An NEA Big Read Selection

This is the best account of the Hmong experience I've ever read--powerful, heartbreaking, and unforgettable.--Anne Fadiman, author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

A narrative packed with the stuff of life. --Entertainment Weekly

Kao Kalia Yang is the author of The Song Poet and The Latehomecomer, which was a finalist for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award and the Asian American Literary Award, and received the 2009 Minnesota Book Award.

Malcolm is the youngest child of Hmong refugees, and he was born over a decade after his youngest sibling, giving him a unique perspective on his complicated immigrant family.

In the first part of the story, we meet Malcolm as an elementary school kid through the eyes of the adults in his life--his parents and siblings, but also the white teachers at his Minnesota schools. As middle school begins, we encounter Malcolm in his own words, and suddenly we see that this quiet, slow Hmong boy is anything but. Malcolm is a gifted collector of his family's stories and tireless seeker of his own place within an evolving Hmong American culture, and his journey toward becoming a shaman like his grandparents before him is inspiring and revelatory.

Born in 1961 in war-torn Laos, Tswb's childhood was marked by the violence of America's Secret War and the CIA recruitment of the Hmong and other ethnic minorities into the lost cause. By the time Tswb was a teenager, the US had completely vacated Laos, and the country erupted into genocidal attacks on the Hmong people, who were labeled as traitors. Fearing for their lives, Tswb and her family left everything they knew behind and fled their village for the jungle.

Perpetually on the run and on the brink of starvation, Tswb eventually crossed paths with the man who would become her future husband. Leaving her own mother behind, she joined his family at a refugee camp, a choice that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Eventually becoming a mother herself, Tswb raised her daughters in a state of constant fear and hunger until they were able to emigrate to the US, where the determined couple enrolled in high school even though they were both nearly thirty and worked grueling jobs to provide for their children.

Now, her daughter, Kao Kalia Yang, reveals her mother's astonishing saga with tenderness and clarity, giving voice to the countless resilient refugees who are often overlooked as one of the essential foundations of this country. Haunting and painfully relevant (Booklist), Where Rivers Part is destined to become a classic.

Filled with wonder and sorrow and happiness. --Alison McGhee, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Someday

A heartfelt story of a young girl seeking beauty and connection in a busy world.

As the seasons change, so too does a young Hmong girl's world. She moves into a new home with her family and encounters both birth and death. As this curious girl explores life inside her house and beyond, she collects bits of the natural world. But who are her treasures for?

Born in 1961 in war-torn Laos, Tswb's childhood was marked by the violence of America's Secret War and the CIA recruitment of the Hmong and other ethnic minorities into the lost cause. By the time Tswb was a teenager, the US had completely vacated Laos, and the country erupted into genocidal attacks on the Hmong people, who were labeled as traitors. Fearing for their lives, Tswb and her family left everything they knew behind and fled their village for the jungle.

Perpetually on the run and on the brink of starvation, Tswb eventually crossed paths with the man who would become her future husband. Leaving her own mother behind, she joined his family at a refugee camp, a choice that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Eventually becoming a mother herself, Tswb raised her daughters in a state of constant fear and hunger until they were able to emigrate to the US, where the determined couple enrolled in high school even though they were both nearly thirty and worked grueling jobs to provide for their children.

Now, her daughter, Kao Kalia Yang, reveals her mother's astonishing saga with tenderness and clarity, giving voice to the countless resilient refugees who are often overlooked as one of the essential foundations of this country. Haunting and painfully relevant (Booklist), Where Rivers Part is destined to become a classic.

A warmhearted and tender true story about a young girl finding beauty where she never thought to look.

Drawn from author Kao Kalia Yang's childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this moving picture book portrays a family with a great deal of love and little money. Weaving together Kalia's story with that of her beloved grandmother, the book moves from the jungles of Laos to the family's early years in the United States.

When Kalia becomes unhappy about having to do without and decides she wants braces to improve her smile, it is her grandmother--a woman who has just one tooth in her mouth--who helps her see that true beauty is found with those we love most. Stunning illustrations from Vietnamese illustrator Khoa Le bring this intergenerational tale to life.

A deep and moving reflection on enduring hardship and generational love. . . . Poignant storytelling with stunning visuals.--starred, Kirkus Reviews

A sincere narrative that centers on the power of family love.--starred, School Library Journal

Minnesota Book Award Finalist, ALA Notable Children's Book, New York Public Library Best Book for Kids, NPR Best Book of the Year

A young Hmong girl has never been outside the camp she lives in with her parents and thousands of other families. Most days, she spends her time playing with her cousins and pretending they can fly above the clouds and far away from here.

