Three books celebrating Hawaiian culture and traditions make wonderful gifts for friends and family. Sending gifts to the mainland? Mail a warm reminder of the be [...]
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This book comes from Patrick Ka`ano`i, a Native Hawaiian trained by his kupuna, and has much wisdom documented nowhere else. Unique to this work is an [...]
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Written by Daniel Kaha'ulelio, a native fisherman of the Lahaina region, this is perhaps the most detailed narrative pertaining to fishing customs, sources of fish, and methods of procurement. It appeared in 1902 as a series of articles in the Hawaiian language newspaper, Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. Kaha'ulel [...]
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Kepelino, like native Hawaiian historians Malo, Kamakau, and Papa 'I'i, worked in the mid-19th century to record Hawaiian historical, cultural, and religious knowledge for future generations. He wrote during a time of great intellectual ferment among Native Hawaiians, creating the bulk of his work b [...]
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…the program we present at HBMF is a kind of living anthology, and this thought led naturally to conceiving our program as a continual update of the Hawaiian Renaissance. In other words, our program would be dedicated to presenting the best of classic Hawaiian culture along with the best and most thriving Hawaiian culture today.

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2009 RELEASES BOARD BOOKS Animals Sing Aloha by Vera Arita; illustrated by Ron Louie This ground-breaking book is specifically designed to begin introducing young children to phonics through a vibrantly illustrated text that can be read or sung to an original musical score by the author, Vera Arita. [...]
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This is the first in a series of traditional Hawaiian stories retold for today’s learners. In this bilingual tale, 'Elepaio pecks a hole in Kanaka's water gourd, provoking the man to throw a rock at him. ‘Elepaio flits about the forest trying to get sympathy from the other birds. In the end, ' [...]
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The mele contained in this book are fundamental to hula Pele and reflect a vast and dynamic Hawai'i worldview. These mele have been preserved for centuries via oral traditions, the sacred hula of Hawai'i, and, more recently, in twentieth-century written texts. Lele Kawa offers original translations [...]
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Hūlili is a multidisciplinary forum for current research that examines the nature, needs, and strengths of Hawaiians, their families, and their communities. Through collaboration and critique, Hūlili fosters new connections and shared insights to mobilize greater Hawaiian well-being.

What really happened to Eddie Aikau? In her inspirational new children’s book, Eddie Wen’ Go: The Story of the Upside-Down Canoe, former Hōkūle‘a crewmember Marion Lyman-Mersereau imagines what Hawai‘i’s ocean creatures saw when the voyaging canoe capsized and the heroic Aikau went for help. Illustrated in lavish watercolor by Melissa DeSica, the 64-page hardcover book tells the story of Hōkūle‘a’s disastrous journey—30 years ago—from the canoe’s launch to the crewmembers’ rescue.

Hōkūle‘a had embarked on only its second open-ocean voyage, bound for Tahiti and relying on the skills of a trained Hawaiian navigator using ancient traditional methods of navigation. Just six hours into the voyage, high winds and rough ocean conditions capsized the canoe in the middle of the Kaiwi Channel between O‘ahu and Lāna‘i. Eddie Aikau, a famous big wave surfer and North Shore lifeguard, volunteered to paddle a large surfboard to the island of Lāna‘i, about ten miles away. The crew, including author Lyman-Mersereau, was sighted by an airline pilot and rescued approximately 22 hours after the canoe capsized. No sign of Eddie was ever found.

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