By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Illustrations from "The Prince and Li Hing Mui," top;
"Mama is Hapai," center; "Moki the Gecko's Best Christmas
Ever," above. All books are available at Bookends, Kailua.

Doing Christmas

They're a little tough to slide into a stocking,
but books have always been a favorite Christmas
present. Here are some examples of giftable
volumes from Hawaii publishers

By Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin

Atlas of Hawaii (Third Edition), By Sonia P. Jujik and James O. Juvik, University of Hawaii Press, 333 pages $49.95 softcover. Long-awaited and updated edition of everything you needed to know about Hawaii, plus stuff you never realized about the Aloha State.

David Kalakaua, by Ruby Hasegawa Lowe, illustrated by Robin Yoko Racoma, Kamehameha Schools Press, 128 pages, $9.95. Illustrated biography of Hawaii's "Merrie Monarch" for younger readers. The latest edition of a slim series focusing on Hawaiian royalty for younger readers.

Hawaii's Keiki Christmas Collection, by various authors, illustrated by Jeff Pagay, Island Heritage, 60 pages, $14.95. Six short stories that touch on childhood, Christmas and life in Hawaii, with illustrations by Pagay in six different styles.

I Knew the Queen, by Bernice Piilani Irwin, First People's Productions, 110 pages, $6. A long-awaited reprint of a little-known but fascinating memoir by the granddaughter of Queen Emma and confidant of Queen Liliuokalani.

Mama is Hapai, by Chaika Pililani Hale, illustrated by Dennis Asato, Anoai Press, 28 pages, $14. Using clever printed flaps that reveal surprises in the illustrations, this book for younger readers introduces both the concepts of pregnancy and the Hawaiian way of ohana.

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Bookends Kailua has a broad selection of local literature.

Maui and His Magical Deeds" By Kats Kajiyama, Barnaby Books, 36 pages, $19.95. Recently honored by Ka Palapala Pookela awards, this book in both English and Hawaii features exquisite cut-paper illustrations.

Moki the Gecko's Best Christmas Ever, By Bruce Hale, Words + Pictures Publishing, 32 pages, $8.95. The resourceful gecko returns in his fifth adventure, this time using common sense to save Santa and his reindeer from a mean shark.

Nation Within By Tom Coffman, Epicenter Publishing, 345 pages, $20. Historian Coffman's masterful analysis of the forces that moved Hawaii from a republic to a United States territory.

The Prince and the Li Hing Mui By Sandi Takiyama, illustrated by Esther Szegedy, Bess Press, 24 pages, $9.95. A localized and gender-changing classic retelling of "The Princess and the Pea."

The Red Wind By Ian MacMillan, Mutual Publishing, 464 pages, $15.95. The season's epic novel about life in Hawaii, with four generations connected by a Hawaiian canoe. MacMillan won the 1992 Hawaiian Award for Literature for an earlier work.

When Silver Needles Swam By James Rumford, Manoa Press, 24 pages, $10.95. Rumsford's illustrations illuminate Hawaiian quilt-making during annexation in 1898. His previous work, "The Island Below the Star," was called one of the best children's' picture books of this year by the New York Times.

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