Monthly Archives: May 2010

3 Summer Reading Programs @ your local library!

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PRESS RELEASE

The Hawaii State Public Library System’s popular Summer Reading programs are back! Visit your local library to join one of the five-week programs, from JUNE 1 to JULY 2, 2010.  Read at least one book per week and receive a free reading incentive, while supplies last… adults get a free Bess Press book just for signing up!

In addition to the reading program, selected libraries will host exciting performances from nationally-acclaimed mask artist Robert Faust (The Mask Messenger), highly-acclaimed slam poet, Kealoha, cartoonist Dave Thorne, and Okinawan classical dance and choreographer, Yukie Shiroma. Plus appearances by highly acclaimed, local artists such as Nyla Fujii-Babb, James McCarthy, Peter and Melinda Wing, Sandra MacLees, and other special performers. Check out the HSPLS website or visit our Calendar for a schedule of events.

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM

The “Make a Splash! Read @ your library” theme will feature books about the ocean, fish, aquatic animals, and protecting the coastline, as well as beach activities and water sports. In addition, five lucky drawing winners (one each from East Oahu, West Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui County, and Kauai) will win a $50 bookstore gift cards, courtesy of the Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i.

TEEN PROGRAM

“Team Read” is a dual theme which includes sports, athletes, fitness, and the suspense/romance themes surrounding the popular “Twilight Saga” vampire novels by Stephenie Meyer and the opening of the summer movie, “Eclipse”. Teens will be invited to enter in-branch drawings for a chance to win Apple iPod Shuffles, courtesy of the Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i, and regional electronic prizes and personal pan pizza certificates, provided by Hawaii Pizza Hut.

ADULT PROGRAM

“Exercise Your Mind @ your library” theme will feature books on sports, fitness, exercise, dieting, Martial Arts, various types of yoga and meditation, relaxation and stress management techniques, and Mind exercises. Program sponsor McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii and Bess Press will provide free reading incentives to adult participants who read at least one book per week.

Alex and I both signed up for the adult program and thought it would be the perfect opportunity for a friendly competition! Details on this later, for now, visit your local library and sign up or get your kids to sign up and keep them busy reading this summer.

Book Release: The Hawai’i Farmers Market Cookbook-Volume 2

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PRESS RELEASE

Watermark Publishing announces the release of The Hawai’i Farmers Market Cookbook-Volume 2: The Chefs’ Guide to Fresh Island Foods.  Edited by Joan Namkoong, this companion volume to the original Hawai’i Farmers Market Cookbook contains more than 75 recipes featuring locally-sourced ingredients by 18 of the Islands’ top chefs. The cookbook will debut at the Kapi’olani Community College Farmers Market on June 26, with additional book events planned to follow. (See attached schedule.)

Sam Choy, Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi and 15 other culinary stars share their secrets for cooking with fresh Island foods, including preparation tips and advice on selecting the best local ingredients. Namkoong acknowledges, “Asking chefs for recipes can be a bit dicey-they do like to use a lot of ingredients, some of them very unusual, and there are often many steps to their dishes.” So she instituted a key rule for the chefs, making these recipes home cook-friendly: their assigned local food item or items and no more than other five ingredients, plus cooking oil, salt, and pepper.

The Hawai’i Farmers Market Cookbook Volumes 1 and 2 were created under the aegis of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation (HFBF). HFBF president Dean Okimoto is particularly excited about the release of Volume 2: “The restaurant community is a vital link to the agricultural community. Farmers support chefs, chefs support farmers; it’s a win-win relationship that’s economically and socially sustainable. And it’s a crucial ingredient in our Hawai’i Regional Cuisine.”

Where Volume 1 provided market-goers a guide to the wide variety of local fruits, vegetables, meats and other Island-produced items, Volume 2 heads straight into the chefs’ kitchens where each was assigned an assortment of Hawai’i-grown ingredients to work with. The results are astounding. Some recipes showcase a single local ingredient; others are a mélange of Hawai’i products, proving our Islands can produce a delightfully delicious and wide-ranging selection of foods.

The weekly HFBF farmers markets now number seven, and occur on three islands, having grown from the first market established in 2003 at Kapi’olani Community College by Okimoto and Namkoong.  All products at HFBF farmers markets must be Hawai’i grown and produced; no mainland produce or flowers are allowed.  This ensures that consumers enjoy local growers’ freshest and finest products and helps preserve sustainable agricul¬ture as a vital part of the Island lifestyle.

The HFBF was organized in 1948 by a group of Windward O’ahu farmers.  Formally incorporated in 1950, HFBF today consists of 1,600 farm and ranch families in 11 county chapters throughout the state of Hawai’i.  HFBF is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to analyzing the problems affecting farming families and formulating action to ensure the future of agriculture and promote the well-being of farming and the State’s economy.

Joan Namkoong is a foodie and freelance food writer based on Hawai’i Island and co-editor of The Hawai’i Farmers Market Cookbook-Volume 1.

The full-color photographs throughout the book are the work of food photographer and Kapi’olani Community College chef-instructor Adriana Torres Chong.

The Hawai’i Farmers Market Cookbook-Volume 2: The Chefs’ Guide to Fresh Island Foods will be available for $15.95 at farmers markets (look for it at the HFBF info booth), bookstores, online booksellers or direct from the publisher at www.bookshawaii.net.

For further information please visit the following official links:

A review of this book is forthcoming on Hawaii Book Blog.  Stay tuned!

