Bamboo is a grass found natively on every continent except Europe and Antarctica. As a building material, it can handle twice the force of concrete, wood, or brick. When it comes to tensile strength (how much stress it can bear while being pulled, bent, or stretched), it is stronger than steel. Against strong winds, it bends without breaking and stands tall again once the storm has passed.
It’s no surprise, then, that many Asian-American, Native Hawai’ian, and Pacific Island (AANHPI) people look to bamboo as a symbol of enduring strength, adaptability, and resiliency. Given 2025's theme of ‘Legacy of Leadership and Resilience’, bamboo holds a place of prominence in many designs celebrating AANHPI Heritage month.
Timberland Regional Library invites you to explore these resources about well-known (and not-so-well-known) Asian-American, Native Hawai’ian, and Pacific Islander leaders and the many contributions of AANHPI people in the United States.
Fresh Takes on What It Means to be Asian-American: Movies to stream on Kanopy, opens a new window: (Free with your TRL library card)
This 5-episode series traces the story of Asian Americans, spanning 150 years of immigration, racial politics, and cultural innovation. It is a timely look at the role that Asian Americans have played in defining America as a nation.
Chinese Americans search for their roots in the Mississippi Delta, and uncover an eye-opening perspective on the racially complex history of Chinese immigrants in the deep South.
Renowned street artists Estria Miyashiro and John 'Prime' Hina join forces with a group of Native Hawai'an youth from Waimea to create a fascinating documentary uniting modern graffiti and ancient Hawai'ian art.
Books about AANHPI People and the Building of America
We Are Here by Naomi Hirahara
There are more than 23 million people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent living in the United States. Their stories span across generations, as well as across the world. We Are Here highlights Asian Americans, Native Hawai'ans, and Pacific Islanders and the impact they've had on the cultural, social, and political fabric of the United States.
The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee
The Making of Asian America tells the little-known history of Asian Americans and their role in American life, from the arrival of the first Asians in the Americas to the present-day.
We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem for Asian America by Joanna Ho
Though in picture book format, the poetic imagery and references to a nuanced history of joy and pain make this book one older readers, including adults, will appreciate. Verse such as "We who dream / mark time by the moon, / a heavenly body containing multitudes, whose many faces mirror our own,” examines Asian-American history in a new and evocative way.
Viewpoints in Asian-American Lives - Art, Biography, Memoir
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Lili'uokalani
Lili'uokalani reflects on her experiences as a young girl growing up on Oahu in the mid-1800's, where she was raised as a member of the extended royal family of King Kamehameha III. Although her book was unsuccessful as an attempt to advocate for Hawaiian sovereignty and the restoration of the monarchy, it has since been recognized as a moving personal portrait of a girl who grew up to become Hawaii's first and only queen, a beloved monarch who fought for the rights of her people.
Daughter of the Dragon Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang
The true-life story of Hollywood’s first Chinese American film star, who rose “from laundryman's daughter to global celebrity against the backdrop of a world riven by racism, bigotry, and injustice."
Citizen 13660 by Miné Okubo
Okubo was one of more than a hundred thousand people of Japanese descent - nearly two-thirds of whom were American citizens - who were forced into "protective custody" shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This illustrated memoir of life in relocation centers in California and Utah, illuminates this experience with poignant drawings and witty, candid text.
Corky Lee's Asian America Fifty Years of Photographic Justice by Corky Lee
Corky Lee sought to change the world with his camera. This collection of over 200 photographs spanning a half-century of work brings to life AANHPI communities and breaks stereotypes one photo at a time.
The Song Poet A Memoir of My Father by Kao Kalia Yang
In this beautifully-written memoir, Yang tells the story of her father, a poet who composed kwv txhiaj in his native Hmong. These songs, she says, taught her how the human heart operates, shielded her from poverty, and showed her windows where she had only ever seen walls. As she recounts his life as a fatherless child, a refugee, and a stranger in a strange land, a portrait emerges of a spiritual man who heals his soul and elevates the lives of his children with the rich artistry of his homespun compositions.
My Unforgotten Seattle by Ron Chew
Community activist and author Ron Chew recounts the history of Seattle through his personal story growing up in a Chinese American family.
Stealing Green Mangoes Two Brothers, Two Fates, One Indian Childhood by Sunil Dutta
The poignant memoir of two brothers raised under the dark shadow of Indian Partition who forged wildly different paths in life. After a traumatic family history going back to the carnage surrounding the 1947 partition of India, Dutta's brother Raju embarked on a colorful and then tragic criminal career, committing fraud, identity theft--including a yearlong impersonation of a terrorist--and murder. Dutta's own life followed an opposite but equally fascinating path: after moving to the U.S. in 1986, he gave up a career as a biologist to become a street cop in Los Angeles, where his experiences challenged his assumptions that crime is caused by poverty and social disadvantages and illuminated his agonized search for reasons behind Raju's transgressions.
Year of the Tiger An Activist's Life by Alice Wong
Alice Wong uses her unique talent to share an impressionistic scrapbook of her life as an Asian American disabled activist, community organizer, media maker, and dreamer.
He/she/they How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters by Schuyler Bailar
Schuyler Bailar didn't set out to be an activist, but his very public transition to the Harvard men's swim team put him in the spotlight. In He/She/They, Schuyler uses storytelling and the art of conversation to give readers the essential language and context of gender, meeting everyone where they are and paving the way for understanding, acceptance, and--most importantly--connection.
More Great Books Celebrating Asian American Native Hawai'ian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Celebrate AANHPI Month with children's books highlighting a diversity of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander cultures, identities, and experiences!
Celebrate AANHPI Month with books for teens highlighting a diversity of cultures, identities, and experiences from Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander voices.
Celebrate AANHPI Month with books for adults highlighting a diversity of cultures, identities, and experiences from Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander voices.
