Khmer kid biography samples
I was a small child when the Khmer Rouge took over the country.
The Khmer Empire is one of the most important ancient civilizations in southeast Asia established between CE to CE.!
I was working on book lists for Hmong, Lao, Vietnam, and Cambodia, but it turns out that there are few fiction books on their countries but quite a few on Cambodia.
Like Japanese American books that mostly focus on WWII internment, many fiction books revolve around Khmer Rouge Cambodia, a heartbreaking event in history.
Still, there are other sides of the Cambodian story that emerges from this book list: folk tales that turn on the clever rabbit (the peasant who outwits those in power), the refugee immigrant, and the lives of Cambodians post-war.
This list can also be used as part of a discussion on racism, and who is an “American.” I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did.
You can also use this list as a companion to Holocaust books for kids.
If you have other books to add on Cambodia, Laos, the Hmong, or Vietnam, I’d welcome them! Thanks for sharing!
