As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(3)
4-6
Five socially awkward sixth graders in Seattle learn they have more in common than they thought while they gather ingredients for sleepover soup--a soup, blessed by the Hawaiian gods, that grants wishes. This delightful modern adaptation of "Stone Soup" steeped in Hawaiian folklore is narrated by Leilani, an oversharer who immediately draws readers into her story with her chatty impulsiveness.
40 pp.
| Candlewick/TOON
| April, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-1-935179-16-0$12.95
(1)
1-3
Toon Book series.
Part graphic novel, part myth, and part beginning reader, the story tells of the Shark King, who has a son with a mortal woman. Sharks and the format will lure in readers; the subtext of bullying and self-discovery will stay with them long afterward. The characters' rounded black outlines convey strong energy and emotion, while the art features a lush Hawaiian setting.
Reviewer: Julie Roach
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2012
32 pp.
| Harcourt
| April, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-0-15-216590-1$16.00
(2)
K-3
Pig-Boy (an embodiment of shape-shifter Kamapua'a) is a winsome, soft-purple piglet with a bristly back and dirty snout whose appetite leads to trouble: namely, eating the king's chickens. McDermott's simple figures--set off by swaths of brilliant tropical greens and blues on heavy watercolor paper that provides texture--have a strength that doesn't detract from their humor or from the liveliness of Pig-Boy's mischief.
173 pp.
| Dial/Sleuth
| October, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-8037-3148-5$16.99
(3)
4-6
John Bellairs Mystery series.
Lewis Barnavelt and his best friend, Rose Rita, again encounter danger as they investigate supernatural goings-on at Hawaii House. The friends--along with Uncle Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmermann--encounter an angry goddess, ancient relics, a Hawaiian princess, and an army of ghostly warriors before the house returns to a peaceful state. Fans will enjoy the story's suspense and fillips of humor.
32 pp.
| Scholastic/Levine
| October, 2001
|
TradeISBN 0-590-39500-9$$15.95
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
David Shannon.
On an island ruled by an unfeeling despot, two siblings rescue a rope-entangled shark. When the children violate the king's rules, however, they are condemned to death. In desperation, their parents seek out the fearsome shark god. Shannon's dark palette is well suited to the tone, lightening effectively as the family sails to a new and more inviting land. Based on a Hawaiian legend, this is a real find for story hours and individual readers.
Reviewer: Mary M. Burns
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2001
5 reviews
Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.
This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.