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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, October 27, 2001

Children's Book Reviews
Young pa'u rider, Hawaiian history topics of book tales

Editor's note: Both the authors whose books are reviewed here write, or have written, for The Advertiser. The reviewer, however, has not worked with or met these writers.

By Ann M. Sato

 •  Book signing

Jolie Jean Cotton and Christine Joy Pratt

11 a.m.-1 p.m. today, Native Books & Beautiful Things, Ward Warehouse

"Pua's Paniolo Parade" by Jolie Jean Cotton, illustrated by Christine Joy Pratt, Island Heritage, hardback, $10.99: This is a lovely little fragment of a story, charmingly illustrated, about a youthful pa'u rider.

Suitable for reading aloud to younger children, it also serves as a tool for teaching counting, in that every segment includes a number, counting upward from 1 to 10. Quite a few Hawaiian words can be learned as well, and not just the usual ones (aloha and lei and such), but more sophisticated words, such as haku and mo'opuna. Also tucked into the package is a subtle moral about how practice pays off.

Christine Joy Pratt, like Cotton, is adept at layering her work with interesting details and amusements.

Altogether, a beautiful piece of work.

"Kalani and the Night Marchers" by Elaine Masters, illustrated by Ron Croci, Island Heritage, paper, $4.99: This story of ghostly visitors, meant for middle-school readers, tells of a pair of orphaned schoolboys in 1896 Honolulu who find themselves spirited back to pre-contact Hawai'i, a trip that causes them suddenly to appreciate the relatively easy life they have with their hanai family.

It's a lesson tale with a good bit of history and culture woven in. Masters uses the convention of making one of the boys, John, a relative newcomer to the Islands and the other, Kalani, a Hawaiian-speaking kama'aina. Kalani serves as John's interpreter and informant — and the reader's as well.

There's a lot of information here about Hawai'i history, and the multi-cultural setting will be an eye-opener to children elsewhere (and familiar to children here). Middle-school readers, with their finely tuned preachiness detectors, may find the lesson a bit heavy-handed, even as they enjoy the adventure.