A is for Asia is an alphabetic introduction to Asian culture. This book takes each letter of the alphabet an find a corresponding word from one of the many cultures and nations found on the continent. All of the words are accompanied by translations in the related language, for example, Holi, a holiday in India is translated below in Hindi. The illustrations are childlike and entertaining. While I enjoyed the backgrounds and depictions of the clothing, objects and animals, I feel the actual people drawn were caricatures and generalizations of Asian features. ( )

Y'know, this just isn't as valuable as I wanted it to be. In the past 20 years a lot of these wholesome traditions have become more obsolete. And why did the artwork have to emphasize how 'exotic' and 'other' the people and the contexts are? I mean, to a Chinese person, or a Korean person, they're normal, and we Americans are 'exotic.' Well, at least we were 20 years ago. With the spread of small-world influences like the internet, no national group of people is really all that 'other' any more. Look at the high number of goodreads members in Indonesia! ( )

"A is for Asia" by Chin Lee is an alphabet book that has a word from Asian culture for every letter of the alphabet. The book starts with A being for Asia and goes to teach other important words and traditions such as H is for Holi, a holiday of "chills and thrills" in India. Q is for the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book and Z is for Zen, a peaceful way of living. This book would be perfect for introducing children to Asian culture in a classroom. I enjoyed the illustrations by Yumi Heo which were authentic to Asian culture and art. ( )

This book is an alphabiography for Asia. A, of course, is for Asia, which astonishingly takes up one-third of the Earth. The book continues with letters such as J for Jade and P for Panda. This is a unique way for students to learn about another continent and all it has to offer. This would be an interesting book to share with students because children would not only be reading about another part of the world, but it could be a model for a class assignment where each child is required to make his/her own alphabiography. ( )