Tutu’s Da Kine Hawaii is a picture book written and drawn by Dr. Kurt Schulz, who dedicates it “to all Hawaiians who…have lost their freedom of self-determination against their will.” Schulz’s history is one in which he escaped the tragedies of a war torn WWII Europe to become a cartoonist for Disney and Warner Bros. and later an Alternative Medicine doctor. Upon retiring, Schulz moved to the Big Island of Hawai’i—and given his history of oppression in Europe—he found much in common with the plight of the history of Native Hawaiians.
The story itself is framed as a historical cautionary tale told by a tutu (or grandmother) who concludes to the children that only through good education and hard work can they as a people take back their country by being tomorrow’s professionals. The history itself covers a wide span of information for a picture book including the founding of Hawaii, Ka’ahumanu, Sandalwood, “King” Bingham, Da Great Mahele, Da Big Five and ending with Da Annexation. In fact, the book is 107 pages long—each pair of pages containing an illustration on the right to correspond with a written description of an issue, person, or event in Hawaiian history on the left. The pidgin narrative is nice, but can get complicated by the structure implemented in Tutu’s Da Kine Hawaii. Some sections are done extremely in a heavy “pidgin-like” style while the next will inconsistently fall into very formal, standard English—or yet, a mixture of the two together in one paragraph, which can get confusing (or annoying) and derails the narrative a bit.
The illustrations are done in sketchbook detail and Schultz’s time at Disney and Warner Bros. is evident in the artistry. The drawings are very cartoonlike, emphasized by the rounded figures, cute features and strong character outlines. Put together with the narrative, the book does come across somewhat Disney-like in its telling of the history of Kanaka Maoli in Hawaii. Still, given the amount of history contained in the book (delving even into the brief Russian escapades on Kauai, Claus Spreckels and Parker Ranch), I could see this book providing a young reader with a more inviting step into the wonderful world of history—it has Disneyish cartoons! I’m not certain but I believe Tutu’s is out of print. We got our copy at the Friends of the Library Book Sale, and for that price it was a pretty good deal. Pick it up, if you see it.
“To see the world in a grain of sand…” is how William Blake begins his famous poem Auguries of Innocence. And it’s also how this book is introduced. Sometimes there’s limitless beauty in the smallest of things.
At the Hawaii Maritime Center there used to be an interactive display about the different kinds of sand found in the Hawaiian islands. You could see how scientists compare and collect the different types in order to define their compositions and characteristics. It’s interesting to learn how unique sand can be and that it’s just as diverse as Hawai’i’s people! Well, local author, scientist and artist Gary Greenberg took it one step further and compiled A Grain of Sand: Nature’s secret wonder (Voyageur Press, 2008) all about the various kinds of sand grains found on shores across the globe, from Greece to Hawaii.
Dr. Gary Greenberg is from Haiku and is reknowned for his work with high-definition light microscopes. He turns science into art with his amazing microphotography that magnifies sand grains up to 300 times!!
The publishers at Voyageur Press were kind enough to introduce me to this intriguing, and sadly overlooked, local author, by sending me a copy of his book. The nerd in me loves this eye catching way of exploring the biology, ecology and geology of different environments. Sand from the Sahara is vastly different from the sand in Hawai’i and so forth.
The photographs are surprising and beautiful, and so impossibly detailed that it’s just remarkable. Reading this book is like finding treasure. Greenberg’s microphotographs are nothing short of magical! He shows how the sands of various lands have different grain shapes and color; how they were formed; how each one has a personality and a story to tell. For example, Hawaiian sand grains contain multicolored minerals due to their volcanic origins and since there is abundant sea life here, the sand has bits of broken shells, coral and all manner of ocean life… the result is very colorful!
This is a great book for anyone interested in photography or geology but it’s a book everyone should experience at least once, if for nothing else than to admire the engineering genius found in such a small speck of earth. It really puts things into perspective so to speak. I hope to see more books from Dr. Greenberg and am excited to learn about the work he’s doing as both a local scientist and artist. Check out his webpage gallery of microphotos!
