Freeman Book Award

In this first book of her Japanese mythology-inspired Shadow of the Fox trilogy, bestselling author Julie Kagawa weaves a stunning, high-stakes tale of alliances and deceptions, characters who aren't what they seem, and secrets that could change the fate...

A Chinese boy struggles to adapt to American life-and discovers baseball. Despite his impulsive and curious nature, twelve-year-old Leon is determined to follow the Emperor's rules--to live with an American family, study hard, and return home to...

A beautifully written, timeless tale by Cao Wenxuan, best-selling Chinese author and 2016 recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. Sunflower is an only child, and when her father is sent to the rural Cadre School, she has to go with...

A gripping story of a boy's escape from Communist Vietnam by boat, based on the author's own experience.It's 1980, and 12-year-old Tho Pham lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting with his...

Most people imagine "home" as a safe, warm place with four walls. But for child refugees Lam and Dee Dee escaping Vietnam, "home" is ever-changing and often doesn't have any walls at all."A moving and thought-provoking picture of a refugee experience...

"A gorgeous, stirring book; a stellar debut." ―Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of The Serpent King Star-crossed teens meet during the Hong Kong protests in this searing contemporary novel about falling in love in a time of change, for fans of...

Afraid her sister (and maybe even herself) could lose sight of their Vietnamese identity, twelve-year-old Bom writes a poetic memoir to help them both remember--a love letter in verse to sisterhood and the places we leave behind.Bom can't believe that...

A music loving teen with OCD does everything she can to find her way back to her mother during the historic race riots in 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this heart-pounding literary debut. Melati Ahmad looks like your typical movie-going,...

A moving picture book autobiography about a family's resilience and path to healing after the devastation of war. It's 1945, the final year of World War II. Yukie Kimura is eight years old. She lives on a tiny island with a lighthouse in the north of...

The perfect gift book for anyone who loves good food--and an even better story! Newbery and Caldecott honoree and New York Times bestselling author Grace Lin delivers a groundbreaking, lushly illustrated, and beautifully written full-color book that...

Fifteen-year-old Aiko Cassidy, a bicultural girl with cerebral palsy, grew up in Michigan with her single mother. For as long as she could remember, it was just the two of them. When a new stepfather and a baby half sister enter her life, she finds...

Just before the United States enters the Vietnam War, eleven-year-old Bé and her three-footed kitten Mèo must rise above the injustices of war to find the comfort, safety, and love of a found family.Eleven-year-old Bé hasn't spoken a word since her...

A Freeman Award Winner for Young Adult LiteratureFor two teens, falling in love is going to make a world of difference in this beautifully translated, bold, and endearing novel about love, loss, and the pain of racial discrimination.As a Korean student...

A 2019 Batchelder Honor Book Yu'er and her grandpa live in a small neighborhood in Beijing--and it's full of big personalities. There's a story around every corner, and each day has a hint of magic. In one tale, Yu'er wants to swim in the Special...

2021 Freeman Book Awards Honorable Mention - Children's Literature The Best Children's Books of the Year 2022, Bank Street College STARRED REVIEW! "Hadley has created a remarkable debut that flows elegantly, interweaving the two tales in a way that is...

**Freeman Book Awards - Honorable Mention - Children's and Young Adult's Literature on East and Southeast Asia "As a food scientist, she sought to reduce the Philippines' dependence on imported food, pioneering new ways to use local products. And that...

"Fresh, compelling--and timely." --Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Carve the Mark and the Divergent series "Vividly conjured...positively chilling." --The New York Times "Spectacular." --Buzzfeed Set in a near-future Taipei plagued...

Suspenseful and richly atmospheric, June Hur's The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting historical mystery sure to keep readers guessing until the last page.1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani's family has never been the same since she and her younger sister...

As featured in the Oscar-nominated Hayao Miyazaki film The Boy and the Heron: the coming-of-age novel How Do You Live? is a Japanese classic that became a New York Times bestseller. After the death of his father, fifteen-year-old Copper must confront...

Readers visit a farm in China to learn more about a hard-working rice farmer's life and the importance of this crop to the Chinese people.

