Hawaii adventures
By Betty Shimabukuro
target preteens
Star-Bulletin
Makoa and the Place of Refuge By Jerry Cunnyngham, Island Heritage, $4.95
The Microchip Caper By Robert Graham, Island Heritage, $4.95
MAKOA lives on the Big Island in ancient Hawaii, where he faces the pursuit of warriors and the anger of wild boars and sharks.
Kai lives on the North Shore in the 1990s, where he faces a computer pirate in a cowboy hat.
The boys are separated by time and technology, but their stories have in common action, mystery and the hint of danger. Well, in Makoa's case, more than a hint. At one point it seems likely that the kahuna is going to beat out his brains with a giant club.
At any rate, both tales have action, mystery and varying degrees of danger -- critical ingredients for stories for the middle-school reader. That's a gap group that hasn't been served much by the local publishing community.
Willis Oshiro, a librarian in the young adult section of the Hawaii State Library, says local chapter books for that age are scarce. "There aren't many books at all written for the middle-school ages, set in Hawaii."
But with "Makoa and the Place of Refuge" and "The Microchip Caper," Island Heritage Publishing figures to change all that. The two paperbacks are the first in a series called Adventures in Hawaii, aimed at readers too old for picture books and easy-readers, but too young for adult fiction.
And so, out of time comes Makoa, a young man who is pretty smart about most things, but still manages to break a major kapu and finds himself facing a death sentence. His only avenue of appeal is to run for the Place of Refuge at Honaunau, which is on the opposite side of the island. The Big Island, of course, has those big ol' mountains across the middle, which means Makoa faces a long trek through lava fields, thick fern forests and places where wild boars roam.
Kai travels back and forth between the North Shore and Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, but he gets to ride the bus, and sometimes his friend's dad's car. And he doesn't travel alone. With him are his sister Moana, and their new friends, Todd and Julie, who've just sailed to Hawaii from San Diego. They discover a cache of mysterious computer parts in the boat next door, where a mean Texan seems to be up to no good.
Robert Graham, who wrote "The Microchip Caper," is a teacher at Sunset Elementary who has been interested in Hawaiiana and Pacific Island cultures since serving in the Peace Corps in the Marshall Islands.
He said he wrote "The Microchip Caper" 12 or 13 years ago -- "I guess at that time there was a lot about microchips in the news and that was enough to get me started" -- but when he couldn't find a publisher, he let the book sit. Recently, he updated the story and sent it to Island Heritage.
Graham said kids at the middle-school age like mysteries, but also like their stories to involve places and things familiar to them. The best stories also deal with issues.
"I can't think of many children's books that do that, that are set in a place and you learn a lot about the place," Graham said.
It's a total package that he's working to achieve as he keeps writing.
"Makoa" was written by Jerry Cunnyngham, a teacher from Nevada who grew fascinated by Honaunau during a visit to Hawaii. His story was an immediate hit with the Island Heritage staff, but Cunnyngham died before the book could be published.
Dot Saurer, who handles editorial information for Island Heritage, said the company hopes to continue the Adventures in Hawaii series with stories both modern and historical. Three more will be published soon -- a new book from Graham called "Secret of Kualoa," Gael Mustapha's "Surfer Boy" and Elaine Masters' "Thief in Chinatown."
The first two books are available at Honolulu Book Shops, Hilo Hattie, theBishop Musuem gift shop and ABC Stores, and soon will be available at other major bookstores.
More for the middle
Books for preteens in Hawaii settings are rare, but here are some recommended titles:
"Blue Skin of the Sea," by Graham Salisbury, Thorndike Press, 1993. About a boy growing up in Hawaii between 1953 and 1966.
