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Royal Waker-Upper
Masters, Elaine and Andrew Leung (illustrator). The Royal Waker-Upper. Island Heritage (94-411 Koaki Street, Waipahu, Hawaii 96797, U.S.A.), 2003. 39pp. ISBN 0-89610-992-5 9 (hc), $11.99.
Elaine Masters’ The Royal Waker-Upper is the fictional tale of a young boy assigned to sing King David Kalakaua awake each morning. Masters named her character Mele and placed him in the palace of Hawaii’s ruling King during the late 1800s. Mele is lonely in the palace without other children to play with. To remedy his loneliness Mele seeks a pet. He befriends a dog, a cat, and a mysterious unknown animal with disastrous results. In preparation for a very important guest, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mele’s mother, the Royal Pastry Chef, and father, the Royal Guardsman, insist “No pets!” Mele is now sad as well as lonely. One day he finds a mynah bird with a broken wing. Mele mends the bird’s wing and keeps it safe in a basket at home. When his parents discover the bird they allow him to keep it until the wing is healed. Mele soon discovers the mynah bird echoes everything it hears. Meanwhile everyone in the palace, including Mele, anxiously prepare for the arrival of a very important visitor, Robert Louis Stevenson. Mele practices and practices his song in order to make it extra special for the King’s awakening on the day of the famous writer’s visit. When the important day comes Mele’s voice is gone. He cries to his new friend and the mynah bird begins to sing just like Mele. Mele walks with the singing bird to the palace where the King awakes as scheduled. Mele’s mother and father appreciate the bird’s efforts to save the day but when the bird’s wing is healed they insist it be released. The story ends with the freed bird choosing to stay near Mele and the two Royal Waker-Uppers sing in harmony to their King each morning.
The setting provides the reader with a hint of what life may have been like during the late 1800’s in the palace of King Kalakaua. An Iolani Palace pop-up welcomes the reader at the first opening of the book. The paper palace is surprisingly durable with only a minor tear after years of borrowing. Rich and colorful illustrations fill the pages, enhance the emotions, and attend to the Hawaiian flavored details of the story. The plot line is predictable and easy to follow. Dialogue and suspense provide reader interest.
The Royal Waker-Upper is Masters’ fifteenth book. She has written a number of picture books including, Momi the Hawaiian Mermaid in the Land of Delight, two Footloose the Mongoose books, and Lullaby Moon, as well as, three historical fiction chapter books for children , Yumi and Her Best-Forever Friend, The Thief in Chinatown, and Kalani and the Night Marchers. Masters has been an educator and evangelist spending lengths of times with many different cultures. She calls Hawaii home along with a number of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Andrew Leung is a matte artist with a creative past. He has worked for Disney as a character animator and visual development artist. Leung has brought to life the environments featured in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and the ABC mini-series, Empire. He has done commercial work for Pepsi, Kia, Nissan, Mattel, and films, Team America: World Police, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D, and Stay. Leung currently lives in New York where he works as a concept designer in his spare time.
This picture book is an entertaining stretch of historical fact suitable for children from five to twelve years of age. Hawaii’s historical setting in The Royal Waker-Upper provides young readers insight into an era when monarchs reigned in the islands. The story is suitable reading to initiate a study of the Hawaiian Monarchy.
Elaine Masters’ The Royal Waker-Upper is the fictional tale of a young boy assigned to sing King David Kalakaua awake each morning. Masters named her character Mele and placed him in the palace of Hawaii’s ruling King during the late 1800s. Mele is lonely in the palace without other children to play with. To remedy his loneliness Mele seeks a pet. He befriends a dog, a cat, and a mysterious unknown animal with disastrous results. In preparation for a very important guest, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mele’s mother, the Royal Pastry Chef, and father, the Royal Guardsman, insist “No pets!” Mele is now sad as well as lonely. One day he finds a mynah bird with a broken wing. Mele mends the bird’s wing and keeps it safe in a basket at home. When his parents discover the bird they allow him to keep it until the wing is healed. Mele soon discovers the mynah bird echoes everything it hears. Meanwhile everyone in the palace, including Mele, anxiously prepare for the arrival of a very important visitor, Robert Louis Stevenson. Mele practices and practices his song in order to make it extra special for the King’s awakening on the day of the famous writer’s visit. When the important day comes Mele’s voice is gone. He cries to his new friend and the mynah bird begins to sing just like Mele. Mele walks with the singing bird to the palace where the King awakes as scheduled. Mele’s mother and father appreciate the bird’s efforts to save the day but when the bird’s wing is healed they insist it be released. The story ends with the freed bird choosing to stay near Mele and the two Royal Waker-Uppers sing in harmony to their King each morning.
The setting provides the reader with a hint of what life may have been like during the late 1800’s in the palace of King Kalakaua. An Iolani Palace pop-up welcomes the reader at the first opening of the book. The paper palace is surprisingly durable with only a minor tear after years of borrowing. Rich and colorful illustrations fill the pages, enhance the emotions, and attend to the Hawaiian flavored details of the story. The plot line is predictable and easy to follow. Dialogue and suspense provide reader interest.
The Royal Waker-Upper is Masters’ fifteenth book. She has written a number of picture books including, Momi the Hawaiian Mermaid in the Land of Delight, two Footloose the Mongoose books, and Lullaby Moon, as well as, three historical fiction chapter books for children , Yumi and Her Best-Forever Friend, The Thief in Chinatown, and Kalani and the Night Marchers. Masters has been an educator and evangelist spending lengths of times with many different cultures. She calls Hawaii home along with a number of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Andrew Leung is a matte artist with a creative past. He has worked for Disney as a character animator and visual development artist. Leung has brought to life the environments featured in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and the ABC mini-series, Empire. He has done commercial work for Pepsi, Kia, Nissan, Mattel, and films, Team America: World Police, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D, and Stay. Leung currently lives in New York where he works as a concept designer in his spare time.
This picture book is an entertaining stretch of historical fact suitable for children from five to twelve years of age. Hawaii’s historical setting in The Royal Waker-Upper provides young readers insight into an era when monarchs reigned in the islands. The story is suitable reading to initiate a study of the Hawaiian Monarchy.
Submitted in April 2007 by Lisa Leach, LIS Graduate Student, University of Hawaii at Manoa
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