Book End: Weekend of May 28, 2010

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It’s time…it’s time…it’s Book End Time!  Welcome to this week’s Book End, highlighting the weekend’s literary and library events here in Hawaii.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!  Our deepest gratitude to all those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces both past and present.  Hope everyone enjoys their extra day off…you know we will!  Don’t forget, all Hawaii State Public Libraries will be closed from Saturday, May 29 through Monday, May 31.

Friday, May 28

  • 10:00am – Friends of the Waimanalo Library Book Sale from 10am – 3pm at Waimanalo School & Public Library.  Sale of gently-used books (most books $1, children’s books $.50).  In the meeting room; information, 259-2610.
  • 11:00am – “In Happy Song: Whim ‘N Rhythm” event at the Hawaii State Library!  The Yale University’s senior women’s a cappella group, Whim ‘n Rhythm, will sing their repertoire from upbeat jazz standards and classic show tunes to contemporary pop favorites and traditional ballads.  More info
  • 11:00am – Book Fair at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana!  Come and see Iolani Dramatic Players perform some Shakespearean scenes and some children’s plays.  More info
  • 07:00pm – Poetry Night at Volcano Garden Arts.  Bring your own poems or another poet’s work that you would like to share with the group. This event is free and open to the public.  Call 808-985-8979 for more info.

Saturday, May 29

  • 10:00am – It’s Children’s Storytime at Barnes & Noble Lahaina (Maui).  More info
  • 11:00am – Author Signing at Borders in Windward Mall (Kaneohe)!  Douglas Corleone, author of One Man’s Paradise will be on hand to sign copies of his new book.  732-1709 for more information.
  • 11:00am – Kid’s Storytime at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana!  Reading Lawn to Lawn by Dan Yaccarino.  More info
  • 11:00am – Book Fair at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana!  Come and see Iolani Dramatic Players perform some Shakespearean scenes and some children’s plays.  More info
  • 01:00pm – Author Signing at Borders in Kaneohe!  Come to Windward Mall’s Borders to see Susan Yuen, author of Hawaii’s Bento Box Cookbook, 2nd Course as she signs copies of her new book.  732-1709 for more information.
  • 02:00pm – Author Event at Basically Books in Hilo.  Clear Englebert will be on hand for a book signing and talk story session.  Clear is author of Feng Shui for Hawai’i and the recently revised Feng Shui Demystified. More info

Sunday, May 30

  • 11:00am – Book Fair at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana!  Come and see Iolani Dramatic Players perform some Shakespearean scenes and some children’s plays.  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!

Graduation Lei: A misadventure in lei making books

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Congratulations to the graduating Class of 2010

I realize I’m a bit late on this since several schools have already had their ceremonies, but don’t forget about grad parties folks, you need lots of lei for those too!  May through July are the busiest months for local lei makers.  Lines are long, flowers are scarce and prices go up.  That’s why sometimes it’s easier to do it yourself.  If you’re like me and wait til the last minute, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed given the number of lei making books there are out there.  And when you’re sitting in your living room at ten o’clock at night with a pile of ribbon and yarn that you’re supposed to turn into a beautiful lei by tomorrow (duck soup right?)…it would be nice to know which book is going to help most in this small kine stressful situation.

My goal was to make leis for graduation AND look at all the lei making books as an average crafter to determine which ones were best for beginners, which ones were best for procrastinators, which ones had the most variety of lei projects and so forth.  Not duck soup, here’s why:

  • None of the books categorized its projects by skill level.  I’m not craft challenged, nor am I an expert but still, I wanna be able to just flip through the book and see which projects are going to be easier and which ones are more challenging.
  • None of the books mentioned the average time spent until completion for each project.  As a person with very limited free time it’s nice to know which projects are going to be more time consuming than others.

Cook books, and most craft compendiums do include these things and it completely shocked me that not a single lei book deigned it necessary to have.  Just because something looks easier or has less materials doesn’t mean it won’t take longer to finish.  Those two little bits of information would have meant the world to me as a reader/user trying to decide which lei to make.  But I’ve already gone and bought materials, measured and started a lei that’s going to take more time than I have… and if only someone told me ahead of time, I would have made the lei on page 43 instead of page 22.

All the pictures are gorgeous, so you literally want to make them all, which is dangerous for those of us with overactive imaginations and unrealistic notions of time.  Pictures and detailed material lists with measurements for ribbon/string length are important details in lei making and I loved that the authors took the time to include those specifics.  It was very thoughtful that many also included the Hawaiian names for leis or the names of the artists who created them, and their personal material choices and tool recommendations plus resources for obtaining them.  Those were all useful details that still did nothing to help me solve my problem.

In order to do the kind of post I had initially envisioned, I would literally have to make every lei out of every book in order to determine what they should have provided to us  in the first place. I just want to help people decide which lei making book might be best for them, not launch a shuttle to the moon.  My expose on lei making books is ruined and late because at some point—in a huff of tears, string, hopeless heaving sighs and Alex chuckling out loud within dangerous hearing distance of me (he likes to live on the edge)—I just gave up.  This is what I DO have to offer you:

  1. A stack of lei making books that have driven me to drink.
  2. ONE straw lei that I ended up asking my Mom how to make anyway.
  3. ONE braided lei I made from a flashback of high school.
  4. A receipt for the $75.00 I spent on buying more leis (cuz I was too shame to show up with the two manini ones)
  5. A massive pile of ribbon that I will eventually use at some point.
  6. … and this post.

