New Books

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage

Vooks Originals

Family 

Food and Cooking

Vooks A to Z

Everyone's Reading

Vooks at a Glance

Birthday parties are so much fun: the friends, the family, the games, the gifts, and, of course, the food! But what type of food do you serve at a birthday party when your family is from two different cultures? Young Mikey Yam is having a hard time choosing between the Italian food of his mother’s side and the Chinese cuisine of his dad’s. So, he turns to his grannies, Bahboo and Nonna, for advice.
 
“Ravioli or Dumplings? Linguine or Lo Mein? All of these options were hurting his brain.”
 
Join Young Mikey as he decides which type of food to have for his birthday party, and the important life lesson he learns along the way.

A Vooks Original, Fried Rice & Marinara is a rhyming story about two cultures coming together to create something special. Written by Mike Yam and illustrated by Laura Dong.

Young Mikey Yam is about to turn four, but deciding what type of food to have at his party is creating a jumble of possibilities!

Fried Rice & Marinara

Bilingual Books

Nature

All Seasons

Early Childhood

Language and Vocabulary

Elementary

Hi Greenie! ¡Hola Verdecito! Join Greenie in his garden, as he first plants, then tends to, and finally harvests yummy strawberries. Presented in English and Spanish, this sweet bilingual story introduces kids to common gardening words, like seed, water, flower, and many more. 

Greenie makes learning English and Spanish fun, and helps expand little ones’ vocabularies. The cute story, adorable characters and illustrations, and clear presentation of both languages, makes this book perfect for all ages. Greenie Grows a Garden, part of the ¡Hola, English! series, is written by Harriet Ziefert, illustrated by Ryan Sias, and published by Blue Apple Books.

Hi Greenie! ¡Hola Verdecito! Join Greenie in his garden, as he grows yummy strawberries!

Greenie Grows a Garden — Verdecito Cultiva un Jardín

Dreamscape

Dragons love tacos. They love chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, and teeny tiny tacos. So if you want to lure a bunch of dragons to your party, you should definitely serve tacos. Buckets and buckets of tacos. Unfortunately, where there are tacos, there is also salsa. And if a dragon accidentally eats spicy salsa...oh, boy. You're in red-hot trouble. The award-winning team behind Those Darn Squirrels! has created an unforgettable, laugh-until-salsa-comes-out-of-your-nose tale of new friends and the perfect snack.

This scrumptious New York Times bestseller has a whole lot of kick...and is now on video!

Dragons Love Tacos

Cora loves being in the kitchen, though she always gets stuck with the kid jobs, like licking the spoon. But today, when her older siblings go out, Cora will finally get the chance to be Mama's assistant chef. Mama even lets her pick which delicious Filipino dish she wants to make. Cora chooses her favorite noodle recipe: pancit!

With Mama’s help, Cora does all the grown-up jobs, like shredding the chicken and soaking the rice noodles. She even stirs the pot while Mama supervises. But when dinner is served, will Daddy and her siblings know Cora did the cooking? Will they think the pancit is as good as usual?

A tale of cultural heritage, Cora Cooks Pancit brings the joyful art of cooking to life. The story walks through the steps for cooking Filipino pancit, highlighting themes of family, trust, and learning through experience. Written by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore, illustrated by Kristi Valiant, and published by Shen’s Books.

When her older siblings go out for the day, Cora finally gets the chance to be Mama’s assistant chef.

Cora Cooks Pancit

Little Star's soft feet tiptoed to the Big Mooncake. Little Star loves the delicious Mooncake that she bakes with her mama. But she's not supposed to eat any yet! What happens when she can't resist a nibble? In this stunning, heartwarming original story that shines as bright as the stars in the sky, Newbery Honor author Grace Lin explains the phases of the moon.

This gorgeous, whimsical origin story of the phases of the moon explains those phases in an easy-to-understand way that will comfort and educate children of all ages.

A Big Mooncake for Little Star

Celebrate Black History

Everyone in the neighborhood dreams of a taste of Omu's delicious stew! One by one, they follow their noses toward the scrumptious scent. And one by one, Omu offers a portion of her meal. Soon the pot is empty. Has she been so generous that she has nothing left for herself? Debut author-illustrator Oge Mora brings to life a heartwarming story of sharing and community in colorful cut-paper designs as luscious as Omu's stew, with an extra serving of love. An author's note explains that Omu (pronounced AH-moo) means queen in the Igbo language of her parents, but growing up, she used it to mean Grandma.

Omu shares her stew with everyone in the neighborhood until there's nothing left in this incredibly heartwarming story where a generous woman is rewarded by her community.

Thank You, Omu!