When her family's papers are finally approved, she's uncertain if she's ready to leave everything--and everyone--she's ever known behind. But on the day she leaves, her favorite aunt, Golden Flower, sees her off with the words, Your wings have arrived.

With poetic text by Kalia Kao Yang and stunning art by Khou Vue, Caged is about the power of imagination, resilience, and dreaming of freedom.

Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in the Picture Book Category

Father, is all of the world a refugee camp?

Young Kalia has never known life beyond the fences of the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. The Thai camp holds many thousands of Hmong families who fled in the aftermath of the little-known Secret War in Laos that was waged during America's Vietnam War. For Kalia and her cousins, life isn't always easy, but they still find ways to play, racing with chickens and riding a beloved pet dog.

Just four years old, Kalia is still figuring out her place in the world. When she asks what is beyond the fence, at first her father has no answers for her. But on the following day, he leads her to the tallest tree in the camp and, secure in her father's arms, Kalia sees the spread of a world beyond.

Kao Kalia Yang's sensitive prose and Rachel Wada's evocative illustrations bring to life this tender true story of the love between a father and a daughter.

From an exceptional storyteller, Somewhere in the Unknown World is a collection of powerful stories of refugees who have found new lives in Minnesota's Twin Cities, told by the award-winning author of The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet.

All over this country, there are refugees. But beyond the headlines, few know who they are, how they live, or what they have lost. Although Minnesota is not known for its diversity, the state has welcomed more refugees per capita than any other, from Syria to Bosnia, Thailand to Liberia. Now, with nativism on the rise, Kao Kalia Yang--herself a Hmong refugee--has gathered stories of the stateless who today call the Twin Cities home.

Here are people who found the strength and courage to rebuild after leaving all they hold dear. Awo and her mother, who escaped from Somalia, reunite with her father on the phone every Saturday, across the span of continents and decades. Tommy, born in Minneapolis to refugees from Cambodia, cannot escape the war that his parents carry inside. As Afghani flees the reach of the Taliban, he seeks at every stop what he calls a certificate of his humanity. Mr. Truong brings pho from Vietnam to Frogtown in St. Paul, reviving a crumbling block as well as his own family.

In Yang's exquisite, necessary telling, these fourteen stories for refugee journeys restore history and humanity to America's strangers and redeem its long tradition of welcome.

Al principio nadie se dio cuanta cuando dejé de hablar en la escuela.

En esta conmovedora historia verdadera, Kao Kalia Yang comparte sus experiencias como una joven refugiada Hmong que debe enfrentar los desafíos de su vida en casa y en la escuela. Al ver los malos tratos que reciben sus padres al esforzarse por hablar en inglés, ella deja de hablar en la escuela. Kalia siente como si una roca se hubiese atascado en su garganta y se hace más pesada cada día. Aunque el relato es sombrío, también está imbuido de belleza, amor y esperanza.

At first, no one noticed when I stopped talking at school.

In this moving true story, Kao Kalia Yang shares her experiences as a young Hmong refugee navigating life at home and at school. Having seen the poor treatment her parents received when making their best efforts at speaking English, she no longer speaks at school. Kalia feels as though a rock has become lodged in her throat, and it grows heavier each day. Although the narrative is somber, it is also infused with moments of beauty, love, and hope. Now in Spanish.

Winner of the 2017 Minnesota Book Award in Creative Nonfiction

Finalist for the Chautauqua Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN USA Literary Center Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

In the Hmong tradition, the song poet recounts the story of his people, their history and tragedies, joys and losses. He keeps the past alive, invokes the spirits and the homeland, and records courtships, births, weddings, and wishes.

Following her award-winning memoir The Latehomecomer, Kao Kalia Yang now retells the life of her father, Bee Yang, the song poet--a Hmong refugee in Minnesota, driven from the mountains of Laos by America's Secret War. Bee sings the life of his people through the war-torn jungle and a Thai refugee camp. The songs fall away in the cold, bitter world of a St. Paul housing project and on the factory floor, until, with the death of Bee's mother, they leave him for good. But before they do, Bee, with his poetry, has burnished a life of poverty for his children, polishing their grim reality so that they might shine.

