Isle Pages

The Kahuna, Versatile Masters of Old Hawai'i: By Likeke R. McBride (Petroglyph Press); 76 pages; $9.95."

This is the latest edition of a useful booklet that has been around since 1968. Author Likeke R. McBride's son Andrew has added new photographs, art work and information, and the book has had a professional graphics facelift.

The core of the text, however, is a slim examination of the role of the kahuna in ancient Hawaii, a professional position unlike those in other cultures, a kind of combination country doctor, parish priest and village politician. According to the book, it took more than two decades of training to become a kahuna, and through them much of what we know about ancient Hawaii was preserved.

Burl Burlingame, Star-Bulletin

Family Chronicle: By MarieLuise (Vantage Press); 240 pages; $18.95.

The computer and the presence of vanity presses has made it possible for anyone to publish their memoirs or document their family histories. This is one by former German actress and island resident MarieLuise, who covers four generations of family history beginning with her grandmother Maria's marriage to innkeeper Bernard Jurgens in 1887.

"Family Chronicle" is better written than most of the genre, with its beauty in details such as the groom's "festive long tails and impeccable cravat" and celebratory dinner of "hasenpfeffer and roast saddle of venison" prepared a la Jurgens.

The family suffers through World War I and World War II Germany and MarieLuise makes her exit to the United States via marriage to American Al Minckley.

Like any novel, it lends a voyeuristic peek into other lives.

Nadine Kam, Star-Bulletin

Local Best Sellers

CHILDREN'S

1. "Hide and Seek in Hawaii 2, " Jane Hopkis & Ian Gillespie, Mutual Publishing (1)
2. "A Beautiful Hawaiian Day," Henry Kapono, Mutual Publishing
3. "Hawaiian Flowers Cut-out Paper Dolls," Yuko Green, Island Heritage (2)
4. "Hide and Seek in Hawaii," Jane Hopkis & Ian Gillespie, Mutual Publishing (5)
5. "Hawaiian Marine Life Color & Activity Book," Yuko Green, Island Heritage (3)
6. "Golden Children of Hawaii Cut-Out Dolls," Yuko Green, Island Heritage (4)
7. "Limu -- The Blue Turtle," Kimo Armitage, Island Heritage
8. "Baby Honu's Incredible Journey," Tammy Yee, Island Heritage (10)
9. "Humu, The Little Fish Who Wished Away His Colors," Kimberly Jackson, Island Heritage
10. "Goodnight Gecko," Gill McBarnet, Ruwanga Trading (6)

GIFT AND TRAVEL

1. "Sam Choy Sampler," Sam Choy, Mutual Publishing
2. "Ultimate Kauai Guidebook, 3rd Edition," Andrew Doughty and Harriet Friedman, Wizard Publications (10)
3. "Maui's Hana Highway," Angela Kay Kepler, Mutual Publishing
4. "Hawaii Big Island Revealed, 2nd Edition," Andrew Doughty and Harriet Freidman, Wizard Publications (1)
5. "Pidgin To Da Max," Douglas Simonson, Bess Press (7)
6. "Hawaii's Spam Cookbook," Ann Kondo Corum, Bess Press (4)
7. "Ohana Style Cookbook," St. Francis Medical Center, Island Heritage (5)
8. "Ethnic Foods of Hawaii," Ann Kondo Corum, Bess Press
9. "Hawaii," Douglas Peebles, Mutual Publishing
10. "Unbearably Good! Mochi Lovers Cookbook," Teresa Devirglio-Lam

HAWAIIANA

1. "Hawaii's Native Exotic Freshwater Animals," Mike Yamamoto and Annette Tagawa, Mutual Publishing
2. "Hawaiian Journey," Joseph Mullins, Mutual Publishing
3. "Maui Remembers," Bren Bailey and Gail Bartholomew, Mutual Publishing
4. "Hawaii's Best Spooky Tales 4," Rick Carroll, Bess Press
5. "Glen Grant's Chicken Skin Tales," Glen Grant, Mutual Publishing (4)
6. "Hawaii's Best Spooky Tales 3," Rick Carroll, Bess Press (3)
7. "Hawaii's Best Spooky Tales: True Local Spine-Tinglers," Rick Carroll, Bess Press (7)
8. "Hawaiian Quilting Made Easy," Milly Singletary, Mutual Publishing
9. "Hawaii's Best Spooky Tales: The Original," Rick Carroll, Bess Press (6)
10. "Hawaii's Best Spooky Tales 2: More True Local Spine-Tinglers," Rick Carroll, Bess Press(5)

LITERATURE

1. "Hawaii Looking Back," Glen Grant and Bennett Hymar, Mutual Publishing
2. "Hawaii's Story," Lydia Liliuokalani, Mutual Publishing (6)
3. "The Tattoo," Chris McKinney, Mutual Publishing (3)
4. "Polynesian Family System," E. S. Craighill Handy, Mutual Publishing
5. "Pearl Harbor: The Way It Was," Scott Stone, Island Heritage (1)
6. "Myths and Legends of Hawaii," W. D. Westervelt, Mutual Publishing (5)
7. "Stories of Hawaii," Jack London, Mutual Publishing (7)
8. "Pouliuli," Albert Wendt, University of Hawaii Press
9. "Unwritten Literature of Hawaii," Nathaniel Emerson, Mutual Publishing
10. "Teller of Hawaiian Tales," Eric Knudsen, Mutual Publishing

REFERENCE

1. "Hawaii's Best Mochi Recipes," Jean Watanabe Hee, Mutual Publishing (1)
2. "Hawaii's Seed and Seed Lei: An Identification Guide," Laurie Shimizu Ide, Mutual Publishing
3. "Student Atlas of Hawaii," James O. and Sonia P. Juvik, and Thomas R. Paradise, Bess Press (2)
4. "Pocket Guide to Hawaii's Birds," H. Douglas Pratt, Mutual Publishing (3)
5. "Hawaiian Lei Making Step-by-Step Guide,"Laurie Shimizu Ide, Mutual Publishing
6. "Pocket Guide To Hawaii's Flowers," Leland Miyano, Mutual Publishing (5)
7. "Hawaii's Fishes," John Hoover, Mutual Publishing
8. "Pacific Nations and Territories," Lawrence J. Cunningham, Kamehameha Schools Press
9. "Poakalani Hawaiian Quilt Cushion Patterns Vol. I," Poakalani and John Serrao, Mutual Publishing (9)
10. "Things Hawaiian -- Guide To Language," Albert Schutz, Island Heritage (4)

These are best-selling books in Hawaii
during last month reflecting sales Hawaii-based publishers,
courtesy of the Hawaii Book Publishers Association and
Bookline distributors. Parentheses indicate
a title's previous ranking.

Click for online
calendars and events.

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