Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 1, 1 January 1990 — Punana Leo offers books, cassettes [ARTICLE]

Punana Leo offers books, cassettes

As a result of the widespread resurgence of interest in reestablishing Hawaiian as a living language, the Hawaiian language is now the medium of instruction not only in the four Punana Leo preschools on Hawai'i, Maui, O'ahu, and Kaua'i, but also in the Hawaiian language immersion programs offered by the Department of Education on eaeh of these islands. Although the Punana Leo books Hawaiian language series was written to appeal primarily to children, the quality of the books and the sophistication of the language and vocabulary will appeal to anyone interested in the Hawaiian language or in contemporary Hawaiian culture. The books in the series are "He Hawai'i Au," in whieh a Punana Leo child tells of the activities in his life that identify him as a Hawaiian; "He Mala'ai

Ka'u," in whieh a Hawaiian grandfather and his grandson plant breadfruit, sweet potato, taro, and banana in the phase of the moon called Hua; "O Maile, Ka Pua'a," in whieh a baby wild pig that Pilialoha's family finds on the way to Grandmother's birthday party narrowly escapes becoming part of Tutu's pa'ina; and "Pai Ka Leo," a song book with musical notation, illustrated with photographs of Punana Leo children. A cassette is available to accompany Pai Ka Leo. The three story books include Hawaiian text with English, French, and German translations, and the songs in Pai Ka Leo are in Hawaiian and English. The books are available at loeal book outlets or ean be ordered directly from the publisher, Bess Press, P.O. Box 22388, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822.