History
- Nothing is the Same by De Paola--includes attack on Pearl Harbor
I'm Still Scared by De Paola--shows how Tommy's life is changed by the Pearl Harbor attack
Shoal of Time--adult history, a little slow but thorough
Longitude--This adult level book has a small mention of Cpt. Cook and how he used the Harrison watch when he sailed to Hawaii. It is said that when Cpt. Cook was killed by the Hawaiians, the watch stopped. Always made me think of that kids' song "My Grandfather's Clock".
Fairy Tales
- Three Little Hawaiian Pigs and the Magic Shark--fairy tales you know with a Hawaiian twist. More fairy tales in this series include Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood
- The Magic Shark Learns to Cook--Magic Shark reforms and learns to cook. Story which includes recipes and cooking safety
- Island Heritage Press
- Sam Choy's Cooking With Kids--Jodie Francis says her kids like this cookbook
Faith
- Father Damien and the Bells--about Blessed Damien of Molokai
- Mother Marianne of Molokai
- Holy Man by Gavan Daws--adult bio of Fr. Damien
- God's Photo Album--quotes and pictures taken by the children and families of Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Ewa. Sales of the book saved the school from closing.
Astronomy/navigation
- Wayfinders: A Pacific Odyssey about Nainoa Thompson
Other
- Footloose the Mongoose--about an ukulele (literally "jumping flea") playing mongoose. By the way, "uku" is also the term for headlice.
- Iki, the Littlest Opihi--opihi are molluscs (limpets)
- How the B-52 Cockroach Learned to Fly-In Hawaii cockroaches are huge and really do fly. Here's modern "Just So" story.
- One Gecko, Two Mynahs, and More-counting book. End notes are good for rabbit trails. Especially interesting is why the mongoose was introduced to the islands and the ironic result
- Permanent exhibition at the US Botanic Garden on Hawaiian plants. The endangered species of the week is currently a plant from Kauai (it's Jan 24th today)
Links:
Homeschool unit study on Hawaii--activities
Bishop Museum--the kids loved this museum which had science exhibits for kids and lots of Hawaiiana. The endowment came from the husband of a Hawaiian princess.
Waikiki Aquarium--has a virtual tour, surely including the humuhumunukunukuapuaa (sound it out. It's not hard), the state fish. We saw fish that looked like seaweed there. Very cool!
A helpful map of Oahu