Hawaiian Seed Lei Making by Laurie Shimizu Ide (Mutual Publishing) is unique because it uses kukui and other seeds.  The materials are probably a little harder to obtain—vs ribbon/yarn—but the techniques are rather like bead-working.  So if you like beading then this is a nice book to pick up for making lei.

Hawaiian Ribbon Leis by Coreen Iwamoto (Mutual Publishing) has better illustrations than the other ribbon lei books below and definitely more variety in terms of technique and materials, so with this one book you could make a nice selection of lei.  But some of them do look like they could take awhile.

Hawaiian Shell Lei Making by Laurie Shimizu Ide (Mutual Publishing) is also unique and the tools required to make these type of lei are a bit on the heavier side with drills and sanders for the pukas.  This is more of a hobby book rather than a casual lei making how-to and probably great for someone looking to start a side business or make large batches for a halau, and the lei designs are gorgeous!

Hawaiian Lei Making by Laurie Shimizu Ide (Mutual Publishing) is one of the only books on the market that shows you how to make lei with real flowers.  This book appears to have a nice selection of easy to make and challenging flower lei without some of the confusing techniques you see with crochet or ribbon leis.  And like the rest of her books, Laurie really does show and go “step-by-step”.

Crochet Lei Making in Hawaii (1 & 2) by Judy Dela Cruz (Mutual Publishing) is better organized than the other crochet lei books below and the step-by step photos are SUPER helpful, especially when it comes to crochet.  There’s an excellent variety of projects in here including the much easier to do “straw crochet” lei.  She expands on the basic “straw crochet” by adding straws  to vary thickness, adding different yarns or extra steps to create different looks without complicating the process.

Making Eyelash Crochet Leis (1, 2 & 3) by Coryn Tanaka and May Masaki (Bess Press) have very creative projects—you can’t even tell that these aren’t feathers and flowers!  Even with my average crochet skills and their explanations on crochet techniques, the projects are very challenging.  This is not a book for beginners and all the projects require the use of crochet hooks, so there’s not much in the way of technique variety.  The photo explanations aren’t as detailed as those in Crochet Lei Making in Hawaii (fifth-above), you’re just kind of left to fend for yourself.

Making Ribbon Leis and other Gifts of Aloha by Coryn Tanaka and May Masaki (Bess Press) has more projects in it than Hawaiian Ribbon Leis (second-above) but the variety is a bit lacking and again there aren’t as many photos included in the “step-by-step” directions.

Money Lei Making (1 & 2) by Laurie Shimizu Ide (Mutual Publishing) is really a fun book.  It mixes origami with basic lei building so the projects aren’t too challenging and the results are still cute.  You won’t have beautiful crochet or ribbon leis like you’d get with the others, but the book has nice variety and creative use of materials.  It’s good for beginners and would probably the best one to do with kids, you just have to make sure you can go to the bank and get some clean bills.

It’s nice to have lei around since, living in Hawaii, you never know when you might need one.  We give lei for so many reasons and sometimes just because. It’s true that no matter how it’s made or what it looks like, giving a lei is special.  Out of all the books I looked at that are readily accessible, I would probably pick Crochet Lei Making, Money Lei Making and Hawaiian Lei Making to keep on hand for any lei making necessities.  Hopefully future lei books will include difficulty levels and time approximations to curb any unnecessary emotional distress.  When they do, those will be the books that I heartily recommend.

Finished pink "straw crochet" lei

Book End: Weekend of May 21, 2010

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It’s time…it’s time…it’s Book End Time!  Welcome to this week’s Book End, highlighting the weekend’s literary and library events here in Hawaii.

Wow, what a busy week!  The Hawaii Book & Music Festival (HBMF) took up all of our weekend, but it was worth it and you can read our recap of the event here.  It was also Children’s Book Week the previous week and we celebrated with three separate posts of book reviews and recommendations:

Check them out!  You may have noticed that we’ve added a Facebook “Like” button to the bottom of every post and page.  Please feel free to show us what kind of posts you enjoy by liking them.  We really appreciate any feedback you can provide.  We want to hear from you!

There’s also one thing I’ve been meaning to address for all of the generous authors and publishers out there who have been so kind as to send us review copies.  Between our day jobs, personal lives and writing and researching posts for the blog we often have no time to do the very thing we really want to do—read Hawaii books!  However, now that the HBMF is out of the way, and a few other things are settled, I’d like to get back to reading and reviewing some non-keiki books!  Here are a few books that you can look forward to seeing us review in the near future (in no particular order):

  • Rainbows Over Kapa’a by Bill Fernandez
  • Nation Within by Tom Coffman
  • Contemporary Hawai’i Woodworkers by Tiffany DeEtte Shafto and Lynda McDaniel
  • Hawaii’s Bento Box Cookbook, 2nd Course by Susan Yuen
  • Kau Kau: Cuisine & Culture in the Hawaiian Islands by Arnold Hiura
  • The Last Aloha by Gaellen Quinn
  • Wai-Nani: High Chiefess of Hawaii – Her Epic Journey by Linda Ballou
  • Back To Somalia by Glenn A. Bell
  • Under Maui Skies by Wayne Moniz
  • Aloha ‘Oe, The Song at Pier 10 by John Tanaka
  • Sachie by Patsy Sumie Saiki
  • Good Things by Mia King

So, this is just a fraction of our reading/review list, but ideally the ones you should see coming soon.  If you haven’t read them, please go ahead and find a copy, read it and tell us what you think.

Now on to the events!

