RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Students gather to practice creative writing for the Kids Talk Story program. They will be creating books to be displayed at the upcoming Hawaii Book and Music Festival. At the center is Margaret South, executive director of the program. CLICK FOR LARGE

Putting their lives on paper

Hawaii Book and Music Festival

By Nancy Arcayna
narcayna@starbulletin.com

DYLAN O'CONNER is jotting down his life experiences. The sixth-grader from Star of the Sea School participates in Margaret South's "Kids Talk Story Literacy Program" in hope of one day becoming an author. O'Connor's first book, "My Life," focuses on his victory catching a 149-pound marlin.

"I'm pretty excited. I've never written a book before," O'Connor said.

"In order to help him understand the power of such an experience, we've been reading excerpts from Hemingway's 'Old Man and the Sea' to him," said South, executive director of the program that was developed through her Learning for a Lifetime company.

Students from the "Kids Talk Story" program will be among the youngest participants in this year's Hawaii Book and Music Festival, taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Mission Memorial Auditorium, near Honolulu Hale. Books will be displayed, and attendees can have their own books bound if they submit 20 to 50 pages in a PDF format.

Brickwood Galuteria, shown at a book reading, will perform 3 p.m. Saturday on the music stage. CLICK FOR LARGE

"It can be a scrapbook or something they have been working on," said South, who stands by her motto, "If you can write your own story, you can write your own happy ending."

The children's excitement about participating in a festival with established authors was apparent. The event's theme is "A Celebration of Story and Song," and it will include pavilions dedicated to Hawaiian culture, a Harry Potter look-alike contest, a food and cookbook pavilion, arts and crafts, storytelling, poetry slams and more.

Among the participants will be one of the Star-Bulletin's new Sunday comic strip cartoonists, Jon J. Murakami. He and friend Deb Aoki will be selling and signing copies of their combo book "Deb Aoki's Slice O' Life/Jon J. Murakami's University of Diverse City," reprinting strips they created at the University of Hawaii-Manoa for the school's newspaper, Ka Leo O Hawaii.

Bank of Hawaii will also be sponsoring a book swap to encourage reading. Just bring a new or like-new book to exchange for another at the Bank of Hawaii tent. Participants can choose from 3,000 new books purchased from local publishers and donated by the bank, including children's books, Hawaii guidebooks, and more. At the event's end, all books received will be donated to Hawaii Literacy and Read to Me International. Participants may swap up to five books.

The first festival took place last year on the grounds of Honolulu Hale, with 300 musicians and authors represented. It drew 10,000 people, according to executive director Roger Jellinek.

To prepare for the event, Rachel Matson, a student from Niu Valley Middle School, is compiling a collection of pieces focusing on her family. "I've learned lots of stuff -- like using present tense to make things more interesting, or working on stronger conclusions."

"Woman Warrior" author Maxine Hong Kingston will read at 11 a.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Mission Memorial Pavilion. CLICK FOR LARGE

Storytelling provides a means of learning moral values and making good choices. Literary skills are also important for academic success, said South.

"Kids Talk Story" guides children as they write, illustrate and publish their own books. South uses a five-step process that teaches character development, encouraging students to write about topics derived from personal experience, to lead them on a voyage of self-discovery.

Adam Hagopian, another middle-schooler who is home-schooled, enjoys the feedback the program provides while he works on a fictional story about 12 kids and a plague that hits.

"It's been helpful because there are lots of other kids like me. They help push you to write," he said.

Hawaii Book and Music Festival

On the Net
» www.kidstalkstory.com
» www.hawaiibookandmusicfestival.org

Saturday

Mission Memorial Auditorium
550 S. King St.
9:30 a.m.: Opening ceremony
10 a.m.: Read Aloud America with Jed Gaines
11 a.m.: Maxine Hong Kingston and veterans
Noon: Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, "Three Cups of Tea," 2007 Kiriyama Prize for nonfiction
1 p.m.: Gail Tsukiyama, "Dreaming Water"
2 p.m.: Kaui Hart Hemmings, "The Descendants"
3 p.m.: Michael Scott, "The Alchemyst"
4 p.m.: James Rumford, "Don't Touch My (Pig) Hat"
5 p.m.: 2007 Elliot Cades Awards, Hawaii Literary Arts Council

