New Books to this Site

Petals of the Vanda By Kurenai Tsuneko Hongo 2005, 122 pages, paperback.

Kurenai (her pen name which means crimson in Japanese) was a well-educated young lady that never lost her passion for poetry even though she lived most of her life in the small town of Hilo. In her later life, after her kids had grown, she rekindled her interest in tanka poetry.

Tanka (also known as waka) is an ancient Japanese poetry form, written in 31 syllables, and is similar to the more popular haiku poetry. Tanka and haiku are the ultimate minimalist forms of writing. At their best, they are both spontaneous and precise in capturing the writer's depth of feeling. Kurenai became a master of this art. Until now, few people beyond her friends and family knew of her great talent.

With the release of this book, you'll discover the beauty, joy, sadness, and faith that were a part of Kurenai's life.

For visitors and expatriates of Hawaii, this book's imagery, captured in the poems, will forever remind you of the beauty and wonder of the islands.

For those still living in Hawaii, Petals of the Vanda will make you appreciate all that surrounds you.

Haiku Asian Arts & Crafts for Creative Kids By Patricia Donegan 2003, 64 pages, hardback.

Haiku is a unique Japanese form of poetry that uses images from nature to make a statement or capture a moment. Haiku are short but powerful expressions - making them easy and fun to write and share with your friends.

The activities in this book will show you the seven keys to creating your own haiku, and will help you get started, think up memorable words and images, and write the three short lines that make up a great haiku.

With clear explanations and many examples, this is a great way to have fun while you explore this fascinating aspect of Japanese culture.

Homing Pigeon By Wooi-chin J-son 2001, 66 pages, paperback.

He writes of a bamboo flute that is a "disjointed piece of bone...a hollowed spine." When as a child he coughed building a kitchen fire, he blew up ashes that settled "like frost" on his mother's "silk hair". He somehow connects the Susquehanna River to the jade of the Tang dynasty.

The poetry of Homing Pigeon brilliantly pulls two worlds together until we understand both freshly and poignantly.
- Benjamin Saltman

Good Luck Life The Essential Guide to Chinese American Celebrations and Culture By Rosemary Gong 2005, 288 pages, paperback.

Written with warmth and wit, Good Luck Life is beautifully designed as an easily accessible cultural guide that includes an explanation of the Lunar Calendar, tips on Chinese table etiquette for dining with confidence, and dos and don'ts from wise Auntie Lao, who recounts ancient Chinese beliefs and superstitions. This is your map for celebrating a good luck life.

Origins of Chinese Music and Art Compiled by Li Xiaoxiang Illustrated by Fu Chunjiang Translated by Y N Han 2002, 148 pages, paperback.

Be enthralled by the charming stories of Chinese icons:
• Cao Cao, who hinted that he wants a door widened just by writing a character on the door.
• Shi Kuang, whose music was said to resurrect the dead.
• Wu Daozi, who never ccompleted his painting for fear that they would come alive.

You will be amazed by the wisdom and exquisite allure of Chinese culture!

Altered Lives, Enduring Community Japanese Americans Remember Their World War II Incarceration By Stephen S. Fugita and Marilyn Fernandez 2004, 253 pages, paperback.

Fugita and Fernandez show how prewar social and economic networks and the specific characteristics of the incarceration experience affected Japanese Americans' postwar readjustment. Topics explored include the effects of incarceration and resettlement on social relationships and community structure, educational and occupational trajectories, marriage and childbearing, and military service and draft resistance. The consequences of initial resettlement location and religious orientation are also examined. Throughout, the role of the Japanese American community in the prewar and postwar periods provides an interpretive backdrop.

Executive Order 9066 The Internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans By Maisie & Richard Conrat 1992, 120 pages, paperback.

Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, was the instrument that allowed military commanders to designate areas "from which any or all persons may be excluded." Under this order all Japanese and Americans of Japanese ancestry were removed from Western coastal regions to guarded camps in the interior. Former Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark, who represented the Department of Justice in the "relocation", writes in the Epilogue to this book:

The truth is - as this deplorable experience proves - that constitutions and laws are not sufficient of themselves…Despite the unequivocal language of the Constitution of the United States that the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, and despite the Fifth Amendment's command that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, both these constitutional safeguards were denied by military action under Executive Order 9066….

Peek! A Thai Hide and Seek By Minfong Ho Illustrated by Holly Meade 2004, 30 pages, Hardback.

"Jut-Ay" (pronounced like "Shut" and the "A" in "ABC") is the exclamation that Thai people use when they play "peek-a-boo" with their children.

Kira-Kira By Cynthia Kadohata 2004, 244 pages, Hardback.

Luminous in its persistence of love and hope, Kira-Kira is Cynthia Kadohata's stunning debut in middle-grade fiction.

My First Chinese New Year By Karen Katz 2004, 27 pages, Hardback.

This warm and lively introduction to a special holiday will make even the youngest child want to start a Chinese New Year tradition.

The Mats By Francisco Arcellana Illustrated by Hermès Alègrè 1999, 20 pages, Hardback.

But three additional mats remain in Father's bundle...

In this landmark adaptation, evocative of Philippine culture, Francisco Arcellana's classic story "The Mats" remains as fresh and as powerful as when it first appeared more than fifty years ago. The mats serve as a metaphor for the bitter sweet mix of love, laughter and loss woven into the fabric of everyday life. Hermès Alègrè's palette illuminates each scene with brilliant splashes of color sure to make this book a lasting treasure to be shared by the entire family.