Friday, May 21

  • 10:30am – Sing Along with Uncle Wayne Watkins at Salt Lake-Moanalua Public Library.  Sing along with Uncle Wayne as he sings and plays classic children’s songs and originals on his guitar.  More info
  • 06:00pm – Author Signing at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana.  Come and Meet author Janet Zappala and see her new cookbook, My Italian Kitchen: Home-Style Recipes Made Lighter & Healthier.  More info

Saturday, May 22

  • 10:00am – Children’s Storytime at Barnes & Noble Lahaina (Maui).  More info
  • 10:30am – “Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers” at Kapolei Public Library.  Jodie Mattos of the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hamilton Library will conduct a demonstration for this Library of Congress online resource which provides access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages.  More info
  • 11:00am – Meet author Les Elridge at the Hawaii State Library.  Author and naval historian Les Eldridge will discuss his books at two Oahu public libraries. He has written three novels in a series on the American Civil War at sea.  More info
  • 11:00am – Children’s Storytime at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana.  Join the fun as Zoomer by Ned Young (illustrator) is read.  More info
  • 12:00pm – Friends of the Makiki Community Library Used Book Sale from 12p – 4p at Makiki Community Library.  More info
  • 12:30pm – Author Signing & Seminar at Kona Stories Bookshop (Big Island).  Clear Englebert, author of Feng Shui For Hawai’i and other feng shui books will have a free book signing at 12:30pm followed by a paid seminar ($20) at 1pm to 6pm.  More info
  • 01:00pm – Author Signing at Barnes & Noble Kahala.  Susan Yuen, author of Hawaii’s Bento Box Cookbook, 2nd Course will be on hand to sign copies of her new book.  More info
  • 02:00pm – Author Signing at Borders in Ward Centre.  Douglas Corleone, author of One Man’s Paradise will sign copies of his new book.  More info
  • 05:30pm – Lee Cataluna will be at the Kauai Museum Courtyard reading “The Great Kauai Train Robbery.”  In 1920, Kaimiola Hali was convicted of the one and only train robbery in the Territory of Hawaii. His motives were never uncovered, but speculation abounds. Lee Cataluna weaves a tragic and compelling tale. More info

Sunday, May 23

  • 12:00pm – Friends of the Makiki Community Library Used Book Sale from 12p – 4p at Makiki Community Library.  More info
  • 01:00pm – Author Signing at Borders Express in Mililani.  Susan Yuen, author of Hawaii’s Bento Box Cookbook, 2nd Course will be on hand to sign copies of her new book.  Call 623-2138 for more information.
  • 02:00pm – Meet Author Chris McKinney at Kaimuku Public Library.  Local writer McKinney will discuss his novels including The Tattoo, Queen of Tears, Bolohead Row, and Mililani Mauka.  For more information click here or call 733-8422.

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!

2010 Hawaii Book & Music Festival Recap

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The 2010 Hawaii Book & Music Festival (HBMF) ended this past Sunday, and Hawaii Book Blog had a blast!  Misty and I got to meet a lot of great people for the first time and rekindled with a number of others who we’ve previously had the pleasure of meeting.  For more information about what HBMF is all about check out our preview post here.  Here’s a very brief recap of some of the things HBB was into this year: 

The theme for this year’s HBMF was Telling Tales: The Uses of Memory and various panels concerning memory were hosted at the Hawai’i Council for the Humanities Pavillion.  We missed most of the panels on Saturday, but on Sunday we (especially Misty) saw quite a few including the “Testing Memory/Revising History” panel with Tom Coffman, Jonathan Okamura, Jonathan Osorio and John Rosa; the “Selective Memory/Memoir” panel with Gov. Ben Cayetano, Derek Bickerton, Craig Howes and J. Arthur Rath; and the “Staging Memory” panel with Lee Cataluna, Victoria Kneubuhl, Edgy Lee and Sean T.C. O’Malley.  We were most excited to hear from this latter group as we had seen all but Edgy Lee on Saturday perform for a “Playwright Slam” at the Talk Story Pavillion.  Misty was able to meet both Lee Cataluna and Victoria Kneubuhl and briefly chat with them and have their respective books signed (Folks You Meet at Longs and Other Stories and Murder Casts a Shadow). 

"Staging Memory" Panel

On the first day of the festival, I had a crazy idea to have authors pose for photos with our Hawaii Book Blog flyer.  At first I was hesitant to enact such a cheesy idea, but finally decided to go through with it.  Thankfully, the few authors I had the opportunity to ask were very receptive to the idea!  Kaui Hart Hemmings jokingly told me I was “living on the edge,” but Dan Kois put it best when he said (paraphrased), “it’s akin to Ludacris doing a shout-out for the local radio station.”  Mahalo to Jocelyn Fujii, Kaui Hemmings, Dan Kois, Lisa Linn Kanae and Douglas Corleone for being so accommodating (and photogenic)!  I had previously met three of these five authors, so one of the highlights of the festival for me was meeting Dan Kois and Lisa Linn Kanae for the first time.  Dan Kois, whose book Facing Future we reviewed here, was a great guy who shared lots of interesting information and has a hearty appetite for our island cuisine.  Seriously, check out his Twitter feed for the days he was here and you’ll see it’s primarily him eating his way across the island—it’s fantastic.  Meeting Lisa Linn Kanae turned out to be such a pleasure for Misty and I.  The nice staff at Bamboo Ridge Press directed her to me since I asked them if Lisa could sign a copy of her book Islands Linked By Ocean. Lisa was extremely friendly and down-to-earth (especially considering she just came back from her ceremony for winning the Cades Award) and even wanted to take a picture with us!  It’s the encounters like these that really make doing this worthwhile. Then she introduced us to Buss Laugh (a book we’ll review sometime soon) author Lee Tonouchi whose poems and short stories just crack us up, especially Misty. We were delighted to meet them both! 