Award-winning author Kao Kalia Yang delivers an inspiring tale of resourceful children confronting adversaries in a refugee camp

After lunch the Yang warriors prepare for battle. They practice drills, balance rocks on their heads, wield magical swords from fallen branches. Led by ten-year-old Master Me (whose name means little), the ten cousins are ready to defend the family at all costs. After a week without fresh vegetables, the warriors embark on a dangerous mission to look for food, leaving the camp's boundaries, knowing their punishment would be severe if they were caught by the guards.

In this inspiring picture book, fierce and determined children confront the hardships of Ban Vinai refugee camp, where the author lived as a child. Yang's older sister, seven-year-old Dawb, was one of the story's warriors, and her brave adventure unfolds here with all the suspense and excitement that held her five-year-old sister spellbound many years later. Accompanied by the evocative and rich cultural imagery of debut illustrator Billy Thao, the warriors' secret mission shows what feats of compassion and courage children can perform, bringing more than foraged greens back to the younger children and to their elders. In this unforgiving place, with little to call their own, these children are the heroes, offering gifts of hope and belonging in a truly unforgettable way.

A family gradually moves forward after the loss of a child--a story for readers of all ages

When someone you love dies, you know what doesn't die? Love. On the hot beach, among colorful umbrellas blooming beneath a bright sun, no one saw a little girl walk into the water. Now, many months later, her bedroom remains empty, her drawers hold her clothes, her pillows and sheets still have her scent, and her mother and father, brothers and sister carry her in their hearts, along with their grief, which takes up so much space. Then one snowy day, the mother and father ask the girl's older brother, Would you like a room of your own? He wants to know, Whose? They say, Your sister's.

Tenderly, and with refreshing authenticity, beloved Minnesota writer Kao Kalia Yang tells the story of a Hmong American family living with loss and tremendous love. Her direct and poignant words are accompanied by the evocative and expressive drawings of Hmong American artist Xee Reiter. The Shared Room brings a message of comfort and hope to readers young and old.

Repleto de maravilla, tristeza y felicidad. --Alison McGhee, #1 New York Times autora del éxito en ventas Someday

Una historia conmovedora de una niña que busca la belleza y la conexión en un mundo atareado.

A medida que cambian las estaciones, también cambia el mundo de una niña pequeña Hmong. Ella se muda a un nuevo hogar junto a su familia y se encuentra tanto con el nacimiento como con la muerte. Mientras esta pequeña curiosa explora la vida dentro y fuera de su hogar, recolecta fragmentos del mundo natural. Pero para quiénes son sus tesoros?

Un conmovedor libro ilustrado con el que debuta la aclamada autora americana de origen Hmong, Kao Kalia Yang.

Filled with wonder and sorrow and happiness. --Alison McGhee, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Someday

A heartfelt story of a young girl seeking beauty and connection in a busy world, now in Spanish.

As the seasons change, so too does a young Hmong girl's world. She moves into a new home with her family and encounters both birth and death. As this curious girl explores life inside her house and beyond, she collects bits of the natural world. But who are her treasures for?

A moving picture book debut from acclaimed Hmong American author Kao Kalia Yang.

Una historia real, cargada de amor y ternura, de una niña que encuentra la belleza donde nunca lo imaginó.

Sacado de la experiencia de la autora Kao Kalia Yang durante su niñez como refugiada Hmong, este conmovedor libro ilustrado presenta una familia que tiene poco dinero pero mucho amor para dar. Al entrecruzar la historia de Kalia con la de su adorada abuela, el libro pasa de las selvas de Laos a los primeros años de la familia en los Estados Unidos.

Cuando Kalia se siente triste por tener que prescindir de cosas esenciales y desea ponerse ortodoncias para mejorar su sonrisa, es su abuela (una mujer que solo tenía un diente en su boca) quien la ayuda a ver que la verdadera belleza se encuentra junto a quienes más amamos. Las magníficas ilustraciones de la ilustradora vietnamita Khoa Le dan vida a este cuento intergeneracional.

Una reflexión profunda y conmovedora sobre la superación de adversidad y el amor generacional. . . . Relato emotivo con imágenes maravillosas.--excelente, Kirkus Reviews

Una narración sincera que se centra en el poder del amor familiar.--excelente, School Library Journal

Finalista del Premio de Literatura de Minnesota, Libro Infantil Destacado de la Asociación Americana de Libros, Mejor Libro Infantil de la Biblioteca Pública de Nueva York, Mejor Libro del Año de NPR

A warmhearted and tender true story about a young girl finding beauty where she never thought to look, now in Spanish.

