Summary
This is a cumulative story about Native Hawaiian and Polynesian culture. The story follows a family as they care for their crops and thank their land for providing them with food and sustainability. The story shows illustrations of growing native plants to make traditional dishes for the family gathering. The book is rhythmic and includes vocabulary and reiteration of how to make the Poi for the ‘Ohana’s Luau. Many educators pair this read aloud with traditional Polynesian music.
Theme(s):
Family, Overcoming Adversity, Community
Personal Response
This book discusses the process of growing, caring, and creating the traditional dishes to enjoy at family gatherings. This book is an interactive read as it does rhyme and repeat the important lines. The book teaches thankfulness for those who make the food, care for the crops, and collect the materials necessary to feed the family. The illustrations are more traditional allowing the colors and the text to lead the storyline. This story beams with pride and admiration of the Polynesian culture.
Teaching Ideas
This is a great read aloud to use when teaching about traditions, food, even plant lifecycles. This book has many different talking points that can be integrated into various different lessons and unit plans. The book provides pronunciations in the glossary which ensures the language will be taught correctly when reading the book which is important as we read to young children. Children would benefit from seeing the generational impact that these large family events have on culture.
Recommended Reading Level
Birth-PreK, Grade 01, Grade 02, Grade 03
