2025 CALA Best Book Award Recipients

美国华人图书馆员协会2025最佳图书奖的获奖者名单 

2025 Call for Nominations

The CALA Best Book Award Subcommittee is pleased to announce the following recipients of the 2025 CALA Best Book Awards. The annual CALA Best Book Award recognizes outstanding books, published in English or Chinese, which exhibit excellence in addressing Chinese Americans, Chinese, people of Chinese origin, Chinese cultural heritage, or China, and written by Chinese authors or authors of Chinese descent. The Award is to raise awareness of these topics and authors in North America.  

CALA最佳图书奖评审小组荣幸地宣布2025年度CALA最佳图书奖的获奖者名单。一年一度的CALA最佳图书奖旨在表彰以英文或中文出版的优秀书籍,这些书籍在描写华裔美国人、中国人、华裔人士、中国及中华文化传承等方面表现出色,并由华人或华裔作者创作。该奖项旨在提高北美地区对这些主题和作者的认识和关注度。

The following are the recipients of the Best Book Awards. We congratulate the authors for their outstanding works representing the diversity of the Chinese and Chinese American experience.

以下是本次最佳图书奖的获奖者名单。我们向这些出色作品的作者表示衷心的祝贺,他们的作品展现了华人和华裔经历的多样性。

Children’s Fiction 儿童读物小说类

Monkey King and the World of Myths: The Monster and the Maze, by Maple Lam

bookcover: Monkey King and the World of Myths

Percy Jackson meets Dragonball in the first book of this adorable, funny, and action-packed graphic novel series! Follow along as the legendary Monkey King tries to save the world from a mysterious new threat—and smashes his way through the world of ancient Greek mythology in the process!

ISBN: 9780593524640

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin Random House)

Children’s Non-fiction 儿童读物非小说类

Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School, by Traci Huahn, illustrated by Michelle Jing Chan

Book cover: Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School

Meet Mamie Tape, 8-year-old Chinese American changemaker who fought for the right to go to school in San Francisco in the 1880s. Follow Mamie's brave steps and discover the poignant history of her California Supreme Court case Tape v. Hurley.

ISBN: 9780593644027

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House)

Young Adult Fiction 青少年读物小说类

Chisland / Traveling to Chisland, Book 1; A Curious Encounter, Book 2; The Dreamland, Book 3, by Guoping Ren

Book cover: Chisland / Traveling to Chisland

Embark on an extraordinary journey with “Chisland”, a fantasy series inspired by the Chinese ancient classic “The Classic of Mountains and Seas”. Perfect for Chinese and American K-12 students, this series transports readers to an imaginative kingdom full of cultural discovery, thrilling adventures, and valuable life lessons.

In Book One, “Traveling to Chisland”, middle and high school students stumble upon the fantastical land of Chisland, igniting an adventure unlike any other. Book Two, “A Curious Encounter”, reveals friendships with intelligent animals and ancient humans as secrets of Chisland begin to unfold. Finally, Book Three, “The Dreamland”, delves deeper into the mystical wonders of Chisland while teaching bravery, compassion, and humanity.

Through engaging storytelling, this series not only celebrates the beauty of Chinese culture and history but also inspires young readers to explore, imagine, and grow.

ISBN: 9781736537220, (Book 1) 9781736537223(Book2),9781736537268 (Book3)

Publisher: Sycamore Books & Entertainment Publishing Inc.

Adult Fiction 成人读物小说类

The Murder of Mr. Ma, by John Shen Yen Nee & SJ Rozan

Book cover: The Murder of Mr. Ma

For fans of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films, this stunning, swashbuckling series opener by a powerhouse duo of authors is at once comfortingly familiar and tantalizingly new, as two unlikely allies race through the cobbled streets of 1920s London in search of a killer targeting Chinese immigrants.
London, 1924. When shy academic Lao She meets larger-than-life Judge Dee Ren Jie, his quiet life abruptly turns from books and lectures to daring chases and narrow escapes. Dee has come to London to investigate the murder of a man he’d known during World War I when serving with the Chinese Labour Corps. No sooner has Dee interviewed the grieving widow than another dead body turns up. Then another. All stabbed to death with a butterfly sword. Will Dee and Lao be able to connect the threads of the murders—or are they next in line as victims?
Blending traditional gong’an crime fiction with the most iconic aspects of the Sherlock Holmes canon, Dee and Lao’s first adventure is as thrilling and visual as an action film, as imaginative and transportive as a timeless classic

ISBN: 9781641295499

Publisher: Soho Press

Adult Non-fiction 成人读物非小说类

Connie: A Memoir, by Connie Chung

Book cover: Connie: A Memoir

A New York Times bestseller, Connie is a sharp, witty, and frank memoir by iconic trailblazer and legendary journalist Connie Chung. She pulls no punches in detailing her storied career as the first Asian woman to break into an overwhelmingly white, male-dominated television news industry.

ISBN: 9781538766989

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Hachette)

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CALA Best Book Subcommittee members chose Honor Books that are highly recommended for their literary contribution:

CALA最佳图书奖评审小组同时评选出了2025年度CALA荣誉图书以表彰作者们对文学界的贡献:

Children’s Fiction 儿童读物小说类

Summer at Squee, by Andrea Wang

Book cover: Summer at Squee

ISBN: 9780593111314

Publisher: Kokila; Penguin Young Readers

Children’s Non-fiction 儿童读物非小说类

JoJo Sing & Learn: Chinese Songs for Baby & Me- Book 1 & Book 2, by Christine Yang Barry / Primary Illustrator: Lukas Miao Zhang / Supporting Illustrators: Fang Liu, Meitong Chen, and Jade Day; Music produced by Felton Pilate

Book cover: JoJo Sing & Learn

ISBN: 9798990447912; 9798990447929

Publisher: JOJO LLC

Young Adult Fiction 青少年读物小说类

The Notes, by Catherine Con Morse

Book cover: The Notes

ISBN: 9780593711385

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House)

Adult Fiction 成人读物小说类

作家之梦: 融融小说自选集 (Rong Rong's Short Story Collection), by Rong Rong (Jian Golder)

Book cover: Rong Rong's Short Story Collection

ISBN: 9798885259941

Publisher: Candlelight Printing LLC

Adult Non-fiction 成人读物非小说类

Background Artist: The Life and Work of Tyrus Wong, by Karen Fang

Book cover: Background Artist

ISBN: 9781978838413

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

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Thank you to the CALA community, affiliates and supporters for nominating an array of books representing the Chinese diaspora.

感谢CALA会员、同仁和支持者为此奖项提名了一系列代表华人华裔的图书。

Sincerely,

谨此致以诚挚的问候,

The 2024-2025 CALA Best Book Award Subcommittee

2024-2025年度CALA最佳图书奖评审小组

Sai Deng , Co-Chair 联合主席

Priscilla Nga Ian Pun, Co-Chair 联合主席

Allison Law, Member 组员

Rong Lu, Member 组员

Kai Zhang, Member组员


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