By Nancy Hope

Many teachers, librarians and parents today would agree that other countries of the world  are important given their economic, social and political ties with America. The member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for example now have the world’s third largest population, the fifth largest economy supporting bilateral trade with  the U.S. at $553 billion annually, plus diplomatic and security partnerships with us. Yet many children and young adults know little about the members of ASEAN such as Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam. Certainly, world literature about them is needed to spark interest in learning more. 

However, identifying books for children and young adults that are culturally and historically  accurate while being age-appropriate is often a challenge. Fortunately, the Freeman Book Awards, which recognizes quality literature that contributes meaningfully to an understanding of Southeast and East Asia, can help. More than one hundred titles are  featured on its website in four categories: 1) Children’s Literature (picture books); 2) Young Adult-Middle School Literature; 3) Young Adult-High School Literature; and 4) Young Adult Middle and High School Graphic Novels. Titles include translated works, books set outside the United States that are written by authors with lived experience of those cultures, plus multicultural and bilingual stories. 

Furthermore, the Freeman Book Awards website also features associated culture notes, curriculum connections and other educational materials for selected titles to facilitate their use. These resources, created by seasoned educators as well as by content specialists, are free to download and may be found via the search box at the top right of the homepage. You also may search by country, translation, key word, year, and award category. The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), one of the sponsors of  the Freeman Book Awards, even offers free professional development presentations and book talks on Freeman Book Awards winners throughout the year. These are announced on  the NCTA and Asia for Educators Facebook websites. 

Below are three recent Freeman Book Award winners set in Southeast Asia.

Seabird

Seabird, a 2025 Freeman Honor Title for Middle School Literature, is based on the true story of Raden Adjeng Kartini (1879–1904) a Javanese noblewoman who championed women’s education and emancipation and is recognized today as an Indonesian national hero. In the late 19^th century, it was customary for high-born girls in Dutch controlled Indonesia to be confined at home beginning at age twelve until married. Kartini, however, was lucky to have a Dutch girlfriend who became her pen pal. Their correspondence sparked Kartini’s desire to make more  educational opportunities available for Javanese girls. Michelle Kadarusman’s well written and easy to read narrative shows students that they can have an impact by sharing their dreams and ideas, thus inspiring others to act. 

The author is originally from Australia and Indonesia. Several of her books are set in Southeast Asia and feature stories of girls overcoming cultural barriers.

Rats to the Rescue: The Unlikely Heroes Making Cambodia Safe

Rats to the Rescue: The Unlikely Heroes Making Cambodia Safe, a 2024 Freeman Book Awards Of Note Title for Children’s Literature, is another inspiring story set in Southeast  Asia. Millions of mines, the legacy of Cambodia’s civil wars during the 1970s and 1980s, remain hidden throughout the countryside leading to more than 40,000 amputees and many deaths in a country of just 18 million. Finding these mines with no witnesses or maps is very difficult and expensive, requiring special tools and workers. Novel ways used to discover where mines lurk include importing giant pouched rats from Tanzania that have been trained to sniff out explosives and alert humans where to dig. One rat, Magawa, and his handler Malen are the subjects of this fascinating true story. Magawa has cleared  over 1.5 million square feet of landmines, an accomplishment that Cambodians honored last April with a seven-foot statue of him! 

My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser

My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser, the 2025 Winner of the Freeman Book Awards for Young Adult Literature in the High School Category, was written by Vietnamese American author Jamie Jo Hoang as tribute to the women and challenges they faced during and after the Vietnam War. Though specific characters and events are fictional, the story was influenced  by the experiences of Hoang’s grandmothers, mother, and sisters. The story deals with  intergenerational trauma, following Paul, a teenager living in San Jose who seeks to understand why his mother has gone missing. This leads him to his maternal grandmother  left behind in Vietnam when his mother joined the exodus of boat people in 1975.  Spending time with his extended Vietnamese family provides Paul with the opportunity to  not only learn about his mother, but also to come to terms with his own roots. This latest work of Hoang’s is a companion to her earlier book My Father, the Panda Killer.

Access to quality world literature for children and young adults is increasingly important  given the economic, social, and political realities of today. Teachers, librarians and parents can feel confident that the titles recognized by the Freeman Book Awards will contribute  towards meeting this need.

About Nancy Hope

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