The awesome Lisa Linn Kanae

I spent a lot of my time visiting the various publisher’s tents, Makai Authors Pavillion and Barnes & Noble tent (with their awesome staff).  At the Bishop Museum tent I met author Van James whose revised edition to Ancient Sites of O’ahu just came out this year.  At the Kamehameha Publishing tent, Misty got a great deal on some Hawaiian legends books.  It was also great meeting the generous Carol Abe from UH Press, the sweet Jane Gillespie from BeachHouse Publishing and the talented artist Jon J. Murakami whose new book Geckos Up Geckos Down we recently reviewed.  You can check out some of Jon’s work here.  There are so many others we spoke with, both new and old, who we are always grateful to talk to.  For those we didn’t get the opportunity to meet, we hope another chance will arrive in the near future. 

The festival grounds

The weather was gorgeous this year, unlike the downpour of 2009, but it did seem like there weren’t as many people as previous years.  It’s important for the community to continue supporting our local literary scene.  We have such a great assortment of skilled writers and many great local publishers that bring these writers’ talents into your hands.  We truly are lucky we live Hawai’i.  If you didn’t attend the Festival this year, I highly recommend you to attend it 2011. 

For more great photos from this event check out our 2010 Hawaii Book & Music Festival album on Facebook.  Mahalo to all the volunteers, workers and guests who help to make the Hawaii Book & Music Festival what it is!

10 Favorite Hawaii Children’s Books

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10 Favorite Hawaii Children’s Books

There haven’t been too many keiki books released so far this year, but to close out our celebration of Children’s Book Week we put together a short list of personal local favorites. No review or critical comments, just a casual, fun list of our favorite keiki books and why we love them.

Misty: In no particular order…

How the B-52 Cockroach Learned to Fly by Lisa Matsumoto is one of my all time favorite children’s books period. I especially like when the cockroach visits the library to research flying techniques. Anything by Lisa is bound to be adorable, but this one is my favorite because it turns a misunderstood bug into a cute little hero.

Dog of the Sea Waves by James Rumford is a book we reviewed during one of our rec-fests. You can check that one out here. I love that this book is both in English and Hawaiian but mostly that the boy in the story is such close friends with a monk seal. It really exemplifies how Native Hawaiians were tied to the ocean.

Hina and the Sea of Stars by Michael Nordenstrom is another book we reviewed here. I love the colorful and creative illustrations for this fantastic retelling of Hina creating the heavens. Hawaiian legends are quite popular and have been retold in various ways but you won’t want to miss this version.

Goodnight Hawaiian Moon by Dr. Carolan and Joanna Carolan is a local version of the classic  Goodnight Moon and has won national book awards. The story is nice and the illustrations are average but what really sets the book apart is the bedtime audio CD that comes with it—Amy Hanaiali’i turns this ordinary rendition into an extraordinary experience.

There Was an Old Auntie by Jane Gillespie and illustrated by John Aardema is an original take on “the old lady who lived in a shoe”. It’s such a cute book and shows how you can take Aunty out of Hawaii but you can’t take Hawaii out of Aunty, or that home is wherever you make it.

Alex:

Too Many Mangos by Tammy Paikai and illustrated by Don Robinson is a book that I fell in love with immediately at first sight.  The inside does not disappoint either as this is a fabulous book about sharing, Hawaii style!  Don Robinson is one of my favorite illustrators and his work here is absolutely adorable.  This book was awarded the 2010 Po’okela Honorable Mention in two categories, although it’s definitely a winner in my eyes.

Beyond Ohi’a Valley by Lisa Matsumoto and illustrated by Michael Furuya is an educational picture book about Hawaii’s rainforests and invasive species.  The Matsumoto/Furuya duo are one of the great pairings in our local keiki literature scene and they deliver with this classic.  I really love Furuya’s work here, as the shadow and light of the rainforest make for some amazing illustrations.

Wordsworth Dances the Waltz by Frances H. Kakugawa is a book I reviewed during our first Rec-Fest and was probably my favorite that day.  It’s a truly touching story, brilliantly written by Frances Kakugawa that shows us how children can cope with a grandparent with Alzheimer’s.  Melissa DeSica’s lively cartoon style only helps cement this book as a true classic.

The Hawaii Snowman by Christine Le and illustrated by Michel Le was one of our holiday picks in December and is a book I really gravitated towards.  I have an affinity for snowmen and this book truly fulfills that.  I really enjoy how the beautifully rendered tropical scenes are punctuated by the cutest little snowman.  Fun for the holidays or any time of the year!

O Kaina Ke Kumu Koa/ Kaina the Koa Tree by Kawai’ae’a, Ka’awa, Keolanui, Kruger and illustrated by Furchgott is a whimsical story of a lost Koa tree that takes you through the natural habitats of Hawai’i.  This was another 2010 Po’okela Honorable Mention (in Children’s Hawaiian Culture) which I felt should have won as it’s a lot more fun to read and teaches you about the ecology of Hawaii through a unique adventure.

~So those are our 10 Favorite Hawaii Children’s Books, some of them we’ve already reviewed and a few we haven’t. The best thing is that there’s still a lot out there that we haven’t read and hopefully many more great keiki books to come.

