5 Delicious AAPI Children's Books
One of my first childhood memories is yelling at my parents for naming me Smriti. No one could pronounce it in my pre-school class (it’s still hard for most adults) and it made me feel, even at such a young age, that I was different. As 4 year old me exclaimed, “why couldn’t you just name me Jessica!?”, I had no idea that figuring out my identity as a first generation American would be a lifelong journey. I also didn’t know then what I do now - that I’m not the only one. So many of my peers, my family, my husband have been navigating this dual world, and growing up in New Jersey surrounded by people of South Asian descent has helped make it so much easier for me.
The fact that there is an AAPI month is pretty incredible and I’m proud to be able to share what makes our cultures unique and special in this way. As a parent, I’m constantly figuring out how to tie in Indian culture for my kids when my husband and I speak English at home, do not practice religion like our parents and don’t have a single Indian family that lives in our neighborhood.
One central point it keeps coming back to is the impact of food and food memories in passing down tradition and culture. I’ve been trying over the last 5 years to learn how to cook Indian food, something I’ve never tried before, and it only started after becoming a parent.
When I reflect on it, there are definitely food memories that stand out to me from my childhood that I never really paid attention to…puris and bhaturas (different kinds of fried bread) straight out of the hot oil, eaten with potatoes or chickpeas, okra drying out on newspapers on the kitchen table - these are things that I took for granted as a kid but now realize that they were a huge part in developing my identity as an Indian American woman.
I love the fact that there are so many children’s books these days that talk about this duality of cultures and honestly, it’s amazing how many of them relate back to cooking and food memories.
On this last day of AAPI month, I have compiled a list of a few of the favorite ones that we have in rotation at our house. If you’re looking for something different, a gift, some inspiration for your little one, I highly recommend any of these!
- Tomatoes for Neela by Padma Lakshmi
- Priya Dreams of Marigolds & Masala by Meenal Patel
- What’s That? By Karen Chan
- Bilal Cooks Daal by Aisha Saeed
- Kalamata’s Kitchen by Sarah Thomas