Panels Pavilion
10 a.m.: "Pidgin Flyin' High," with Lee Tonouchi and Eric Chock
11 a.m.: "Memoirs," with Mona Kahele, J. Arthur Rath, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and Craig Howes
Noon: "Local vs. National Publishing," with Ian MacMillan and Chris McKinney
1 p.m.: "IZ: 10 Years On," with Rick Carroll, Jon deMello, Oz Stender and others
2 p.m.: "Travel Classics and Moderns," with Tom Chapman, John Heckathorn, Rita Ariyoshi and Jocelyn Fujii
3 p.m.: "Criminal Minds," with Robert Mann and Deborah Atkinson
4 p.m.: "Who Reads? Who Cares?," the HBMF Readers Slam

Storytelling Pavilion
10 a.m.: Playwright Slam with Tammy Baker, Carson Becker, Yokanaan Kearns,Victoria Kneubuhl and Sean T.C. O'Malley
11 a.m.: Tita Cathy Collins
Noon: "Aging Is Not for Sissies," meet Pratibha Eastwood and cast
1 p.m.: James McCarthy
2 p.m.: Bamboo Ridge, dramatized stories by Marie Hara and Juliet Kono
3 p.m.: "Shake-Spear," with Paul Mitri, Sharon Wezelman and Eden-Lee Murray
4 p.m.: Youth Speaks Hawaii teen poetry slam

Hawaiian Culture Pavilion
10 a.m.: "Kumulipo Chant," with kumu Kamuela Chun
11 a.m.: "Ho'olaupa'i, Hawaiian Newspapers, Voice of History," with Puakea Nogelmeier
Noon: Miss Aloha Hula 2007 and kumu Maelia Carter
1 p.m.: "Polynesian Voyaging: The Women"
2 p.m.: "Mything Persons," with Cristina Bacchilega, Caren Lobel-Fried and Michael Scott
3 p.m.: 'Oiwi Fiction: Imagining Hawaii without the Missionaries
4 p.m.: "The Hawaiian Way of Knowledge," with Manulani Meyer

Arts & Crafts Pavilion
Hawaiian artists and crafters demonstrations

Music stage
10 a.m.: The Royal Hawaiian Band
11 a.m.: Tony Conjugacion
Noon: "Song Writing in Real Time," with Ken Makuakane
1 p.m.: HAPA
2 p.m.: Sean Tinwanak and Roland Cazimero
3 p.m.: Brickwood Galuteria and the HBMF Band
4 p.m.: Benny Chong

Keiki mainstage
10 a.m.: "Peace," Kamehameha Schools
10:30 a.m.: "Stage Combat Demo," with Tony Pisculli
11 a.m.: "Peril in Paradise," Ohia
11:30 a.m.: Halau Mohala Ilima
Noon: "Two Tongues Wagging," Jeff Gere and Billy Sage
1 p.m.: "Aloha Island," Lisa Matsumoto and Frank South
1 p.m.: "Midsummer Night's Dream," Hawaii Young Actors Ensemble
2 p.m.: "Riki Tiki Taki Tavi," reading with Terence Knapp
3 p.m.: Hui Mele Ensemble, Kamehameha Schools
3:30 p.m.: Mihana
4 p.m.: "Grease," Army Community Theatre presentation
4:30 p.m.: "A New Play," with John Hunt and Jim Tharp

Keiki authors
10 a.m.: Activity Books with School Librarians, Tammy Yee and Jon J. Murakami
11 a.m.: Gail Omoto, Jan and Judy Dill, Garrett Omoto, "Kai the Opihi"
11:30 a.m.: Lisa Matsumoto and Michael Furuya
Noon: Leslie Ann Hayashi
12:30 p.m.: Carla Golemnbe, "A Story of Surfing"
1 p.m.: "G'oodnight Hawaiian Moon," Dr. Carolan and Joanna Carolan
1:30 p.m.: Mora Ebie and Jon Murakami: "Going to the Zoo"
2 p.m.: David Eyre: "White Rainbow, Black Curse"
2:30 p.m.: Lopaka Kapanui, "The Legend of Morgan's Corner"
3 p.m.: Tammy Paikai, "Aloha Is ..."
3:30 p.m.: Nancy Alpert Mower and Robin Yoko Racoma, "Tutu's Stories"
4 p.m.: Rick Carroll, "Spooky Tales"
4:30 p.m.: Sandra Jean Patterson, "Crabby Crab"