Children’s Book Week Book Reviews (Part Deux)

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Just in time for National Children’s Book Week, local company BeachHouse Publishing released three new keiki board books! These books are perfect for curious little hands (or teeth) being just the right size and weight for kids to hold and turn pages by themselves…plus it’s small enough to put into a tote or diaper bag without taking up all the room. Also, rounded corners so you or your kids don’t get poked or stabbed! Regular corners can be a bit tricky and unfriendly.

Jane Gillespie authored all three books, and is the previous author of several other popular board books from BeachHouse. Check out the web page “sneak peek” on these three books for more info and images!

I tried these out on a co-worker’s kid, he’s about to turn 3 (the kid, not the co-worker). He loved the rhyming rhythm of Aloha Zoo and how on each page the animals were doing something or making a noise. He was really attracted to the illustrations. What we both loved were the colors chosen for each animal, like the green and pink cow or the orange and blue lion! Jing Jing Tsong did an amazing job mixing the colors and textures—they’re just as playful as the words and rhymes in the book.

Jing Jing Tsong also illustrated Sam Surfs and her minimalist background style (with the main colors and textures focused on the character and what they’re doing) is seen particularly in this book.  It’s about a little boy named Sam who wants to surf but everyone says he’s too small.  Using his imagination and a miniature ironing board, he pretends to surf big waves in his living room. He waits for the waves, he paddles,  he even goes up and down with the passing swells. It’s a great lesson in creativity for a kid and at some point you really believe Sam is surfing and not just cruising the waves of his parlor carpet.  My little reading buddy was a bit confused at first that Sam was just pretending, because of the vague background it was hard for him to tell that Sam was in the living room. On the other hand, because of that it was easier to pretend along with Sam that he was surfing in the ocean.

My favorite of the three, and my reading buddy’s favorite as well, was Geckos Up Geckos Down illustrated by Jon Murakami. Jane Gillespie and Jon Murakami have done several “Gecko” books together and this new one is just as charming as the rest. Only in Hawaii will you find a kids board book rhyming words with “haupia pie”. I was so delighted by that, I just have to give Jane kudos. Add to the endearing rhyme, the most adorable gecko illustrations by Jon Murakami and you’ve got yourself a fun little local style keiki book. My reading partner laughed when the geckos laughed and loved all the things they did in the illustrations. He recognized the trolley and the luau pig and just had a blast checking out what every gecko on the page was up to and telling me to “look, this one!” in reference to the geckos unique expressions.

All three of these new releases were fun to read and it’s never too early to foster a love for books. We’re lucky to have titles that local kids can relate to and find joy in seeing familiar things— like haupia pie, geckos and trolleys! Jon Murakami will be at the Hawaii Book & Music Festival SUNDAY 5/16 at 11:30 in the Target Keiki Author & Illustrator tent, and you can probably catch Jane Gillespie at the BeachHouse tent!

*We received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for our honest review. Items that we receive “in kind” are never sold. We either keep them, donate them or give them away in HBB contests.

Book End: Weekend of May 14, 2010

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It’s time…it’s time…it’s Book End Time!  Welcome to this week’s Book End, highlighting the weekend’s literary and library events here in Hawaii.

Well, here we are once again.  One of the biggest and best literary events of the year is upon us…and Misty and I are both excited!  As she mentioned in her post, we’ll be there with our t-shirts and fliers, visiting as many booths and tents as possible!

Lots of great publishers and organizations will be present, there’ll be too many to visit!  Just a brief list (but FAR from complete) of some places at the Festival we’re definitely going to check out:  Revolution Books and Native Books will both have booths and be selling their books (look for great deals!), the ever popular Barnes & Noble tent is sure to have a wide selection of books and a great guest list of author signings, Read To Me International will be selling new and gently used books for no more than $3, University of Hawai’i Press with David Heenan and Bamboo Ridge Press will be among the many local publishers present, Watermark Publishing is offering a $5 off coupon for a minimum $15 purchase in addition to already discounted books and Beach House Publishing is even offering a free rubber duck if you are “in the know!”  (PS: Join Twitter!)

The HBMF people are also offering you the opportunity to join BAMO—the Book and Music ‘Ohana.  You can get lots of great deals at the Festival if you join, check out this link for more details.

There will be countless numbers of authors present at various booths and tents, in addition to what’s scheduled on the official 2010 Events Schedule Grid.  For my usual list below I’ve only included authors who have specific slots blocked off at the Authors Pavillion, but check out the grid and check out the festival because there will be much more to feast your eyes, ears, and taste buds on!

Now on to the events!

Friday, May 14

  • 02:00pm – Author event at Borders in Waikele.  Dan Kois, author of the IZ book Facing Future, will have a reading and signing of his book.  More

Saturday, May 15

  • 10:00am – Keiki storytime at Barnes & Noble Lahaina (Maui).  Peter Rabbit (costume character) will be visiting!  More info
  • 10:00am – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Jocelyn Fujii, author of Stories of Aloha, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 11:00am – Children’s Story Time at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana!  They’ll be reading Biscuit Goes To School (An I Can Read Book).  More info
  • 11:00am – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Kaui Hart Hemmings, author of The Descendants, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 12:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Robert Perkinson, author of Texas Tough, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 01:00pm – Author Signing at Costco Iwilei.  Susan Yuen, the author of Hawaii’s Bento Box Cookbook, 2nd Course will be on hand to sign copies of her latest book.  More
  • 01:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Duane “Dog” Chapman, author of Where Mercy is Shown, Mercy is Given, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 02:00pm – Author Signing at Borders Kaneohe!  Tricia Allen, author of The Polynesian Tattoo Today will be on hand to sign copies of her book!  More
  • 02:00pm – Clear Engelbert author of Feng Shui for Hawaii will be at Furnitureland Hilo (Big Island) for a furniture walkthrough, talking feng shui concepts.  More info
  • 02:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Dan Kois, author of Facing Future, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 03:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Clark Little, photographer of The Shorebreak Art of Clark Little, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 03:45pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Lisa Linn Kanae, author of Sista Tongue and Islands Linked By Ocean will receive the Cades Award for Literature at the Mission Memorial Auditorium.  More info
  • 04:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Kathleen Norris, author of Acedia and Amazing Grace, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 06:00pm – Author event at Barnes & Noble in Ala Moana Center.  Dan Kois, author of the IZ book Facing Future, will be signing copies of his new book.  More

