Bybee, Veeda. Shining a Light: Celebrating 40 Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Who Changed the World. Victo Ngai, Illustrator. HarperCollins / Versify, 03/2023. 112pp. Biography. Trade $17.99. 978-0-358-53935-3. GRADES 4 – 8. OUTSTANDING.
Shining a Light is a collection of 40 biographies of AAPI figures from the 19th century to the current day. The book is presented in chronological order by birth date beginning with education reformer Yung Wing (born 1828) and finishing with Olympic gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee (born 2003). The figures span politics, arts and music, activism, and sports. They are Chinese, Japanese, Hmong, Indian, Korean, Cambodian, Lao, Taiwanese, Filipino, Thai, and Hawaiian. California (and the Bay Area) is well represented with profiles of Kristi Yamaguchi, Kamala Harris, Bruce Lee, Cecilia Chiang and others. Each short biography in this collection is accompanied by a full-page illustration of the subject. The book also includes an introductory author’s note explaining the importance of this collection in recognizing communities that have been historically overlooked in our history. A Historical Glossary, Acknowledgements, and an extensive Bibliography are also provided. This book has California-specific content.
Rachael Reiley — Hillcrest K-8 Oakland Unified School District