AAPI Joy 2026

Grades Pre-K - 1 

Yoomi looks forward to her special Sundays in Koreatown visiting her grandmother with her Dad. But this Sunday, everything starts to go wrong. She spills rice cakes on her second favorite shirt. The mobile library doesn't have her favorite book. And someone grabs the last hot dog twist at the bakery! Through the day's series of disappointments, Yoomi learns about resilience. This delightful book includes a recipe for kimbap.

The less-than-well-known history of the massacre in early Chinatown in Los Angeles, meticulously researched.

Jolie Lam comes from a long line of psychics, but as her powers start to manifest, her once best friends start bullying her. No one seems to understand what she’s going through except the new girl, Hoang. A beautifully woven story of Vietnamese mythology, with dragons, magic, and reincarnation.

Great YA mystery fiction for lovers of Los Angeles' vast history or for those who want to know more. Set in 1930s DTLA Chinatown, the book gently leans on the times of Anna May Wong.

This absorbing tale, set in Los Angeles in 1932, invites us into the lives of the Chow sisters, May, Gemma, and Peony. May’s childhood friend, who made it into the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, has been murdered, her death swept aside due to racism and payoffs to higher-ups. After an innocent man from their community is arrested, they vow to find their friend’s killer.

Yu plays with literary form in new and interesting ways as he tells a story about a Chinese American bit part actor while simultaneously investigating concepts of assimilation, the history of Asian immigration, and how the self fits into society.

 Los Angeles is home to the largest Filipino community outside of the Philippines. The early influx in the 1920s were predominantly men who had jobs in service-oriented work. Filipino Americans are now part of all aspect of life in Los Angeles, contributing to many types of professions.