Part I of My Book Talk With Native Hawaiian Author Kamalani Hurley

I am so excited to have Kamalani back on the blog especially to share her amazing book and all of her success and accomplishments. She is someone I look up to because she’s wickedly smart, extremely ambitious and knowledgeable, but also has such a good heart. I learned so much from our talk and I know you will too! Please support Kamalani by sharing and commenting on this post as well as preordering her book.

Congratulations on Kaho’olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People! Can you tell us a little bit about what your story is about?

Thanks so much, Brandi! My debut picture book is about the history of Kahoʻolawe from the island’s point of view. The book takes the reader on a journey from the island’s explosive birth and its settlement by ancient Polynesian voyagers starting around 400 A.D.

Then readers learn about the devastation of the island’s ecosystem, first with uncontrolled populations of goats and then with misguided early attempts to revegetate the island with nonnative trees. The most devasting blow to the island came on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor, located on the island of ʻOʻahu, was bombed by the Imperial Forces of Japan in an event that thrust the US into World War II. On that day Kahoʻolawe was seized by the US Navy, and for the next 40+ years, the island became one of the most important military training areas. In fact, Kahoʻolawe was the only site listed on the National Register for Historic Places that was regularly bombed.

But then readers will learn how the island was saved, thanks to the heroic efforts of young Hawaiians. Organizing themselves as the Protect Kahoʻolawe ‘Ohana (PKO), these unsung heroes wrested control of the island back from the world’s mightiest military. And readers will cheer on PKO and the many helpers and volunteers who work to restore the island.

By the way, I am so pleased that Kaho’olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People is Junior Library Guild selection. Yay! 

 

When did you start writing picture books and was Kahoʻolawe your first idea for a picture book?

The book began during COVID as a homework assignment for an online class with renown children’s author Candace Fleming. Intended as a middle grade nonfiction, I decided that maybe a picture book format might be an effective way to introduce readers to Kahoʻolawe’s history. I drafted and revised and sent the manuscript off into the world. I am grateful that this book landed me my agent, the amazing James McGowan of BookEnds Literary.

 

How did you get the idea? What made you want to write about it?

Like many Native Hawaiians, I grew up hearing the stories that Kahoʻolawe was just a barren rock. For me, at least, the second Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s made me realize that I needed to learn the real history of my people.

I wanted to tell the true and heartbreaking story of the island’s destruction. Ultimately, though, the story of Kahoʻolawe is one of hope and social justice.  I want my readers to understand that through all of those difficult years when the island was used for military training, the people and the island persisted and thrived. Aloha ʻāina – a deep love for the land – prevails.

(In my upcoming PB Kaho'olawe) I wanted to tell the true and heartbreaking story of the island’s destruction. Ultimately, though, the story of Kahoʻolawe is one of hope and social justice. Share on X

One of the book’s key features is that it’s told in layered text, a device that the nonfiction author Melissa Stewart employs masterfully.  The main text is intended for young readers and is told from the island’s point of view. On the same spread is a sidebar that’s full of Hawaiian context for older readers. Those sidebars help inform the reader who might be unfamiliar with the island or with our culture.

 

We’ve been online communicating since 2021, and I have been a champion of your book since I read your early drafts. Personally, I think it’s so needed in the picture book space. But why are you passionate about it? Why should this book be on every little child’s bookshelf?

You have, Brandi. Mahalo nui!

Kaho’olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People, while focused on indigenous, homegrown efforts, has universal themes of courage, persistence, and social justice.

Very few, even in Hawaii, know how the courageous members of PKO throughout the 1970s and 1980s sacrificed their livelihoods and risked multiple arrests to stand up for what was pono – what was right. It’s an amazing story made all the more remarkable for being true. The story is hopeful, with real examples of resilience in the ongoing environmental, educational, and cultural restoration efforts by PKO, along with the state’s Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission and many volunteers.

And to be pono, I’ve pledged 100% of my author’s proceeds to PKO to help support their ongoing work on island. I am grateful to PKO’s leadership, particularly Dr. Davianna McGregor, for vetting the drafts and for their encouragement and support.

Stick around for PII of my conversation with Kamalani!