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Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves
Rumford, James. Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. 40 pp. ISBN 0-618-35611-8 (hc). $16.00. Illus. (col).
In Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves, James Rumford re-introduces us to the five brothers who set sail in his 1998 book, The Island-below-the-Star, and discovered the Hawaiian Islands. This fictional account takes place over 2,000 years ago and again we encounter the exciting life of discovery with brothers, Hoku, who loved the stars, Na'ale, who loved the sea, 'Opua, who loved clouds, Makani, who loved wind, and Manu, who loved birds. While walking along the ocean, Manu, the youngest of the five, came across a wounded animal. He called his brothers over to see it and at first they all thought it was a dog. However, as they got closer they saw it had flippers, a fish's tail and the body of a dolphin. They named the peculiar animal "Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves" and after nursing it back to health, Manu and Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves became the best of friends. As the brothers continued their discovery down the island chain, they found themselves in grave danger near an erupting volcano. The brothers are thrust into the sea by a terrible explosion and young Manu struggles for his life. He can't make it to the surface because the roaring sea is too powerful. Luckily his sea-dog friend comes to Manu's rescue. The five brothers are reunited and Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves is their hero.
James Rumford takes the reader in to the life of the early Polynesians and their explorations. His use of vibrant watercolor illustrations helps create an imagery of the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. Although this story is imaginary, it is a believable tale for young children interested in exploration. Geared towards children ages four to eight, this book would be great for story-time at any library with a children's room. Although the book is a sequel to his 1998, The Island-below-the-Star, I was impressed that the reader does not have to be familiar with the first story at all to enjoy this continuation. Each illustration is spread across two pages and the text is separate, either at the bottom of the page or to the side. The incorporation of text and artwork make for an easy transition to the next page. The story evolves different emotions in the reader in a full-circle pattern. It begins with the excitement of discovery, then a longing for things of the past, moves to heartwarming, then humorous, then exhilaration and fear, relief, and finally back to the excitement of discovery again. Dog keeps the reader entertained and satisfied. The material is accurate except for one minor inconsistency I found; the story begins by explaining that "some two thousand years ago" the first people arrived in the Hawaiian Islands, but the book jacket states that the book is set fifteen hundred years ago. One other thing that bothered me was that on each page with the text, Rumford included an illustration and name of one of the first known plants or animals to inhabit the islands. I felt this was distracting and complicated the story from flowing. It would have been best, in my opinion, to save this morsel of information for the last few pages where Rumford treats the reader with historical facts. Not only does Rumford follow the story with a complete version written in Hawaiian, but he also includes an illustration of the Northwestern Hawaiian Island chain and the eight main Hawaiian Islands. He incorporated a short pronunciation key and ends the book with a brief description of endangered species of plants and animals in Hawai'i.
Master storyteller James Rumford is a resident of Manoa on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. He has studied more than a dozen languages and traveled the world while in the Peace Corps. He draws from these travels to create wonderful and beautifully illustrated storybooks. His most recent book, Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing, was a 2005 Sibert Honor winner, received a 2005 Jane Addams Children's Book Award and a Children's Crown Award. Rumford is also the recipient of a 2004 Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book Award for Calabash Cat and his Amazing Journey.
This book's intrinsic worth deserves a place among all public and K-6 school library shelves. It is a great addition to any children's room because of its beautiful depiction of discovery, travel, family, friendship, strength and courage. It is well-bound, excellently written and unique.
In Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves, James Rumford re-introduces us to the five brothers who set sail in his 1998 book, The Island-below-the-Star, and discovered the Hawaiian Islands. This fictional account takes place over 2,000 years ago and again we encounter the exciting life of discovery with brothers, Hoku, who loved the stars, Na'ale, who loved the sea, 'Opua, who loved clouds, Makani, who loved wind, and Manu, who loved birds. While walking along the ocean, Manu, the youngest of the five, came across a wounded animal. He called his brothers over to see it and at first they all thought it was a dog. However, as they got closer they saw it had flippers, a fish's tail and the body of a dolphin. They named the peculiar animal "Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves" and after nursing it back to health, Manu and Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves became the best of friends. As the brothers continued their discovery down the island chain, they found themselves in grave danger near an erupting volcano. The brothers are thrust into the sea by a terrible explosion and young Manu struggles for his life. He can't make it to the surface because the roaring sea is too powerful. Luckily his sea-dog friend comes to Manu's rescue. The five brothers are reunited and Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves is their hero.
James Rumford takes the reader in to the life of the early Polynesians and their explorations. His use of vibrant watercolor illustrations helps create an imagery of the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. Although this story is imaginary, it is a believable tale for young children interested in exploration. Geared towards children ages four to eight, this book would be great for story-time at any library with a children's room. Although the book is a sequel to his 1998, The Island-below-the-Star, I was impressed that the reader does not have to be familiar with the first story at all to enjoy this continuation. Each illustration is spread across two pages and the text is separate, either at the bottom of the page or to the side. The incorporation of text and artwork make for an easy transition to the next page. The story evolves different emotions in the reader in a full-circle pattern. It begins with the excitement of discovery, then a longing for things of the past, moves to heartwarming, then humorous, then exhilaration and fear, relief, and finally back to the excitement of discovery again. Dog keeps the reader entertained and satisfied. The material is accurate except for one minor inconsistency I found; the story begins by explaining that "some two thousand years ago" the first people arrived in the Hawaiian Islands, but the book jacket states that the book is set fifteen hundred years ago. One other thing that bothered me was that on each page with the text, Rumford included an illustration and name of one of the first known plants or animals to inhabit the islands. I felt this was distracting and complicated the story from flowing. It would have been best, in my opinion, to save this morsel of information for the last few pages where Rumford treats the reader with historical facts. Not only does Rumford follow the story with a complete version written in Hawaiian, but he also includes an illustration of the Northwestern Hawaiian Island chain and the eight main Hawaiian Islands. He incorporated a short pronunciation key and ends the book with a brief description of endangered species of plants and animals in Hawai'i.
Master storyteller James Rumford is a resident of Manoa on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. He has studied more than a dozen languages and traveled the world while in the Peace Corps. He draws from these travels to create wonderful and beautifully illustrated storybooks. His most recent book, Sequoyah: The Cherokee Man Who Gave His People Writing, was a 2005 Sibert Honor winner, received a 2005 Jane Addams Children's Book Award and a Children's Crown Award. Rumford is also the recipient of a 2004 Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book Award for Calabash Cat and his Amazing Journey.
This book's intrinsic worth deserves a place among all public and K-6 school library shelves. It is a great addition to any children's room because of its beautiful depiction of discovery, travel, family, friendship, strength and courage. It is well-bound, excellently written and unique.
Submitted in April 2006 by Cindy Wagner, LIS Student, University of Hawai'i at Manoa.
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