Tag: book-reviews

2025 Holiday Book Recommendations

Children's picture books on display

It’s time for another post with my favorite books for your books for the 2025 holiday season. The links below are affiliate links to Bookshop.org. I use the profits to purchase books to donate to low-income diverse schools.

Board Books

I love a good board book. They are more durable and often more affordable than picture books. Here are a few that are worthy of gifting this holiday season.

Braille: Counting is tactile with the Braille and adds great sensory elements with some of the touching parts, and high contrast colors in the book.

Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue and A is for Anemone by Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd are authors from Canada. They give us these gorgeous books. The books are full of color and illustrations based in the First Peoples culture from the Pacific Northwest region.

The box set of Families, How We Eat, On-the-Go, Celebrations, & Hair shows children and families in many different forms of diversity. I haven’t seen the board book version of these books, but if they are like the picture book versions they will be fab. The pictures in the book include children with disabilities, from LGBTQ families, multi-racial, and multi-cultural. The pictures in On the Go and How we Eat have children using different feeding aids and mobility aids (respectively). 

Picture Books

Lunch Every Day – Civility and kindness is so important to model and teach. This book shares the story of a young kid who is often seen as a bully and having a hard time making friends. He is invited to a party, something that doesn’t happen often because he’s a bully and something unexpected happens. I won’t give away the rest of the story, but it is an important one especially in this political climate. If you have any teacher friends/family in your life, buy a copy for their classrooms, pre-school to high school should be reminded of the message in the book. Yes, high schoolers read and enjoy picture books too.

If you’re looking for a gift for a budding naturalist or biologist, The Land Knows Me, makes a great gift. This non-fiction book shows native plants from the Pacific Northwest area. The plant names are listed in Squamish language and the book describes Indigenous practices around plants.

Little Golden Books are iconic and affordable. They also have done a nice job diversifying their lineup and including BIPOC authors and topics. I found BTS Little Golden Book while on a work trip in Spokane, WA. I also really loved the Michelle Yeoh Little Golden Book. And there are so many other great books by Black and Brown authors including: Simone Biles, Sonia Sotomayor (English or Spanish), Ms Marvel, Ramadan. If you have any KPop fans in your house Little Golden Books has a Blackpink book coming out in a few weeks.

Wrong season, but pick this up for next fall, Day of the Dead ABC / Día de Los Muertos ABC is so good. The text and pictures work together to talk about culture and language. I appreciate the Spanish and English text trade off on which is centered/larger so it more of a bilingual book than a book with two languages.

Winter Holiday Books

An Anishinaabe Christmas shows how an Anishinaabe (Indigenous) family blends cultural practices to celebrate Christmas. The author is the Premier of Manitoba and  

Santa’s Gotta Go is hilarious. Santa overstays his welcome with a family and you get to witness the chaos.

The Mexican Dreidel a boy visits his grandmother in Mexico and brings his dreidel. Readers get to see how Hanukkah is celebrated in Mexico. (Not POC authored)

Santa’s Husband is on my favorite book list. Santa and his husband challenge the white heterosexual Santa norms in this comical book. (Not POC authored)

Adult Books

I am hyping up and recommend two brand new releases by friends. First is Ruchika T. Malhotra’s Uncompete. She’s done it again, writing about how when we lift up women and others who are marginalized we’re better off.

The second, is Vu Le’s Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy. Vu is known for his blog NonprofitAF and this book carries a more serious weight than the blog BUT don’t let that deter you. It is an important book to help us reimagine what the third sector (nonprofits) and government can do better.

I read Kuleana a few months ago and still think about it. The book shares the author’s family’s journey to keep land in their Native Hawaiian family and the author’s journey to understand her Native Hawaiian connections even though she doesn’t live in Hawai`i. The book is more than just about land, it is about our spiritual connection to the aina, our responsibility to people displaced from their homelands.

I’m about halfway through Babel and it is captivating. Never have I thought about translation and the etymology of words and meaning. RF Kung nails the sinister aspect of her characters as always which makes for an enjoyable read.

It Rhymes with Takei makes a gorgeous gift book for anyone looking to learn more about LGBTQ history. This graphic memoir follows actor George Takei’s life and gay history in America. I read it over Pride weekend and appreciate LGBTQ history even more now.

Cookbooks

What isn’t to love about 108 Asian Cookies. I haven’t baked out of this cookbook yet, just ogled at the pictures. I have Kat Lieu’s other cookbook and baked out of that one with great results so this one will probably be equally as great.

