.
(Also available as an eBook on Sora).

Li Cunxin, a principal dancer with the Houston Ballet and Australian Ballet, explains how his childhood of poverty in rural China changed when he was selected by Madame Mao to attend the dance academy in Beijing, tells how his devotion to Communist philosophy was shaken during his first visit to the U.S. as part of an exchange program with the Houston Ballet, and discusses his eventual defection to the West.

Azar Nafisi chronicles her life in post-revolutionary Iran, focusing on her organization of a group of young women in 1997 who met secretly once a week to read and discuss forbidden works of Western literature. Includes discussion questions and a reading list.
(Also available as an eBook on Sora).

This collection opens with the death of Ayelet Tsabari's father when she was a nine-year-old girl. His passing left her feeling rootless, devastated, and driven to question her complex identity as an Israeli of Yemeni descent in a country that suppressed and devalued her ancestors' traditions. In The Art of Leaving, Ayelet tells her story, from her early love of writing and words, to her rebellion during her mandatory service in the Israeli army. She travels from Israel to New York, to Canada, Thailand, and India, falling in and out of love with countries, men and women, drugs and alcohol, running away from responsibilities and refusing to settle in one place. She recounts her first marriage; her struggle to define herself as a writer in a new language; her decision to become a mother; and finally her rediscovery and embrace of her family history--a history marked by generations of headstrong women who struggled to choose between their hearts and their homes. Eventually, she realizes that she must come to terms with the memories of her father, the sadness of her past, and overcome her fears if she is ever going to come to terms with herself. With fierce, emotional prose, Tsabari crafts a beautiful meditation about the lengths we will travel to try to escape our grief; the universal search to find a place where we belong; and the sense of home we eventually find within ourselves.

Malala Yousafzai's describes her fight for education for girls under Taliban rule, the support she received from her parents to pursue an education, and how the Taliban retaliated against her by trying to kill her.
(Also available as an audiobook on Sora).

I Am Malala. This is my story. Malala Yousafzai was only ten years old when the Taliban took control of her region. They said music was a crime. They said women weren't allowed to go to the market. They said girls couldn't go to school. Raised in a once-peaceful area of Pakistan transformed by terrorism, Malala was taught to stand up for what she believes. So she fought for her right to be educated. And on October 9, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause: She was shot point-blank while riding the bus on her way home from school. No one expected her to survive. Now Malala is an international symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee. In this Young Readers Edition of her bestselling memoir, which includes exclusive photos and material, we hear firsthand the remarkable story of a girl who knew from a young age that she wanted to change the world -- and did. Malala's powerful story will open your eyes to another world and will make you believe in hope, truth, miracles and the possibility that one person -- one young person -- can inspire change in her community and beyond.
(Also available as an eBook on Sora).

When the Second World War broke out, Ralph MacLean traded his quiet yet troubled life on the Magdalen Islands in eastern Canada for the ravages of war overseas. On the other side of the country, Mitsue Sakamoto and her family felt their pleasant life in Vancouver starting to fade away after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Ralph found himself one of the many Canadians captured by the Japanese in December 1941. He would live out his war in a prison camp, enduring beatings, starvation, electric feet and a journey on a hell ship to Japan, watching his friends and countrymen die all around him. Mitsue and her family were ordered out of their home and were packed off to a work farm in rural Alberta, leaving many of their possessions behind. By the end of the war, Ralph was broken but had survived. The Sakamotos lost everything when the community centre housing their possessions was burned to the ground, and the $25 compensation from the government meant they had no choice but to start again.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in 1869 in British-occupied India. Though he studied law in London and spent his early adulthood in South Africa, he remained devoted to his homeland and spent the later part of his life working to make India an independent nation. Calling for non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights around the world. Gandhi is recognized internationally as a symbol of hope, peace, and freedom.

Two-year-old Lhamo Thondup never imagined he would be anything other than an ordinary child, but after undergoing a series of tests, he was proclaimed the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. By age 15, he found himself the undisputed leader of six million people who were facing the threat of a full-scale war from the Chinese. After the defeat of the Tibetan national uprising in 1959, the Dalai Lama had to flee Tibet and went into exile in India. For nearly 50 years, he has aimed to establish Tibet as a self-governing, democratic state. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent efforts for the liberation of Tibet and his concern for global environmental problems. As the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama continues to spend his life working to benefit humanity and preserving Tibetan culture.

A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life.

The world is changing for two girls in China in the 1970s. Da Qin―Big Piano―and her younger sister, Xiao Qin―Little Piano―live in the city of Wuhan with their parents. For decades, China's government had kept the country separated from the rest of the world. When their country's leader, Chairman Mao, dies, new opportunities begin to emerge. Da Qin and Xiao Qin soon learn that their childhood will be much different than the upbringing their parents experienced.

Actor, author, and activist George Takei recounts his childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps for Japanese Americans during World War II and the impact the experience had on his later life.
(Also available as an eBook on Sora).