Kaho'olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People

Ages 7 to 11, Grades 2 to 5

The epic story of the smallest Hawaiian island, which is sacred to Native Hawaiians

In the middle of the great Pacific Ocean is a little island. Her name is Kanaloa Kaho‘olawe.Discover the story of an island sacred to Native Hawaiians. Beginning with her birth in a volcanic eruption, Kaho‘olawe thrives surrounded by animals on land and in the sea. When Polynesian voyagers arrive and begin to raise their families there, the island is happy. As the years pass, invasive goats devastate the ecosystem, and during World War II and the decades that follow, the US military claims the island for target practice. Kaho‘olawe is hurt. Yet activists never give up on the island, and they finally succeed in reclaiming her.Kaho‘olawe endures.Author Kamalani Hurley and illustrator Harinani Orme present the remarkable story of the smallest Hawaiian island, encompassing loss and erasure, sacrifice and dedication, and ultimately restoration, highlighting hope, resilience, and aloha ‘āina (deep love of the land).The author has pledged 100 percent of her proceeds from sales of this book to the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana.

About the Author

Kamalani Hurley is a kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) writer from Honolulu. She grew up in the working-class urban neighborhood of Pālama and is a proud graduate of the Kamehameha Schools. Kamalani's stories are rooted in her Indigenous community, and they invite readers to explore the islands' rich cultural traditions. An avid reader and gardener, she lives in Hawaiʻi with her family.Harinani Orme is a Native Hawaiian artist who was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and a Master of Fine Arts degree at the Pratt Institute in New York. Currently, her works focus on the myths, legends and traditions of old Hawaiʻi. She sees her works as an ongoing process of experimentation, harvestation and assemblage until the emerging images takes a life form of its own.