Care to swim with the sea turtles, soar high above the earth with regal hawks, or hear wondrous tales of heroic voyagers navigating the Pacific by wind and stars?

Then join a young Hawaiian girl as she takes a magical journey around the Islands in this gorgeous new picture book, Aloha Everything by Kaylin Melia George and Mae Waite (Red Comet Press, 2024). Through the traditional storytelling dance of the hula, she learns about the history, culture, and folklore of her homeland while embracing the true meaning of “Aloha.”

We first meet little Ano one enchanted night:

In the hush of the night
with the moon still aglow,
a small baby was born
where the koa trees grow,

where lehua blooms bright,
where the mo'o give chase,
where the ocean spray's kiss
meets the sky's close embrace.

With her curls kapa soft,
breath like breadfruit so sweet,
this dear child evermore
shared the island's heartbeat.

This fierce-spirited, courageous child, so swift and smart, grew in both mind and heart. She was indeed special, but still had much to learn. What did hula teach her with its generations of treasured stories and rich lore?

First, she learned how the islands were formed, and about the evolution of plants and wildlife. As “humble seeds burst to blooms,” and “rock eroded to sand . . . a world born ablaze turned to lush wonderland.” Soon creatures filled the land, sea and sky from “mauka to makai.” Clinging to a hawk’s wings, the girl surveyed all these wonders from her perch amid the clouds, while the majestic bird imparted his wisdom: “To our ‘āina be just./When we care for our earth,/then our earth cares for us.”

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