Drawn from author Kao Kalia Yang's childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this moving picture book portrays a family with a great deal of love and little money. Weaving together Kalia's story with that of her beloved grandmother, the book moves from the jungles of Laos to the family's early years in the United States.

When Kalia becomes unhappy about having to do without and decides she wants braces to improve her smile, it is her grandmother--a woman who has just one tooth in her mouth--who helps her see that true beauty is found with those we love most. Stunning illustrations from Vietnamese illustrator Khoa Le bring this intergenerational tale to life.

A deep and moving reflection on enduring hardship and generational love. . . . Poignant storytelling with stunning visuals.--starred, Kirkus Reviews

A sincere narrative that centers on the power of family love.--starred, School Library Journal

Minnesota Book Award Finalist, ALA Notable Children's Book, New York Public Library Best Book for Kids, NPR Best Book of the Year

Rempli de merveille, de chagrin et de bonheur. --Alison McGhee, N 1 au classement des ventes du New York Times, auteur de Someday

L'histoire sincère d'une petite fille qui cherche beauté et connexion dans un monde occupé.

Comme les saisons changent, ainsi change le monde d'une jeune fille Hmong. Elle déménage dans une nouvelle maison avec sa famille et rencontre la naissance et la mort. Cette fille curieuse explore la vie dans sa maison et au-dehors, où elle récolte des petits moreaux du monde naturel. Mais pour qui sont ses trésors?

Un début de livre illustré touchant par la célèbre auteur Hmong américaine Kao Kalia Yang.

Filled with wonder and sorrow and happiness. --Alison McGhee, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Someday

A heartfelt story of a young girl seeking beauty and connection in a busy world, now in French.

As the seasons change, so too does a young Hmong girl's world. She moves into a new home with her family and encounters both birth and death. As this curious girl explores life inside her house and beyond, she collects bits of the natural world. But who are her treasures for?

A moving picture book debut from acclaimed Hmong American author Kao Kalia Yang.

Une histoire chaleureuse et tendre au sujet d'une petite fille qui trouve de la beauté partout où elle regarde.

Tiré des expériences de son auteur Kao Kalia Yang, réfugiée Hmong dans son enfance, cet émouvant livre illustré dépeint une famille possédant des trésors d'amour et peu d'argent. Entremêlant l'histoire de Kalia avec celle de sa grand-mère, qu'elle aime, le livre va des jungles du Laos aux premières années que la famille a passées aux États Unis.

Lorsque Kalia devient malheureuse à cause du manque et décide qu'elle veut un appareil pour avoir un plus joli sourire, c'est sa grand-mère - qui n'a plus qu'une dent dans la bouche - qui l'aide à voir que la véritable beauté se trouve chez ceux que nous aimons le plus. Les splendides illustrations du dessinateur vietnamien Khoa Le donnent vie à ce conte intergénérationnel.

Une réflexion profonde et touchante sur les épreuves qu'il faut endurer et l'amour familial. . . . Une histoire poignante avec des illustrations splendides. --starred, Kirkus Reviews

Un récit sincère centré sur la puissance de l'amour familial. --starred, School Library Journal

Finaliste du Minnesota Book Award, Livre pour enfants remarquable pour ALA, Meilleur livre pour enfants pour la Bibliothèque Publique de New York, Meilleur livre de l'année pour NPR.

A warmhearted and tender true story about a young girl finding beauty where she never thought to look, now in French.

Drawn from author Kao Kalia Yang's childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this moving picture book portrays a family with a great deal of love and little money. Weaving together Kalia's story with that of her beloved grandmother, the book moves from the jungles of Laos to the family's early years in the United States.

When Kalia becomes unhappy about having to do without and decides she wants braces to improve her smile, it is her grandmother--a woman who has just one tooth in her mouth--who helps her see that true beauty is found with those we love most. Stunning illustrations from Vietnamese illustrator Khoa Le bring this intergenerational tale to life.

A deep and moving reflection on enduring hardship and generational love. . . . Poignant storytelling with stunning visuals.--starred, Kirkus Reviews

A sincere narrative that centers on the power of family love.--starred, School Library Journal

Minnesota Book Award Finalist, ALA Notable Children's Book, New York Public Library Best Book for Kids, NPR Best Book of the Year