Sunday

Mission Memorial Auditorium
10 a.m.: Graham Salisbury, "House of the Red Fish"
11 a.m.: James Bradley, "Flags of Our Fathers"
Noon: James D. Houston, "Bird of Another Heaven"
1 p.m.: Ben Cayetano, "From Street Kid to Governor"
2 p.m.: Maxine Hong Kingston, "Woman Warrior"
3 p.m.: Lisa Yee, "Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time"
4 p.m.: Bamboo Ridge/Aloha Shorts Dramatized Readings (recorded for HPR)

Panels pavilion
10 a.m.: "No Footsteps in the Sand," with Henry Nalaielua, Makia Malo and Dr. Kalani Brady
11 a.m.: "Romancers," with Jane Porter, Jill Landis, Sally Sorenson, Ann Dillon and Michael Little
Noon: "Local Kine," with Lee Cataluna, Darryl H.Y. Lum and R. Zamora Linmark
1 p.m.: "Just Americans: The 100th/442nd," with Michael Markrich, Robert Asahina and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
2 p.m.: "Broken Trust," with Randall Roth and Judge Samuel King
3 p.m.: "Loyal to the Land," with Dr. Billy Bergin, Parker Ranch; George Munro, Lanai; Laura Ruby, Moiliili; and Ilima Loomis, paniolo
4 p.m.: Extreme Sports: Mark Panek, sumo; Peter Caldwell, paddling; Alexis Cottavoz-Usher, surfing

Storytelling pavilion
10 a.m.: Lopaka Kapanui
11 a.m.: Poets Brenda Kwon, Kealoha and Joseph Stanton
Noon: Jeff Gere
1 p.m.: Sandra Macleese
2 p.m.: Loose Screws: Improv comedy
3 p.m.: Hawaiian Slam Poetry Competition

Hawaiian culture pavilion
10 a.m.: "Kumulipo: Hawaiian Science," Meleanna Meyer
11 a.m.: "Epic Tale of Hi'ikaikapoliopele," Puakea Nogelmeier
Noon: Lua, Hawaiian martial arts
1 p.m.: "Hawaiian History of the 20th Century," with Jon. K. Osorio and Davinnia McGregor
2 p.m.: "Na Kua'aina: Living Hawaiian Culture," Davinnia McGregor
3 p.m.: "The Uses of Culture, the Politics of Place," with Cristina Bacchilega, Gaye Chan and Edgy Lee
4 p.m.: "Just Ask a Tita," with Moana Meyer and Haunani Kay Trask

Arts & crafts pavilion
Select Hawaiian Artists & Crafters in continuous demos.

Music stage
10 a.m.: Hawaiian Hall of Fame Serenaders
11 a.m.: Mighty J
Noon: Sonya Mendez
1 p.m.: Brother Noland
2 p.m.: DeeJays for Youth
3 p.m.: Sean Na'auao
4 p.m.: Songwriting Competitors from the Red Elephant

Keiki mainstage
10 a.m.: KinderMusik, with Karen Valasek
10:30 a.m.: Puppet Times with Christy Lipps Ah Sing
11 a.m.: Leon & Malia perform
11:30 a.m.: Terence Knapp reads Harry Potter
Noon: Harry Potter look-alike contest
12:30 p.m.: Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Bank of Hawaii CEO Al Landon
1 p.m.: Diamond Head Shooting Stars:
2 p.m.: "My Story" winners read by Terence Knapp
2:30 p.m.: Paliku Theatre: "James and the Giant Peach"
3 p.m.: Puppet Times: Christy Lipps Ah Sing
3:30 p.m.: M&Ms: Eden-Lee Murray and Paul Mitri
4 p.m.: Kumu Robert Keawe Lopez and Tracie Lopez: Ka La Onohi Mai O Ha'eha'e
4:30 p.m.: Kaimuki Shakespeare Festival, Eden-Lee Murray

Keiki authors
10 a.m.: Activity Books with School Librarians, Yuko Green and Mike Tackett
11 a.m.: Linda Collison, "Star Crossed"
11:30 a.m.: Marion Coste, "Finding Joy"
Noon: Kristi Petosa-Sigel
12:30 p.m.: Daniel Harrington, "What Am I"
1 p.m.: Sue Cowing, "My Dog Has Fleas"
1:30 p.m.: Scott Goto "Hawaii"
2 p.m.: Ellie Crowe
2:30 p.m.: Yuko Green
3 p.m.: Karyn Hopper and Gavin Kobayashi
3:30 p.m.: Caren Lobel-Fried, "Lono,"
4 p.m.: Lloyd Berardy, "Tropical Bear "