Upon inspecting the cover of this little square book, I swear the Buddha contains a glint of confident mischief in his eye along with a hint of a humorous smile. This is all quite befitting Words of Wisdom (Koa Books, 2008) because as I flipped through the quotes compiled by Lama Surya Das, I was pleasantly surprised to see mixed up with the usual spiritual advice a number of light-hearted quips and the kind of puns that both make you groan on the outside but smile on the inside. For example, a little gem from the final third: “You are far more Buddha-full than you think.” Now, taken from the vantage point of a non-Buddhist, non-Inspirational person like me, I think “haha, Buddha-full,” and at least get a little conscience relief from a good chuckle. But when you think about it—and this book has liberal sprinklings of Buddha-centric advice such as “Buddhas have more fun”—it kind of works, and it kind of makes sense…
I am sure there is a certain feeling of zen, reading the passages in the book as they are arranged, wistfully spread amongst tiny decorative leaves floating meaningfully through the pages. Words of Wisdom is the kind of book you buy as a gift for the person in the office working a little too hard, or the friend who needs new direction in their life, or just for yourself to provide you with the inspiration and advice to make it to the next day. It’s reminiscent of the kind of e-mail forwards you might receive that don’t involve an essay of photographs or an elaborate joke…while many of them may not hit the mark, sometimes there is that one piece of advice that really sticks to your heart. The book is quite a few grades above the kind of “Confucius say…” jibber-jabber you might find in the novelty section yet refrains from slamming you with hardcore INSPIRATION—this mini-tome from Lama Surya Das is a zen-fully balanced addition to the genre of “collected sayings.” Read it and maybe you can aspire to be a “Type B—for Buddha—personality.”
Words of Wisdom
Lama Surya Das
Koa Books, 2008
146 pages
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Words of Wisdom provided by Koa Books for review purposes. Koa Books or any related affiliates had no input in the content of this review.
We’re going on vacation! Woohoo! Hawaii Book Blog will be on absent leave for the next week in Tokyo, Japan. This means no Book End post on Friday and not as many book and event tweets as per usual on Twitter. However, you may see us pop up with a tweet or two on our status in Japan if we happen to get wi-fi at a moment’s notice. Also, I have queued up a ton of Tweets to promote a few specific events during the week we are gone, namely the ones we have on our calendar. And so that we are not completely without content, Misty and I have written three book reviews that will be posted throughout our vacation week to keep our readers interested in the literature from and about Hawaii.
Don’t forget to fan us on Facebook and RT our tweets about the upcoming First Book-Oahu Book Fair and the Rec-Fest we will be having on March 13. If we get 50 RTs or 20 new Facebook fans we promise to buy all the books we review that day and donate them to First Book-Oahu.
Domo Arigatou for continuing to read our blog…but for now it’s SAYONARA!
Date: Saturday, March 6
Time: 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Where: Milano Freezer at the Manoa Marketplace
Jerilyn Ito, the author of a new children’s book Finding Our ‘Ohana, will have her very first book signing event at the Milano Freezer at Manoa Marketplace. Help support a new local author and while you’re at it, enjoy some delicious gelato!
About Finding Our ‘Ohana: Take a delightful and magical journey as Lani and Maleko search for and find their ‘Ohana (family). While you travel along with them, discover some of Hawai’i’s favorite local foods, too!
You can visit Jerilyn Ito’s website at www.findingourohana.weebly.com.
The Hawaii State Public Library System will change its furlough days from the usual Wednesdays to Fridays during March 2010. All public libraries and administrative offices will be closed on March 5, 12 and 19.
In addition, six public libraries normally closed on Fridays – Aiea, Hawaii Kai, Kaimuki, Liliha, Manoa, and Makawao (Maui) – will be closed on March 4, 11, and 18. On Friday, March 26, all libraries will be closed in observance of the Prince Kuhio Day Holiday. Please visit www.librarieshawaii.org or call your local library for more information.
You can keep track of these library furlough days on the Hawaii Book Blog Calendar.
The big news for us is that next week, Hawaii Book Blog will be on vacation (and as a result, hiatus) in the Land of the Rising Sun! Misty and I will both be in Tokyo for our very first trip to Japan. We’re both very excited! In the meantime, this means there will not be a Book End post next Friday. If you have any upcoming events for the next week that you would like us to promote, please send me an email at aalba@hawaiibookblog[dot]com before March 2, 2009. Otherwise, to keep up with events, please view our Event Calendar found on the navigation bar directly below the header image.
We will try our best to queue up some posts and tweets during the week to help promote the events that we do have listed already, but we apologize if we miss anything. For the most part we will be enjoying the food, culture and shopping found in Tokyo. Mahalo to all of our readers for visiting!
Also, don’t forget that we are also participating in the First Book-Oahu Book Fair & Fundraiser at Barnes & Noble Kahala. We’ll be back in time to do another rec-fest at the bookstore on Saturday, March 13* (we’ll also likely be there Sunday). For more information, view this post. Don’t forget, if we can get 20 more fans on Facebook or 50 Retweets on Twitter of our tweets promoting this event then we will purchase and donate all of the books we review that day to First Book-Oahu. It’s a great cause, and you can help spread the word of promoting literacy in our keiki by helping us out.