Good Things by Samin Nosrat features her favorite recipes for family and friends. This cookbook is more of a traditional cookbook versus her first book Salt Fat Acid Heat.

There are so many more books to share, if I get around to it I’ll make a second list with more recs. In the meantime, if you want to see more books I enjoy here is Fakequity’s Bookshop.org link. Happy reading this winter.

Summer reads

Black totebag with words Read Rise Resist in ombre blue to pink font

I meant to put out a spring book list, but that came and went, so now we’ll launch into summer reading. I hope you’re participating in your local summer reading campaigns. A lot of local bookstores, libraries, or online book websites have summer reading campaigns and fun. Choose one, or more, and have some fun reading your way through the summer. Here are a few diverse books to help round out your reading lists.

Light and Sunny Reads

Vera Wong Unsolicited Advice for Murders and the newer book Vera Wong Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man are charming. Despite their titles they are perfect for a lighthearted summer read. If you’re participating in the Seattle Public Library or King County Library System Summer Book Bingo both of these books will work for the Found Family or Humor squares.

Serviceberry by Indigenous writer and botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer is a book about resisting consumerism and moving to a gift and sharing economy. For those who are reading NY Times columnist Ezra Klein’s newest book Abundance, make sure to read Kimerer’s book to understand a Native perspective on the same topic. For SPL/KCLS Bingo this fits the Resistance square.

In honor of Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander month, and for the flower on the cover square, I’ll mention Lei Aloha. The book features different types of Hawaiian lei and how the author reconnected with the art form.

A Little Deeper Read

My friend Susan Lieu’s book The Manicurist Daughter just came out in paperback. She details her journey to understand her mother’s sudden death while undergoing plastic surgery and body acceptance. I really enjoyed her audiobook version since Susan narrated it and she’s a great actor as well. SPL/KCLS Bingo –Grief.

The SPL/KCLS Bingo board has a square for Monsters. The young adult pair of books Healer of the Water Monster and Heroes of the Water Monster are great books. They bring awareness to climate change and the importance of water in our lives. They are written from a Native American perspective.

I finally got around to listening to the audio version of James. It was so good. The tale of Jim, Huckleberry Finn’s companion was worth the read. It fits the Great Escape square.

For censorship or dystopian square the science fiction YA book The Last Cuentista. The story focuses on a doomed society but how a young girl wants to preserve the stories of the past to help the future.

Deep Read

It is the five year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. I still remember the collective anguish, coupled with COVID, as a call to do better. I wish I could say we’re making progress on racial repair and reckoning. That is why books and learning continue to be important. His Name is George Floyd documents Floyd’s life and how systemically Black people face more obstacles in America.

Picture Books

No list would be complete without a few picture books. Make Your Mark was an interesting read to learn more about tattoo artist and Black history.

Free to Learn tells the story of the landmark Supreme Court case, Plyer v. Doe, that guarantees immigrant students the right to obtain a public education in the US.

Since it is graduation season, The Blur by Minh Lê, or What Will You Be? by Yamile Saied Méndez, are worthy alternative to the Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss. The Blur is great for new parents or preschool graduates. The messages will be lost on young kids but for the adults a tear may fall. Since my kids were born way before these books were published they both have copies of Dr. Seuss book which they take to school at the end of the year to collect signatures and messages like an autograph book. We’ve done this since they were at a childcare center and it’s become a nice keepsake. If I was doing it over again I would have found a BIPOC book to use instead.

I may put out a second list with more titles in a few weeks. I didn’t get around to including cookbooks or other faves I’ve recently read.

*The links above are for my Bookshop affiliate page. The profits are used to purchase books to donate to public schools.

2024 Holiday Book Recommendations

Popping back into your feeds to share some book recommendations for the 2024 holiday season. Whether you’re looking for a book for yourself or a book to give as a gift, there is hopefully a little something for everyone below. Happy reading!

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I’m about one-third of the way through this book and it radiates much like Kimmerer’s previous book Braiding Sweetgrass. It is a good reminder to get out of consumeristic and transactional ways and to see nature as a reciprocal relationship.  

For memoir lovers make sure to give them The Manicurist’s Daughter: A Memoir by Susan Lieu. Susan’s book is filled with grief, raw emotions – tantrums and love, acceptance, and looking forward. A highly recommended book.

Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis is a book for the moment and the movement. We’ll need it in 2025 and for the next four years. Get one for you and a friend or colleague to share ideas.

