Share our Stories: Asian and Pacific Islander Literature for Children and Young Adults

Stop AAPI Hate recorded more than 11,000 instances of anti-Asian hate crimes between March 2020 and March 2022. With this worldwide rise happening at the same time as the increasing publications of excellent Asian American youth literature, USBBY, the U.S. national section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), will offer an opportunity to more deeply understand Asian American and Pacific Islanders cultures, histories, and communities, and their representations in media for children. This panel will include a discussion from a range of perspectives including Asian American and Pacific Islander authors, illustrators, librarians, and scholars. Moderated by Dora Ho, retired Young Adult Librarian at Los Angeles Public Library and Past-President of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), the panel will include Dr. Junko Yokota, Executive Director of USBBY and professor emeritus at National Louis University with award-winning children’s book authors Rajani LaRocca, Linda Sue Park, and Mihn Lê. USBBY was founded to promote international understanding and good will through books for children and adolescents.