Now on to this weekend’s events.
Friday, February 26
- 10:30am – AARP Tax-Aide at Aina Haina Public Library. AARP Tax-Aide provides free personal income tax assistance and preparation to low- and moderate-income taxpayers, with special attention to those ages 60 and older. 10:30am – 2pm, free. For more info call 377-2456.
- 04:00pm – Author event at Barnes & Noble Kahala from 4pm – 6pm. The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators will have a signing event with many talented authors and illustrators such as Kathi Appelt, James Rumford, Tammy Yee and Scott Goto. More Info
Saturday, February 27
- 09:30am – Writing Retreat at the Windward Community College from 9:30am to 2pm. Anyone over 16 is welcome to attend. Bring writing materials, a sack lunch, and perhaps a mug for coffee or tea. A food contribution for the morning snack table is welcome, but it is not necessary. More info
- 10:00am – It’s children’s storytime at Barnes & Noble, Lahaina on Maui. “Bring mom and dad to our special Saturday Storytime fun that is sure to create smiles and laughter.” More info
- 10:30am – A showing of “Keiko & Louie: Best Best Friends (Mostly)” at the Hawaii State Library. Honolulu Theatre for Youth brings a 30-minute interactive play to public libraries statewide. The free production, “Keiko and Louie: Best Best Friends (Mostly)” uses humor, movement and audience participation to tell a tale that deals with the trials and tribulations of friendship.
- 10:30am – It’s Tofu Haiku time at Kapolei Library! Contest winners will be announced during the “Tofu Haiku” program which will also feature a performance by Nyla Fujii-Babb, an award-winning and renowned storyteller. Attendees will also be able to sample various tofu dishes. More info
- 11:00am – It’s Children’s Storytime at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana! What sleeping creatures are napping in Granny’s house? A reading of The Napping House by Audry and Don Wood. More Info
Sunday, February 28
- 10:00am – The Poetry Out Loud – Hawai’i 2010 Competitions will be held: semifinals from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and finals from 2-5 p.m. Free and open to the public. More Info
- 12:00pm – Poetry reading and African drumming and dancing in celebration of Black History Month on Maui. Go to Borders Books & Music store in Maui Marketplace to enjoy this cultural event. More info
Remember, all events listed above may be subject to change. Please contact the venue beforehand if you plan on attending. More events can be found on our Hawaii Book Blog Calendar.
If you have an event you would like us to help promote, please leave us a comment here or e-mail me at aalba@hawaiibookblog[dot]com. Replace the [dot] with a ‘.’ when you compose the message. Mahalo and have a great weekend!
*correction from Sunday, March 14.
HBB is volunteering to blog and tweet live book reviews from First Book-Oahu’s Book Fair & Fundraiser! Last year the fundraiser was in August and HBB did 8 book reviews in 8 hours! We asked kids in the store and First Book Members to give us suggestions and we learned/reviewed some great keiki books! It was really hard work, but tons of fun!
Well, we’re doing it again and this time you guys get to choose the books! Leave a comment here, on Facebook, or send a Twitter, with your favorite keiki book title or suggestion… we’ll each pick 3 and read and review. PLUS, if we can get 20 more “fans” on Facebook and/or 50 re-tweets of our Book Fair announcements on Twitter, then HBB will purchase those books (proceeds go to First Book-Oahu) and then donate them to First Book to be given away!
So tell all your friends to come to Barnes & Noble Kahala Mall, March 12-14! First Book-Oahu will be there with crafts and a prize wheel for the keiki to spin and win! There will be story-times with special appearances by Cassie Sumimoto Miss Teen Hawaii USA and Clifford the Big Red Dog… plus, on Sunday, Duane “Dog” Chapman will be signing copies of his new book! Plus, we’ll be there!
With any purchase you make, even at the coffee shop, just say “First Book” and a portion of the proceeds will go to helping First Book-Oahu provide books and reading materials to needy children and families in Hawai’i. It’s such a worthy cause because not only does First Book encourage and promote literacy, they help other community programs do so as well. Visit their new blog at www.firstbookoahu.com for a schedule of activities and to print out fliers 
Event Info
First Book-Oahu Book Fair & Fundraiser @ Barnes & Noble Kahala Mall
March 12th–14th (events from 10am to 4pm daily– but you can buy books and say “First Book” til closing!)
Say “First Book” to help raise money for books and reading materials– help us spread the magic of reading to keiki across the islands!
