A Home on the Page

Nou loves her family, and she likes the brown house where they live, surrounded by trees with sheltering branches. But the young Hmong American girl’s sense of safety and belonging is shattered after she wakes one day to find a hateful message spray-painted on the family’s mailbox: “Asians Go Home.” So Nou asks her parents if they can leave.

Nou’s question leads her on a journey to discover where each member of her family finds home. For her father, it is in his songs. For her mother, it is in the garden. In a world that doesn’t always welcome her, where can Nou find home?

This extraordinary story from author Kao Kalia Yang and illustrator Seo Kim tenderly explores how a young girl navigates racism and ultimately turns to writing, creating a home for herself on the page—and in the world.