Sunday, May 16

  • 10:00am – Wally “Famous” Amos is the guest speaker at Unity Church of Kona-Kohala.  His new book – Watermelon Credo – and his chocolate chip cookies will be available for sale.  More info
  • 10:00am – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Bob Hogue, author of Sands of Lanikai, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 11:00am – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Derek Bickerton, author of Adam’s Tongue & Bastard Tongue, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 12:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Uzma Aslam Khan author of The Geometry of God, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 01:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: David Heenan, author of Bright Triumphs from Dark Hours, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 01:00pm – Author Signing at Costco Iwilei!  Tricia Allen, author of The Polynesian Tattoo Today will be on hand to sign copies of her book!  More
  • 02:00pm – Author Signing at Borders Ward Centre.  Douglas Corleone, author of One Man’s Paradise will sign copies of his debut novel from 2-3pm.  Call 591-8995 for more information.
  • 02:00pm – Clear Engelbert author of Feng Shui for Hawaii will be at Furnitureland Kailua-Kona (Big Island) for a furniture walkthrough, talking feng shui concepts.  More info
  • 02:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Ann Shea Bayer, author of Going Against the Grain, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 02:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: David Heenan, author of Bright Triumphs from Dark Hours, will be at the UH Press Booth from 2 – 2:30pm.  Source
  • 03:00pm – Double Author Event at Borders in Ward Centre.  Dan Kois, author of IZ book Facing Future and Stuart Coleman, the author of Fierce Heart will be on hand to read and sign copies of their books.  More
  • 03:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Todd Shimoda, author of Oh!: A Mystery of ‘Mono no Aware’, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  More info
  • 04:00pm – Hawaii Book & Music Festival: Douglas Corleone, author of One Man’s Paradise, will be the featured author at the Festival’s Author Pavillion.  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!

Children’s Book Week Book Reviews

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Since 1919, Children’s Book Week has been celebrated nationally in schools, libraries, bookstores, clubs, private homes — any place where there are children and books. Educators, librarians, booksellers, and families have celebrated children’s books and the love of reading with storytelling, parties, author and illustrator appearances, and other book-related events.

It’s Children’s Book Week from May 10 to May 16, and to celebrate I will be reviewing two self-published children’s books that the authors were kind enough to provide us with.  You can celebrate, too, by buying children’s books, borrowing them from your local library, reading to your children and more!  How are you celebrating Children’s Book Week?  Let us know and stay tuned with us for the remainder of the week as we will continue our celebration with more reviews and talk about some of our favorite children’s books.

The first book that I want to talk about is by first-time local author Jerilyn Ito.  It is called Finding Our ‘Ohana (Sleepytown Press, 2010) and is a paperback picture book illustrated by Brooke Wilmeth.  Recommended for children ages 6-8 years of age, it’s a tale about two keiki (kids) named Lani and Maleko.  The two of them are in search of their ‘ohana(family) and along their journey the reader enjoys experiencing all the delicious foods of Hawai’i through the duo’s encounters and imagination.  Don’t read this book on an empty stomach, because Jerilyn Ito runs the gamut of local delicacies from laulau to liliko’i orange juice, from mac salad to shave ice!  It’ll get your appetite going!  The cute part is, Ito has a glossary in the beginning of the book describing all of the local words which includes most of the “exotic” food in the story.

I did have trouble deciphering whether some of the occurrences were in the children’s head or if mystical properties were involved.  I’d love to hear interpretations on this, especially from your kids.  Also, with no backstory on their predicament, I had a sneaking suspicion that Lani and Maleko may have been homeless, which if true adds an interesting layer to the story and the idea of “finding one’s family.”  Irregardless of these nuances, I’m sure children will have fun exercising their imagination by mimicking the concept of transforming every day objects like a crate, bricks and sarong into a bountiful dinner table.  Plus, understanding what makes an ‘ohana is an integral lesson in Hawaii, whether it’s a nuclear family or the kapakahi mix found at Tutu Aloha’s.  Jerilyn Ito also includes a section in the back for educational purposes; including teacher ideas, journal writing suggestions, comprehension and site mapping activities that can be done after reading the story.

While not a local author, Ric Dilz has found success in publishing a series of books known as the My Grandma Could Do Anything series.  So why am I talking about this on a Hawai’i book blog?  Because one of the books in the series takes place in Hawaii!  Cleverly titled My Grandma Could Do Anything in Hawaii! (Rein Designs, 2006), this story takes on a very straightforward, parallel structure placing the narrator’s grandmother in various extreme, but fun situations.  Recommended for early readers, they can see grandma surfing, juggling pineapples, windsurf with whales and bungee jump from a helicopter.  The gist is that while Grandma doesn’t do these things…she COULD do them if she wanted.  It’s a fun, humorous way for kids to look at their grandparents without being somber or sappy—something very simple that tutu and keiki can read and laugh about together.  The large print and compact size of the book (roughly 6 x 6) are a handy touch.

