Author Description

In ''Iwa Tales, by author Craig B. Smith, Kaimi Kanahele, a young boy living in Honolulu meets a mysterious ''Iwa (Frigate Bird) on the beach. Intrigued by the large bird''s peculiar behavior, the boy approaches the bird. He is surprised to find that the bird speaks to him in a series of guttural croaks and hissing sounds, strange, but perfectly understandable. The first tale told by the bird describes how the early Polynesians arrived in the Hawaiian Islands, guided by one of the ''Iwa''s ancestors.Later, back at home, Kaimi wonders if he really heard the bird speak, or was it his imagination, magnified by the wind rustling through the palm trees at the beach? On successive days, Kaimi again encounters the ''Iwa, who rails at Kaimi''s inattentiveness as he tells him more tales about the history of the islands. The second Tale recounts an ancient legend concerning a prince from the island of Kaua''i who came to O''ahu to perfect his surfing skills. He falls in love with a bird having supernatural powers and able to change herself into the form of a beautiful girl. When he breaks a promise, the girl dies and the prince is turned to stone. The ''Iwa uses this story to emphasize to Kaimi that he must promise to remember the ''Iwa''s tales.The third tale concerns Kamehameha, the king who united the islands. The ''Iwa tells Kaimi how the king narrowly escaped capture and death at the hands of his enemies by swimming to an underwater cave in the Mokulua Islands, not far from Kailua. The ''Iwa challenges Kaimi: "Can you be like Kamehameha and accomplish great deeds, help save the seas and preserve these islands?" Later, the underwater cave takes on great significance for Kaimi. The fourth tale describes the attack on Pearl Harbor from the perspective of the ''Iwa birds that viewed the ferocity of the bombing and feared for the invasion of the island. In the fifth tale, the ''Iwa tells the story of a family that settled on the island near Kailua and made their home a place