Author Brandon Hoang takes readers on a high-stakes adventure through Vietnam in search of an ancient magical crossbow in this debut middle-grade fantasy that Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender calls "a must-read"!When...

With five starred reviews and numerous accolades, a beautifully crafted and captivating graphic novel from award-winning writer Sherri L. Smith and Eisner-nominated artist Christine Norrie about a Japanese-American girl who must survive years of...

Batchelder Honor Winner, 2020 ALA Youth Media AwardsHonorable Mention, 2019 Freeman Awards (National Consortium for Teaching about Asia)Korea's demilitarized zone (DMZ) has become an amazing accidental nature preserve that gives hope for a brighter...

**Winner 2018 Moonbeam Children's Book Award Silver Medal - Multicultural Non-Fiction Picture Book ****Winner Creative Child Magazine 2018 Book of the Year Award****2017 Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention for Children's Literature** My First Book of...

Jin wishes his family would ask him to help prepare the Lunar New Year feast. But boys, or Babas, never get asked--only Nyonyas, the girls. It's the eve of Lunar New Year, and Jin can't wait for the big family reunion dinner. He loves the aromas and the...

"Excellent, evocative, and thoughtful with genuine depth" (New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon), Catfish Rolling is a wholly original and mind-bending debut YA novel by Clara Kumagai about memory, family, and an earthquake that breaks apart...

A dazzling new fantasy from New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He, full of secrets and betrayal, Strike the Zither is an inventive and sweeping fantasy perfect for fans of Rebecca Ross and Chloe Gong, "rich in intrigue and epic in scale...

Meet Dr. Wu Lien-teh, defeater of the Manchurian plague--in a story authored by his great-granddaughter, an emergency physician who relied on his life-saving invention during a pandemic a century later. More than a hundred years before Covid, a deadly...

A "lyrical and introspective" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) historical novel in verse about a Chinese teen who immigrates to the United States with his family and endures mistreatment at the Angel Island Immigration Station while trying to navigate...

Bestselling writer Sherry Thomas weaves an enthralling retelling of a story that has thrilled readers for centuries: the ballad of Mulan.CHINA, 484 A.D. A Warrior in DisguiseAll her life, Mulan has trained for one purpose: to win the duel that every...

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!AN EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today's world, based on a true story from Korean history.Hope is...

A young Korean boy named Sun-sin designs one of the greatest battleships in history and fulfills his dream of sailing the world.Long ago in Korea, a young boy named Sun-sin spent his days playing with his pet turtle Gobugi and dreaming of sailing around...

From acclaimed author Kat Zhang comes a "fast-paced mystery adventure" (BCCB) about a girl who embarks on a hunt for a long-lost treasure while on a summer trip to China. Mia Chen is on what her mother calls a Grand Adventure. She's not sure what to make...

A stunning picture book about a family's connection to their land, their home, and each other--from the creators of My First Day. Long ago, Grandfather came to a new land. Fish swam in the water, birds chirped in the sky, monkeys played in the trees. And...

An empowering and informative picture book biography about Khutulun, the great-great granddaughter of Genghis Khan, and how she defied the expectations of her time to become commander of the Khan's army. Just like the fourteen brothers that came before...

**A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CHILDREN'S BOOK OF 2023**Caldecott Medalist Allen Say's tale of a young boy who saves a baby bird from the local bullies is filled with compassion and empathy. Based on a true story and gorgeously illustrated, this story from an...

Every Falling Star, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is Sungju Lee's intense memoir about being forced at age 12 to live on the streets and fend for himself. "Presents North Korea as a horrifying real-life dystopia...

Heroes come in all shapes, sizes, and species! Growing up in Cambodia, Malen knew that dangers from a long-ago war lay hidden underground. Buried explosives forced her and many others to live, farm, and play in fear. As she got older, Malen learned how...

7-year-old Innosanto spends an exciting night with his mom sleeping under the stars in the Jakarta Planetarium. Innosanto's father is a playwright and the boy memorizes lines during the actors' rehearsals, so they invite him to join the performance,...

World War II was over, but in Japan, lines for a simple bowl of ramen noodles wound down the sidewalk. What Momofuku Ando did next would change food forever. Andrea Wang, author of Watercress (a Newberry honor book and winner of the Caldecott Medal),...