Book Description
for 'Ohana Means Family by Ilima Loomis and Kenard Pak
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
“This is the poi for our ‘ohana’s lū‘au” begins this cumulative rhyme styled on “The House That Jack Built,” in which a group of Native Hawaiians prepares for a shared meal. A note in the back matter elaborates on poi, a smooth purple paste made from ground kalo, a plant deeply entwined in Hawaiian tradition and legends. “This is the kalo to make the poi for our ‘ohana’s lū‘au.” The text paints a picture of the plant’s environment: There is “the water, clear and cold” in which the plants are submerged, located on “land that’s never been sold,” flooded by a “stream of sunlit gold.” In the earth-tone illustrations there are the humans, young and old, who cultivate and harvest the kalo; hands that pluck it from the ground; a line of people in a field filling and passing crates and baskets. Judicious use of alliteration and assonance in a rhyme that encompasses tradition, community, setting, and culture make this an absolute pleasure to read aloud. (Ages 3-7)
CCBC Choices 2021. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2021. Used with permission.