ILL Adventure - Hula Lullaby

OK. This one is not about the Appalachian Trail. Plus, it is not an adult book. It is, however, an Interlibrary Loan book! I requested this book for a Hawaiian themed storytime I was presenting to families with young children during the summer at my library. 

Interlibrary Loan Information

Book: Hula Lullaby written and illus. by Erin Eitter Kono 

Where Did It Come From: Irving Public Library System - Valley Ranch Branch. Irving, TX.

Condition: Well read, but in otherwise good condition. Great for storytime use. Sorry, there is no picture of this ILL book. Summer is a crazy season for me!

Book Review 

This books is a simple lullaby that has Hawaiian words, such as keiki (child), and ipu (short for ipu heke, a percussion instrument ) weaved into the lyric. The story is about snuggling close and looking, listening, and feeling to the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of hula dancers, drummers singing, waves crashing and breezes blowing. The illustrations are full of dark yet bright colors and beautifully show the natural surroundings and the people in Hawai'i. This lullaby works great for all ages. If you have little drums or percussion instruments, let the children play with them softly while you read the book. Egg shakers or maracas could work too.

Bibliographic Information 

Kono, Erin Eitter. 2005. Hula Lullaby. Illus. by Karen Eitter Kono. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 97803167359199780811735308.

Addition Information 

Hula Preservation Society - Ipu

Recommended Websites 

Hula Preservation Society - Ipu

Would I Buy It?
Yes. If I could find a copy and it was in good condition I would have this book for my programs. The diversity is great and the potential for music totally adds to it.

Book cover image from www.goodreads.com, 2014

News in the World of Literature - Madeleine L'Engle Dies

On Thursday, September 6th author Madeleine L'Engle (Camp Franklin) passed away at the age of 88.

Madeleine is notably famous for her young adult fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time, which won the Newbery Medal in 1963 and introduced the world to The Time Quintet and the Murry family. Madeleine began writing fiction at the tender age of five and eventually studied English at Smith College in Massachusetts. Her first novel was, The Small Rain, published in 1945. In her lifetime, she had published over 60 books. Along with Young Adult novels, she also wrote in the areas of Children’s fiction, General (adult) fiction, Autobiographical, Reflections on Scriptures. Fantasies was a specific genre that she used, however, she also focused on a spiritual theme that reflected her own faith in Christianity.

On top of being a writer and a mother, for amount of time, Madeleine was also an actress, a teacher and a volunteer librarian.

One fact that I love about Madeleine is her response to being called a “children’s author”(as written in AP articles

“She disliked that classification. In a 1993 Associated Press interview, she said she did not write down to children

“’In my dreams, I never have an age," she said. "I never write for any age group in mind. When people do, they tend to be tolerant and condescending and they don't write as well as they can write. When you underestimate your audience, you're cutting yourself off from your best work.'"

Well put. She will be missed by millions

Literature Used in Pop Culture

While doing research for a book I came across the 19th century Irish poet William Allingham’s poem "The Fairies" that has famous first four lines:

Up the airy mountain
Down the rushy glen,
We daren’t go a-hunting,
For fear of little men;

As I read these eerie lines a distant memory crept into my mind. Where have I heard the beginnings of Allingham’s poem? Why, the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, of course. The quote from "The Fairies," which is foreshadowing the appearance of the Oompa Loompas, is actually spoken by the Tinker to Charlie at the beginning of the film. I then remembered that in the movie Willy Wonka (wonderfully played by Gene Wilder) used very interesting quotes throughout the entire film. Curious of the origins of the quotes, I conducted research and found a fantastic website.

The Complete Willy Wonka Quotes and Sources lists all of the literary quotes that are used in the 1971 film as well as a giving a brief history of why the screenplay does not follow Roald Dahl’s children's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in some areas and a fascinating comparison between the appearance of Willy Wonka and a picture of Lewis Carroll.

The website is wonderfully organized. It gives the exact quote and to whom and when it is said in the film then it gives the source from literature. Among the list of authors and works are William Shakespeare, Hilaire Belloc, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, and Lewis Carroll. It’s fantastic! Check it out!

A side note: the author Roald Dahl has an extremely fun website as well!

News in the World of Literature - Harry Potter

After years of following the our favorite wizards and witches, after all the suspense, discussion, critiques, wonderings and whatever else that has drawn us to the epic story, the final book of J.K. Rowling’s remarkable Harry Potter Series is finally on the shelves around the world!

Jumping at the chance to take a midnight run to a local Wal-Mart on another errand, I claimed my copy of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows only a few hours past midnight.

Now, before I begin my read, I wish you all happy reading and please don’t spoil it for anyone!

Website Recommendation

If anyone is interested in children’s literature from the past the website Children’s Books Online: the Rosetta Project is the place to go. This website houses complete texts and illustrations of vintage children’s stories, poems, rhymes, chapter books and illustrations.


One of my favorite pieces of children’s lit. is found here: a 1902 copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses which contains poems such as “Bed in Summer,” “The Land of Counterpane,” and “Happy Thought.” Stevenson’s poems are from the point of view of a child, but they also have a sense of the “adult nostalgia for lost innocence and simplicity” (1840.) His work is absolutely wonderful and played an important role in children’s literature during the 19th century.

Damrosch, David, and Kevin Dettmar, eds. The Longman Anthology: British Literature. 3rd ed. Vol. 2B. New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2006. 1840.