Asia Culture

A stray kitty gets a job in a sumo stable, chasing mice in exchange for food. But when eating like a sumo wrestler slows our feline hero down, he realizes he must train like a wrestler, too. Through hard work and perseverance - and with a little help from a big buddy - SumoKitty is born! A funny and heartwarming story inspired by the Japanese saying, "Fall down seven times, stand up eight."

This humorous retelling of a favorite folktale recounts how the Chinese came to give their children short names. This perfect listen-together storybook is one adults and children will enjoy sharing together again and again. When the eldest son fell in the well and most of the time getting help was spent pronouncing the name of the one in trouble, the Chinese, according to legend, decided to give all their children short names.

In this story from India, a farmer's three lazy sons don't want to work. They sit around dreaming of making a lot of gold. When their mother tells them of gold buried in a field, they ask her how to bring the gold to the surface. Through clever suggestions, their mother explains how to thed the fields as they discover the true riches offered by hard work. Illustrated by Tom Wrenn.

China, with over one billion people, is the most populated country in the world. China’s most famous tourist attraction is the Great Wall, which runs across about 5,000 miles of northern China. Rich with Chinese culture, this title explores Chinese food, holidays, and daily life. Eager listeners will also get to challenge their tongues with a few common words from the unique Chinese language!

A land famous for green tea and the martial art of tae kwon do, South Korea lies on a peninsula in southern Asia. Many small islands fill the waters off its coast, including the volcanic Cheju Island. Learn all about South Korea’s landscapes, the everyday life of its people, and the country’s history with North Korea.

For many years, Cambodia was a war-torn country. Recently, a new government has helped turn the economy around and given the Cambodian people more opportunity. Tourism has boomed, with many visitors heading to see Angkor Wat, one of the oldest religious temples in the world. This book explores the geography and culture of Cambodia, a jewel of Southeast Asia.

An archipelago of over 7,100 islands in Southeast Asia, the Philippines sit near the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area often affected by earthquakes and volcanoes. With a long coastline and many rain forests, the country contains a variety of plant and animal life. Children will find out what else makes the Philippines unique in this informative title!

Japan is a nation made up of many islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Over 100 million people live in this small nation of islands. Many live in the countryside, but millions live in crowded cities like Tokyo. Students will learn about the physical features of the landscape and surrounding waters as well as the cultural aspects of the Japanese from old traditions to modern everyday life.

Pakistan became a country in 1947 after the Muslim people of India fought for the creation of an independent state. Now, Pakistan is the second-most populated Muslim-majority country in the world. Young listeners will learn about Pakistan’s geographic features, its abundant wildlife, and the strong culture of its people today.

India is the place to find the stunning Taj Mahal and the world’s tallest peak, Mount Everest. Mount Everest rises nearly 5 miles into the sky! Children will learn all about India, a country known for mountains, curry, and the world’s second largest population.

Malala Yousafzai was a girl who loved to learn but was told that girls would no longer be allowed to go to school. She wrote a blog that called attention to what was happening in her beautiful corner of Pakistan and realized that words can bring about change. She has continued to speak out for the right of all children to have an education. In 2014, she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

What is it like to live in or visit South Korea? What makes South Korea’s culture unique? Explore the geography, traditions, and daily lives of South Korean people.

What is it like to live in or visit Sri Lanka? What makes Sri Lanka’s culture unique? Explore the geography, traditions, and daily lives of Sri Lankan people.

What would it be like to live in China? How is China's culture unique? Explore the sights, traditions, and daily lives of the Chinese!

There are three rules in the Walled City: Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. Right now, my life depends completely on the first. Run, run, run. Jin, Mei Yee, and Dai all live in the Walled City, a lawless labyrinth run by crime lords and overrun by street gangs. Teens there traffic drugs or work in brothels - or, like Jin, hide under the radar. But when Dai offers Jin a chance to find her lost sister, Mei Yee, she begins a breathtaking race against the clock to escape the Walled City itself.

Pu Yi, a spoiled but lonely child emperor, learns to ride a bicycle with the help of his tutor, hoping it will impress his aloof father.

Abandoned on the Mumbai railways, Ajay has grown up with nothing but a burning wish to be a journalist. Finding an abandoned printing press, he and his friends Saif, Vinod, Yasmin and Jai create their own newspaper: The Mumbai Sun. As they hunt down stories for their paper, the children uncover corruption, fight for justice and battle to save their slum from bulldozers. But against some of the most powerful forces in the city, can Ajay and his friends really succeed in bringing the truth to light? Not to mention win the most important cricket match ever.

A Flat Ninja? Stanley and his brother, Arthur, are such huge fans of the movie star ninja Oda Nobu that they decide to send him something even better than fan mail - Stanley himself! Soon enough, Flat Stanley is in Japan, seeing the country with his idol. But when trouble surprises them, it will take a real hero to save the day.

When Tessa and her sisters are told they will be staying at their grandparents in Japan, Tessa is thrilled. But her hopes are dashed when she realizes that life in Japan is just like being in California: her sisters are old enough to go into Tokyo, while her grandparents want her to stay home with the neighbor kid, Jin. When Tessa is finally allowed to go to Tokyo, it’s only to join her grandpa’s retiree aerobic class with none other than Jin. Their forced hang out comes crashing to a halt when Tessa and Jin break the Miyata family’s heirloom—releasing the malicious samurai god Taira Masakado.

Jack and Annie are whisked back in time to the jungles of India, where they meet snakes and tigers, and find ancient ruins.