Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Astrid & Apollo

Hey, I'm an IndieBound affiliate, which means that if you buy books through the links on this site, you're not only supporting your favorite independent bookstore, you're supporting me, too!

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

Astrid & Apollo series by V.T. Bidania, illustrated by Dara Lashia Lee. Grades 1-3. Picture Window Books, 2020. 64 pages. Review copies provided by my local library. 


Astrid & Apollo are Hmong-American twins living in Minnesota and in each of these standalone own-voices chapter books, they have small adventures together with their family. These sweet books are perfect for new chapter book readers and bring a much-needed diversity to the early chapter book shelves. Astrid & Apollo are likeable characters tackling everyday challenges like a first camping trip, a disappointing fishing trip, and getting lost at a huge Hmong New Year celebration. 

Each of the books includes lots of details about Hmong American culture including some really mouthwatering descriptions of food. Back matter in each volume includes a pronunciation guide to Hmong words, cultural information about Laos and Hmong culture, and a world map that shows where Laos is. Minnesota has a large Hmong immigrant population and both the author and illustrator of this series are Hmong-Americans living in Minnesota. 

Diverse early chapter books are a sorely small section and this series is a super addition to your library shelves. I'm really impressed with Capstone bringing in own voices creators to help fill this gap.