Home

Yuko-green
Kamalani Hurley

Interview with Author/Illustrator Yuko Green 

Pick up any pop­u­lar chil­dren’s book in Hawai’i, and chances are that it is illus­trat­ed by Yuko Green. The award-win­n­ing author/illustrator of dozens of chil­dren’s pic­ture and activ­i­ty books, Yuko’s mixed-media art­work is unmis­tak­able with its vibrant col­ors and delight­ful sub­jects that chil­dren love. Her work cel­e­brates the peo­ple, nature, and tra­di­tions of our islands. We are so pleased to talk sto­ry with Yuko Green today.

Read More » 
Catherine-Payne
Kamalani Hurley

Interview with Native Hawaiian/Guamanian Author Catherine Payne 

Native Hawaiian/Guamanian author Cather­ine Payne lives by the ancient Chamor­ro mak­ing things right. An impor­tant part of inafaʻ maolek is that the whole com­mu­ni­ty, not just the nuclear fam­i­ly, is respon­si­ble for rais­ing healthy, hap­py chil­dren. The author of five chil­dren’s books, Cathy believes that pic­ture books can be key to open­ing con­ver­sa­tions between chil­dren and grown-ups. We cer­tain­ly agree. Wel­come, Cathy, to our talk story! 

Read More » 
Megan-Kamalei-Kakimoto
Kamalani Hurley

Interview with Native Hawaiian Author Megan Kamalei Kakimoto 

Native Hawai­ian author Megan Kamalei Kaki­mo­to is a rare lit­er­ary gem: a sto­ry­teller of YA and adult sub­ject mat­ter that is authen­ti­cal­ly root­ed in Native Hawai­ian life expe­ri­ences. Her USA Today Nation­al Best­seller, Every Drop is a Man’s Night­mare, is a short sto­ry col­lec­tion that review­ers describe as “pow­er­ful com­ing-of-age sto­ries,” “rich and wise, hum­ming with con­fi­dence,” and “a blaz­ing, rau­cous jour­ney through con­tem­po­rary Hawai­ian iden­ti­ty and wom­an­hood.” We are so pleased to talk sto­ry with Megan today.

Read More » 
Christmas 2023
Kamalani Hurley

Mahalo, 2023! 

What a year it’s been! As 2023 ends, I look back with much alo­ha and grat­i­tude for the many peo­ple who have made such a dif­fer­ence in my writ­ing life. Maha­lo nui loa …

Read More » 
Aloha-everything-cover
Kamalani Hurley

Book Review: Aloha Everything 

You know me. I lOVE books, art, and films that focus on the Native Hawai­ian com­mu­ni­ty and our Pacif­ic Island cousins. I love them so much that my blog focus­es on inter­view­ing these amaz­ing cre­ators. As native peo­ples, our voic­es have tra­di­tion­al­ly been under­rep­re­sent­ed. Thank­ful­ly, this is chang­ing, with books by Native Hawaiian/Polynesian authors includ­ing Gab­by Ahuli’i, Tam­my Paikai, Malia Mau­nakea, Shar Tuiʻa­soa, and Brook Park­er enter­ing the mar­ket. Kaylin Melia Georgeʻs Alo­ha Every­thing is a beau­ti­ful, sweep­ing intro­duc­tion to Hawai­ian cul­ture and his­to­ry, espe­cial­ly help­ful for those unfa­mil­iar with the Native Hawai­ian people.

Read More »