HAWAYA PUBLISHING "Auntie Lulu's Zoo," a book that teaches counting and Hawaiian names for animals, is populated by bungee-jumping wallabies (walapi), above, and a pair of honking Hawaiian geese (nene), below, among others.

Two isle natives on the mainland
team up on a whimsical new
illustrated book for early readers

"Aunty Lulu's Zoo" Written by Kevin Sullivan and illustrated by Deb Aoki (Hawaya Publishing, 24 pages, hardcover, $9.95)

By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com

HAWAYA PUBLISHING Meet the artist Book signings with Deb Aoki: Saturday: Noon to 1 p.m., Borders Waikele; 2 to 3 p.m., Borders Ward Centre Sunday: 11 a.m. to noon, Barnes & Noble Kahala Feb. 14: Noon to 1 p.m., Borders Kahului, Maui

"Aun-tie Lulu has a zoo -- A, E, I, O, U ..."

It's "Old MacDonald Hawaiian Style!" as Hawaii expatriates Kevin Sullivan and Deb Aoki celebrate the language and animals of the islands with their latest children's book, "Auntie Lulu's Zoo."

Aoki's art and illustrative work should be familiar to local audiences. It seems she's always done a regular comic strip for some local publication, whether it was "Slice O' Life," in her early years as a cartoonist for the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Ka Leo O Hawaii, through "the stuff I did for independent papers like Deep and Scrawling Wall in the early '90s, and the Honolulu Advertiser strips ('Bento Box').

"You're talking over 10 years' worth of strips," she said. "That's a pretty healthy-sized stack o' stuff. I'm hoping to put together a 'best of' collection of all that stuff someday."

Now living in Los Angeles and working in marketing for the Disney Co., Aoki will be back at home for bookstore appearances over the next two weekends on Oahu and Maui. In addition to the usual book signings, Aoki will also do readings (or, more appropriately, maybe "singings") and draw special pictures for keiki in the audience.

Aoki was in her "indie" phase when she met Sullivan while coordinating an exhibition of work by local cartoonists. Sullivan's first project was also comics-related, as he and Jeff Pagay were working on "The Hawaya Papayas," a strip about three surfing papayas for Reid Fujita's now-defunct surfing periodical H3O. Sullivan and Pagay then brainstormed over a children's book called "101 Uses for a Dead Toad."

HAWAYA PUBLISHING "Auntie Lulu's Zoo," a book that teaches counting and Hawaiian names for animals, is populated by bungee-jumping wallabies (walapi), body-boarding land snails (pupu-kani-oe), hula-dancing turtles (honu), a blue whale (kohola) and a pair of honking Hawaiian geese (nene).

But the toad was transformed into a gecko when the book finally hit print, with Dennis Fujitake as the illustrator. "Return of the Dead Gecko: More Ways to Recycle a Dead Gecko" was followed by Sullivan and Aoki's first collaboration, "The Best Hawaiian Style Mother Goose Ever!" a children's book that Sullivan says has sold more than 30,000 copies in Hawaii alone and is currently in its sixth printing since debuting in late 1995.

That and "Auntie Lulu's Zoo" were created for the youngest of children, "up to the first and second grade," according to Sullivan, "although you're never too young to be read to -- I've noticed second- and third-graders even enjoy 'Auntie Lulu' when I read to them."

AOKI CHOSE TO illustrate the various animals in "Auntie Lulu's Zoo" frolicking in familiar Hawaii areas.

"I wanted to include more recognizable locations in Hawaii this time around than just a general 'Hawaii look and feel.' So we have the wallabies (walapi) jumping off Aloha Tower, the geckos snapping photos in Iolani Palace and the nene biking down Haleakala.

"What both books have in common is the 'surprise' second page. So, for example ... you see the three sharks against a plain white background first, then the following page, you see the sharks singing and laughing in a Waikiki nightclub, surrounded by bright colors and in a whimsical situation. This is something that Kevin felt strongly about doing, and I think it's really effective. When I watch people flip through the book, the second page is what makes them smile and laugh, and that's always nice to see," Aoki said.

HAWAYA PUBLISHING "Auntie Lulu's Zoo," a book that teaches counting and Hawaiian names for animals, is populated by hula-dancing turtles (honu), among others.

"The feedback on the book has been terrific," Sullivan added. "I remember two weeks before Christmas, looking at the individual pages and Deb's hand-painted watercolor work laid out on the floor of our home with my wife and daughter, and we were just in awe of Deb's artwork."

Aoki agrees that reaction to the book has "been pretty good. I've shown it to a lot of expats here in L.A., and they seem to be genuinely delighted by it. The book signings (in Hawaii) should be interesting, though, because it'll probably be the first time I'll get a reaction to it from people other than my friends."

It's surprising that in the two years it took to finish "Auntie Lulu's Zoo," Sullivan and Aoki never saw each other face to face. During that time, the Kailua-born Sullivan was teaching English as a second language in Japan and then moved to Los Gatos, Calif., where he and his family now live. Aoki (originally from Pauoa Valley) was living and working in Seattle for Microsoft before leaving the megacorporation to resettle in L.A. The Internet was the only means of communication between the two.

Both credit their island heritage for the continuation of their creative collaboration. "I've only been away four years," Sullivan said. "The last time I was there was in June 2002 for my wedding. My mom and dad are still holding down the fort in Kailua, while my siblings live in Seattle and San Francisco.

HAWAYA PUBLISHING "Auntie Lulu's Zoo," a book that teaches counting and Hawaiian names for animals, is populated by a blue whale (kohola), among others.

"I think the book is our way of saying, 'We want to come home!'" he said with a laugh.

Aoki left Hawaii in 1998, and, as is usual as one grows older, "the years go by so fast.

"I've met a lot of people who (either) grew up in Hawaii or have strong ties to Hawaii who now live in the mainland," she said, "and we all seem to have that same place in our heart that is always going to be 'local.' Not a week goes by that I don't see a 'Hawaiian Style' or honu sticker or Hawaiian warrior helmet dangling from the rearview mirror on some SUV in front of me on the streets of L.A. or Seattle or San Francisco or Las Vegas, and that always makes me smile. It's like being in a 'club,' you know?

While Sullivan dedicated the book to his Japan-born wife Kazumi and 6-year-old daughter Reika, Aoki named "several of my friends' kids -- kids who were born to parents who were originally from Hawaii but now live on the mainland.

"I think all Hawaii expats feel the pull of returning to Hawaii most strongly when they have kids, because we all want our children to grow up like we did, in this multicultural, safe, friendly and beautiful environment.

"I mean, how cool is it to be able to learn to swim in the ocean, attend a bon dance in the summer, hang out at baa-chan's (or popo's or tutu's) house on the weekend and not be the only 'ethnic' kid in the classroom? So there's a kind of sadness when a Hawaii-born parent decides that they can't return to Hawaii (for economic or career-related or other reasons) to raise their kids in the 'local style.'"

But, luckily for them, they can find a little bit of home-style aloha and fun when they read "Auntie Lulu's Zoo" to their keiki.

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