One thing Misty and I often discuss is the quality of Hawaii’s children’s books and often the lack of outstanding illustrations.  For me, I thought both of these books fell into that category.  The design of the Grandma book is fine with its multi-colored glossy pages, large print and solid binding.  The grandma is cute in its rough simplicity and fits in with the book’s humorous charm, but isn’t anything extraordinary to write home about.  I was also disappointed with ‘Ohana from a design standpoint as the drawings (especially faces) were too simplistic, the coloring has a magic marker look to it and the font choice and placement were uninspired.

More than anything, however, I continue to applaud writers for self-publishing.  It’s not an easy choice to make for a writer and self-published material, especially by our local authors, should be celebrated and supported.  You can find out more about Jerilyn Ito and her book at www.findingourohana.weebly.com.  The Grandma series of books can be found on the Rein Designs Books page and according to Mr. Dilz are also available in gift stores around the islands.

Finding Our Ohana
Written by Jerilyn Ito
Illustrated by Brooke Wilmeth
Sleepytown Press, 2010
32 pages

My Grandma Could Do Anything in Hawaii!
By Ric Dilz
Rein Designs, Inc. 2006
32 pages

Disclaimer: I received a copy of both books provided by the respective authors for review purposes. Jerilyn Ito, Ric Dilz or any related affiliates had no input in the content of this review.

Hawaii Book & Music Festival THIS WEEKEND!

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The 5th Annual Hawaii Book & Music Festival (HBMF) is this weekend, and we’re all abuzz with excitement here at HBB! Although we won’t have a table set up we’ll definitely be around wearing our “Shaka for Books” t-shirts and handing out fliers. If you see us around, stop us and say hello, we’d love to meet you!

HBMF is one of our favorite literary events of the year because it’s literally two straight days of awesome music and book related activities. What’s really a treat is that there are different things going on simultaneously so there’s something for everyone in the family to enjoy. It seems every year the festival gets bigger and bigger with more to do and see. Well, this year is no exception!

For example here are a couple of new areas that will be running continuously with programs every hour ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday:

The ALANA (Awakening) Hawaiian Culture Program Pavilion will feature panel discussions and presentations on how Hawaiian Culture is evolving and expanding. With special guests like author Dan Kois (whose book we review here), Peter Apo, Puakea Nogelmeier and storyteller Lopaka Kapanui, topics range from hula and music history to the Akaka Bill.

There will also be an area specifically for storytelling at the new Café Talk Story Stage featuring an impressive two-day line-up of  local story tellers, comedians, poets and playwrights.

In addition to the annual Bank of Hawaii book swap, this year Read to Me International has started a Used Keiki Book Sale. How’s that for adding more fun to the fray? pretty impressive!

Also new this year but not running continuously, Hawaii Sustainability:  panel discussion and selection of Hawaii-Specific Carbon Offsets with Gov. George Ariyoshi, Erwin Hudelist of Hagadone Printing Co. and Jeff Mikulina of Blue Planet Foundation.  James Koshiba of Kanu Hawaii will moderate. There will also be a Publishing Workshop with local publishers and professionals discussing how to navigate the world of publishing and self-publishing. You can download a copy of the schedule via hawaiibookandmusicfestival.org

And that’s just what the festival has lined up, publishers and literary organizations have booths set up where you can meet and greet MORE authors and find tons of great book deals! Here’s who you might see, just to name a few…

  • Kathleen Norris, nationally published poet and best-selling memoirist
  • Dana Reinhardt (HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE), best selling YA author from Random House
  • Dan Kois, New York Magazine writer and author of a controversial book about Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
  • Todd Shimoda, author of the acclaimed OH! A MYSTERY OF ‘NO AWARE.’”
  • Douglas Corleone ex-NY defense attorney, now living in Hawaii (who recently did an author interview with us!)
  • Bob Hogue, popular sports figure, broadcaster and ex-state senator with a popular novel, SANDS OF LANIKAI
  • Duane “Dog” Chapman, with his newly published book.
  • Kaui Hart Hemmings, whose best-selling novel, THE DESCENDANTS, is being adapted for a major new film, now being shot in Hawaii, and starring George Clooney, is joined by the film’s producer, Jim Burke

I also had to include festival favorites…

  • Target Keiki Stage and Keiki Activities Pavilion with 28 acts of nonstop entertainment, keiki authors and illustrators and free activities.
  • Hawaii Chorus Showcase, emceed by Shari Lynn and enlarged this year to nine choruses from around the island, both days at the adjacent Mission Memorial Auditorium.
  • Bank of Hawaii Book Swap:  Update your library by bringing in up to five gently used books and trading them in for a new one. Hundreds of titles for adults and children.
  • Outrigger’s Hawaiian Music CD Swap: Trade your gently used or unwanted CD for a different one from the Outrigger collection.
  • Free Kani Ka Pila Sunset Concert:  Sponsored by Outrigger Enterprises Group on Saturday, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  In true island style, artists Mailani, Sean Na`auao, and Maunalua will take the Main Stage for an evening of jamming Hawaiian music.

The non-profit Hawaii Book & Music Festival beneficiaries are Hawaii Literacy and Read To Me International. 

Event Details: Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. Frank F. Fasi Civic Grounds at Honolulu Hale. Attendance FREE and there is plenty of FREE parking in several nearby locations.  Visit the website for more details.