Brittney Griner’s Coming Home, is worthy of a holiday gift for the sports lovers in your life. I don’t read a ton about sports, but I picked this up based on Heidi’s recommendation. I learned so much more about Griner’s time in a Russian jail, wrongfully imprisoned. I also now have a deeper appreciation for women’s professional sports because of this book.

If you’re looking for a fiction read, Heidi (of Color Brave Space fame), recommends Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Sometimes we need some mystery in our lives.

If you have any Buddhist in your life or anyone wanting to explore feminism in religion, debut author Nhi Tran’s Budding Lotus in the West: Buddhism from an Immigrant’s Feminist Perspective is intriguing. It is an important book exploring women’s role in religion.

Every booklist needs a cookbook recommendation. On the Curry Trail was a delightful read. It was fun to learn about the history of curry and explore different curries from around the world. I enjoy a good cookbook that has recipes that connect food, people, and places in one book. Gift this to someone who is looking for

My resident manga lover recommends I Want to Eat Your Pancreas: The Complete Manga Collection by Yoru Sumino. The title has sparked a heated debate in our house about the title, good books spark debate. The premise of the book centers around the main character having terminal pancreatic cancer and keeping it a secret.

She also recommends Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang. This is a good book for talking about anti-Asian racism and group think in the face of rhetoric and fear – important themes for the coming years.

If you need a gift for a younger child, especially girls (or any gender and grow their feminism) Goddess: 50 Goddesses, Spirits, Saints, and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief is a good one. It is a gorgeous giftable book at an affordable price.  

Here are a few Christmas theme picture books:

Tamales for Christmas is a recently released picture book. Based on the author’s childhood experience of watching his Grandma makes thousands of tamales to help the family afford Christmas gifts. It is a lovely picture book and shares how family and community comes together as a support network.

An Anishinaabe Christmas by Wab Kinew shares how a Native Anishinaabe boy interprets his family’s winter traditions. Christmas gets blended into Native traditions.

Santa’s Gotta Go! Had me laughing. In this book Santa is not the model house guest. At the end of the story Santa gotta leave so the family can have some peace back.  

For more book recommendations see Fakequity’s Bookshop store link. All of the above links are affiliate links that generate a small profit for Fakequity. I use the profits to donate books to public schools and to support the blog.

Learning to Lead from Authors of Color

Black background words in blue to pink ombre Read Rise Resist.

A few weeks ago, a friend sent a text asking for suggestions for books on leadership. I messaged her a few titles and decided to expand on what I sent her to make this a full-fledge blog post.

The list is a mix of books. Some can be seen as traditional leadership type books, and others are books that I think have a lot of value for understanding how to ‘lead’ in diverse ways. All of the titles listed are by authors of color.

The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Come Apart by Alicia Garza. Alicia Garza is a longtime organizer and was one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. She shares her journey around organizing and how she ended up in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Eric Liu’s You Are More Powerful Than You Think is a nice companion to Alicia Garza’s book. Liu writes about political advocacy and how to understand power and use it for social good. His book and approach are good for understanding how to work to move institutional power bases.

Treaty Words: For as Long as the River Flows may make you wonder why this made the list. I consider it an important leadership book, because we have to remember leadership in the western world is just that – built on western concepts of capitalism, ownership, top down structures. We should learn from other communities about their values and ways of leading. Indigenous and Native people’s have relationships and reciprocal treaties we need to learn from and honor. This short but full-of-thoughtful words and pictures book is a good way to reframe how we think about leading.

If you’re going to lead, you need to understand disabilities and how to lead in the least ableist ways possible. Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility is a collection of first person narratives by people with diverse backgrounds and disabilities. It is a good starting point for learning more about disabilities. If you have a young adult in your life the young adult version of this book is very accessible and worth sharing with a young person too.

The Art of Gathering and Together are two books I highly recommend for leaders who convene people. I can’t think of any leader who doesn’t convene people in some way. These two books reframed how I think about bringing people together and working with people, especially people of color, in ways that are natural but also purposeful.

I haven’t read First Gen by Alejandra Campoverdi yet but it is on my list of books to read. I’m adding this to my list of books to learn from because I work in education and need to learn about how to create better systems for immigrants and to make sure Latino/Latinx students are visible. This is a leadership book because we should learn from first hand accounts.

What are some of your favorite books about leadership by authors of color?

The links in this post will take you to Fakequity’s Bookshop.org affiliate page. Bookshop supports independent bookstores, and any proceeds Fakequity makes from Bookshop is used to buy books by authors of color which are donated to Title 1 schools.

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