In two timeless Christmas stories from the past two centuries, misanthropes Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch show their contempt for the world’s greatest holiday season.

In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843), the heartless banker Scrooge’s response to “Merry Christmas” is “Bah! Humbug!” For Scrooge, Christmas is a fraud.

In the 1957 Dr. Seuss classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, the Grinch, his heart “two sizes too small,” tries to “prevent Christmas from coming” by stealing all the presents from Whoville. Scrooge and the Grinch have much to learn, and they do, because these are stories of redemption.

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BRIGHT TRIUMPHS FROM DARK HOURS: Turning Adversity into Success,  the latest book by DAVID HEENAN Bright Tr [...]
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Many will recall two remarkable books by Shelly Mecum: God’s Photo Album and this time last year, The Watercolor Cat, with Peggy Chun. The astonishing and moving Peggy Chun saga did not end there.

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The sand beach that stretches nearly a mile beyond the Kalaupapa wharf was always laid smooth by the tide. Hansen’s disease plays havoc with feet, ulcerating them, crippling them. Such feet walk poorly. And in sand they cannot walk at all. Most patients in Henry’s time left no footprints in that golden sand.

In 1936 ten-year-old Henry was taken from his family on the Island of Hawai‘i and sent to Kalihi Hospital on O‘ahu. He was later transferred to Kalaupapa on the rugged north coast of Moloka‘i, where he has spent most of the past 65 years in this remote village with a tragic history as a Hansen’s disease colony. During its century as a virtual prison, more than 8,000 people were exiled to Kalaupapa, until the introduction of sulfone drugs in the 1940s. Today fewer than 20 patients remain.

No Footprints in the Sand: A Memoir of Kalaupapa by Henry Nalaielua with Sally-Jo Bowman is one of only a few memoirs ever shared with the public by a Kalaupapa patient. Its intimacy and candor make it, in the words of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin, “a rare and precious human document.”

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This July day was insufferably hot in Honolulu. Henry Nalaielua sat perspiring at the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace, even though his chair was in the shade. He and some 500 others had listened all morning to prayers and hymns and speeches.

And then, near the end of the long ceremonies and ecumenical service, it was Nalaielua’s turn. The notes for his speech were under his ginger lei, in the pocket of his aloha shirt—his best blue one. He shuffled the few steps to the lei-draped lectern on hobbly feet that reminded him of his mission of honor. He had come to the palace from his home at Kalaupapa on Moloka‘i, where he was sent as a Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patient before World War II, and where he has lived most of his 70 years.

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In 1985 the renowned muralist Martin Charlot was commissioned by the McDonald’s Corporation to paint a wall mural for the company’s restaurant in Kane‘ohe. The result was Hawaiian Folkways , a 5 x 24-foot work depicting a day in the life of Waiahole Valley, the lush rural community a few miles up the coast in the heart of windward O‘ahu.

Local Traffic Only: Proverbs Hawaiian-Style brings the reader up close and personal with this wonderful work of art.

Peopled with farmers and fisherman, keiki and kupuna, cops and robbers and many others, Charlot’s charming mural illustrates more than 100 proverbs—Hawaiian, biblical and others. All the people featured in the mural are real-life friends, family and acquaintances of the artist. From siblings and children to local firefighters and an unsuspecting deliveryman to McDonald’s Hawaii CEO Pat Kahler, to then-actor, now-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charlot’s models acted out for him in person the proverbs depicting the good and bad sides of human nature.

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Featuring more than 30 practitioners of this ancient art, this book won a "Keep It Hawai'i" Award from the Hawai'i Tourism Authority for r [...]
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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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Besides its distinctive aroma, lavender boasts time-proven health, beauty and culinary value; its use has been well documented for some 2,500 years. The Maui Book of Lavender, a new lavender-scented release from Watermark Publishing, traces the herb’s historic uses in Hawai‘i and abroad, as it unveils the unique agribusiness story of Maui’s Ali‘i Kula Lavender.

A scenic farm with a diverse crop and product line, Ali‘i Kula Lavender perches high on the slopes of Haleakalā, where lavender plants stretch across the hillside in a sea of purple, green and silver. A dry, sunny region on the volcano’s leeward flank, Kula is an ideal place for growing lavender—a drought-resistant plant that requires rich soil, full sun and well-drained southwest-facing slopes.

Stunning photography and useful information on lavender crafts and home uses, as well as 40 recipes incorporating lavender, make this hardcover book a treasure for gardeners, home crafters, cooks and anyone else who appreciates a little lavender in their life.

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Getting married in Hawai‘i is a special experience, but even in paradise, planning a wedding has its challenges! In Wedding Belles: Ideas & Inspiration from Island Brides, local wedding guru Tanna Dang guides soon-to-be brides on a smooth trip down the aisle.

Wedding Belles isn’t the typical “how-to” wedding book. Although packed with useful sidebars filled with personal tips and advice from Dang—after years as a wedding professional, she’s amassed a staggering amount of nuptial knowledge—the book’s main focus is on the stories and photos shared by more than 70 real-life recent brides. “There are lots of books out there that list vendors or tell you how to plan your wedding, but they tend to show only a few personal examples,” Dang says. “I thought having real, local brides share, in their own words, what they learned through the wedding planning process would be a great way for new brides to find amazing ideas and advice they can trust.”

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