Creative Play

Today would be special. Today would be splendid. It was Saturday! But sometimes, the best plans don't work out exactly the way you expect...In this heartfelt and universal story, a mother and daughter look forward to their special Saturday routine together every single week. But this Saturday, one thing after another goes wrong—ruining storytime, salon time, picnic time, and the puppet show they'd been looking forward to going to all week. Mom is nearing a meltdown...until her loving daughter reminds her that being together is the most important thing of all. Oge Mora's highly anticipated follow up to Caldecott Honor Thank You, Omu! features the same magnificently radiant celebration of sharing so beloved in her debut picture book.

In this tender story from a Caldecott-winning author, a mother and daughter embark on a journey that reminds them of what's best about Saturdays: precious time together.

Saturday

Storytime Favorites

Be Creative

Zora is bored. Or at least, she was bored until she decided to plant zucchini in her summer garden. When the zucchinis start to grow, her family makes all kinds of recipes out of them: zucchini bread, zucchini soup, zucchini marinated, grated, and barbecued. They eat the vegetables for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Zora can’t get enough!

But the zucchini patch keeps growing, and growing—and growing. Soon, Zora finds herself with more zucchini than her family can hope to cook. She decides to start a garden swap. Will her neighbors show up to trade produce? Or will Zora get buried under a mountain of fresh zucchini?

Published by Readers to Eaters, Zora’s Zucchini is about discovering not only the wonder of growing food, but the satisfaction of growing a community. The story also demonstrates an important truth: Children are more interested in eating the foods they have a hand in growing, preparing, and cooking. Written by Katherine Pryor and illustrated by Anna Raff.

For Zora, the first zucchini of her summer garden is exciting. But what happens when the plants grow out of control?

Zora's Zucchini

Familius Presents

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

Celebrate Latino food and culture! Narrated in Spanish and English, this bilingual title is brimming with tasty eats and fun facts. Proud to Be Latino: Food/Comida shows little ones how different Latino countries use similar ingredients to create regional dishes that are as delicious as they are unique! Children will also learn some fun and surprising facts—did you know that there are over 5,000 types of potatoes sold in South America?

Proud to Be Latino: Food/Comida takes readers beyond a basic language primer and into the rich world of Latino culture. Proud to Be Latino: Food/Comida is written by Ashley Marie Mireles, illustrated by Edith Valle and published by Familius.

Celebrate Latino food and culture with this bilingual title full of tasty eats and fun facts!

Proud to Be Latino: Food/Comida

Sylvia Spivens always says no to spinach. So, what happens when her teacher gives her a packet of spinach seeds to plant for the school garden? She tries to trade them for something better, of course. When that fails, Sylvia has no choice but to plant her spinach seeds. At first nothing happens, but little by little the spinach grows, and Sylvia’s curiosity grows with it. In the end, growing her own food might just be the thing Sylvia needs to finally say yes to spinach.

There’s something magical about growing your own food. From a school garden to a garden in the community or at home, when kids grow their own food, their minds are opened to a whole new world. Follow along with Sylvia as she discovers how fun and exciting a garden can be—even (especially!) when it’s growing spinach.

Sylvia’s Spinach is written by Katherine Pryor, illustrated by Anna Raff, and published by Readers to Eaters, whose mission is to promote food literacy from the ground up.

A picky eater discovers the joy of growing food and the pleasure of tasting something new.

Sylvia's Spinach

It's food for thought! Nom Nom Colors makes learning colors (and foods) more fun than ever before. Children will love repeating the names of bright colors, tasty sweets, and delicious fruits and veggies - as the foods come to life right before their eyes! The silly puns throughout the book will have little ones giggling along.

This tasty treat of a book is published by Familius, a values-driven publisher on a mission to teach, inspire, and bring families together. Nom Nom Colors is written and created by Forrest Everett.

Nom Nom Colors makes learning colors (and foods) more fun than ever before!

Nom Nom Colors

Aneel loves when his grandparents visit. Most of all, he loves their stories. Today, Dada-ji tells Aneel the story of a lad from a village far, far away. The lad could wrestle water buffalo, tie two hissing cobras in a knot, spin trumpeting elephants by their tails, and touch the sky with his feet. The source of the lad’s tiger power? Hot, hot roti, prepared by Aneel’s Badi-ma herself!

Aneel asks his mother, father, Dadi-ma, and sister for help making roti for Dada-ji. But when no one can help, Aneel is left to make the recipe on his own. Will the roti turn out alright? And if it does, can it still give Dada-ji the power of the tiger? There’s only one way to find out!

Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-Ji tells the story of a bond between grandson and grandfather. The narrative features themes of cultural heritage, traditions, belief in one’s self, and the expression of love through cooking. Written by F. Zia, illustrated by Ken Min, and published by Lee & Low Books.

There once was a lad who could tie two cobras in a knot and touch the sky with his feet. His secret? Hot, hot roti.