BOOKS FOR KEIKI
'Legends' views world through adult eye

"Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits" by Caren Loebel-Fried; University of Hawai'i Press, 18.95, ages 12 to adult

By James Rumford

"'Auhea 'oukou!" "Hey, where are you?"

I am a little embarrassed, as a children's book author, to be writing my thoughts on a book of Hawaiian legends. Legends seem to fall somewhere between stories for kids and stories for adults. But the truth of the matter is legends are the stuff of adults. There is little that is kid-friendly in them. On the other hand, when you consider the appeal of "Lord of the Rings" or the mythology of Europeans, legends and legend-like stories have the power to capture the attention of children and impart values.

Take a book recently put out by UH Press called "Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits," which was written and illuminated (more on this later) by Caren Loebel-Fried of the Big Island. Glancing at the colorful illustrations and smallish type, one might think that this is a book for sixth graders. And with its human-headed owls and people riding sharks, the book would certainly appeal to a 12-year-old. But I have a feeling that Loebel-Fried's work was clearly written with the adult in mind.

In fact, the forward, introduction, notes, and two bibliographies underline the serious adult-like nature of her work. She has done an enormous amount of research and has tried to make sure that the stories, although written in English, are as Hawaiian-like as possible.

More than that, she has chosen stories that might offer insights into the deep spiritual connection between human beings and the forces of nature. Her book is more than a collection of mythical, fantastical stories of breadfruit or plovers, sharks or owls. Her book is a lens for viewing the world as a Hawaiian would view it, for infused in each story is the notion of 'aumakua, or guardian spirit.

While it is true that Loebel-Fried has done her work with care and aloha, her book falls short of being really good story-telling. Constantly defining Hawaiian words in mid-sentence and downright wordiness slow the stories down and make them difficult to understand. Numerous ungrammatical sentences — the dreaded dangling-modifier type — don't help either, especially in something published by a university. Even so, Loebel-Fried does provide the reader with some exciting moments. In "Under the Wings of Pueo" a boy has unwittingly broken a kapu. Loebel-Fried skillfully maintains the tension throughout the story as we race along to discover his fate. And in "A Warning from the God of the Plover", the author convincingly creates a nightmarish scene as black stones turn into the black eyes of a thousand vengeful birds.

Caren Loebel-Fried is also the illuminator of her own words. Illumination is the ancient parent of illustration. In the days of handwritten books, the pages were decorated with pictures. Sometimes these pictures illustrated the text. At other times, they simply added color and interest to the words.

Loebel-Fried's illuminations do both. Her hand-colored woodcuts help tell the story and provide stunning decorative elements to the page. Her work is bold and evocative, a fact the book designer did not fully take into account. The font the designer chose is thin and weak with sliver-like macrons over Hawaiian vowels. The blocks of words on the page are too small to support the illustrations, and Loebel-Fried's powerful woodcuts are further weakened by slick, white paper.

Ever since the 1820s, when the tale of the god Lono was refashioned into an English epic poem, foreign-speaking writers have sought ways to mine the literary wealth of the Hawaiian people. Loebel-Fried's book follows this almost two-century-old tradition of clothing Hawaiian legends in English words.

So much for anglicized tales. What about the ancient legends refashioned for the Hawaiian ears of today? Are there any? And what about Hawaiian language children's books in general? Is there anything new? 'Auhea 'oukou, e na mea kakau! Let me know where you are, writers.

James Rumford is a Manoa writer, artist and printer; his reviews of keiki books alternate here with those of Jolie Jean Cotton on the first Sunday of the month. Reach him through islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com.