"In 1924, Robert Frisbie arrived on the island of Puka-Puka, one of the most remote in the South Pacific, to run a trading post. Within months he had learned the language and become absorbed into the ways of its ancient, indigenous community - fishing, picnicking, swimming, sleeping and falling in love."--Back cover.

Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka (2nd edition) by Florence (Johnny) Frisbie is the first book written by a Polynesian woman. It tells the amazing story of a young girl growing up on a remote island in the Cook Islands group. Written when Johnny was between the ages of 12 and 14, and published in 1948 when she was 15, Johnny likens her travels through South Pacific islands to those of Ulysses in the Odyssey. Through Johnny's fresh and unspoiled eyes, we read of a Garden-of-Eden existence on a remote atoll, where the land and the sea provide all that is necessary for life. The sea brings danger as well; Johnny describes the terror of a hurricane that all but destroys a deserted island where she and her family are marooned. The sea rises and floods the entire island to a depth of six feet; they barely survive by tying themselves to the topmost branches of a tall tree. Johnny's writing sparkles. She has humor and wisdom beyond her years as she describes life and customs on the island where she grew up. Her grandmother's extended family, the trading station operated by her father, the local witch doctor, a native missionary, her father's mistress after the death of her mother, and her first boyfriend are among the characters she describes with unflinching honesty. Cut off from the outside world, the island is so remote that six months pass between visits by passing ships. She learns at an early age to be self-reliant. Struck early by tragedy (her mother died when Johnny was nine years old), she helps her father care for four brothers and sisters until he falls ill and dies when she is sixteen. Friends including James A. Michener arrange a foster family in Hawaii where she pursues her education and re-unites with her two sisters. Out of print for more than sixty years, Johnny has added two new chapters to this classic and compelling book and illustrated it with family photos and three maps.

"The Island of Desire" is an island adventure cum romance novel by author Robert Dean Frisbie, based on his own real life adventures. Frisbie begins with the tale of his courtship of his Polynesian wife on the idyllic setting of the Puka Puka Island. Thereafter, the couple moves with their four children to Suvarrow Island in the Cook Islands. It is there that they learn to survive on the island, hunting and gathering for their needs. But their blissful life on the island will face its greatest challenge when a furious hurricane storms the island, bringing untold destruction in its wake...

When Jamie O'Rourke's wife leaves him alone for a week, it's up to Jamie to do the housework. But Jamie isn't just the laziest man in Ireland, he's also the messiest! When a magical pooka arrives unexpectedly and starts to do the dishes and sweep the house, Jamie thinks that maybe he's the luckiest man in Ireland as well. But will Jamie's good fortune-and his pooka's housekeeping-last? Young readers will be giggling through Tomie dePaola's delightfully funny sequel to Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato. "DePaola's jaunty storytelling pace and his snappy Irish phrases give this tale extra sparkle." Publishers Weekly, starred review

Making History begins with a puzzle. In 1976 the inhabitants of Pukapuka, a Polynesian island in the South Pacific, revived a traditional form of social organization that several authoritative Pukapukan informants claimed to have experienced previously in their youth. Yet five professional anthropologists, who conducted research on the island prior to 1976, do not mention it in any of their writings. Had the Pukapukans 'invented' a new tradition? Or had the anthropologists collectively erred in not recording an old one? In unraveling this puzzle, Robert Borofsky compares two different ways of 'making history', two different ways of constructing knowledge about the past. He examines the dynamic nature of Pukapukan knowledge focusing on how Pukapukans, in the process of learning and validating their traditions, continually change them. He also shows how anthropologists, in the process of writing about such traditions for Western audiences, often overstructure them, emphasizing uniformity at the expense of diversity, stasis at the expense of change. As well as being of interest for what it reveals about Pukapukan (and more generally Polynesian) culture, Making History helps clarify important strengths and limitations of the anthropological approach. It provides valuable insights into both the anthropological construction of knowledge and the nature of anthropological understanding.

Te Rauparaha is most well known today as the composer of the haka &‘Ka mate', made famous the world over by the All Blacks. A major figure in nineteenth-century history, Te Rauparaha was responsible for rearranging the tribal landscape of a large part of the country after leading his tribe Ngati Toa to migrate to Kapiti Island. He is venerated by his own descendants but reviled with equal passion by the descendants of those tribes who were on the receiving end of his military campaigns in the musket-war era. He Pukapuka Tataku i nga Mahi a Te Rauparaha Nui is a 50,000-word account in te reo Maori of Te Rauparaha's life, written by his son Tamihana Te Rauparaha between 1866 and 1869. A pioneering work of Maori (and, indeed, indigenous) biography, Tamihana's narrative weaves together the oral accounts of his father and other kaumatua to produce an extraordinary record of Te Rauparaha and his rapidly changing world. Edited and translated by Ross Calman, a descendant of Te Rauparaha, He Pukapuka Tataku i nga Mahi a Te Rauparaha Nui makes available for the first time this major work of Maori literature in a parallel Maori/English edition.

The bestselling author of Merle’s Door offers a “moving, pictorial love story” of man and his new best friend—full of dog care knowledge and insight (People). After Ted Kerasote’s beloved dog Merle passed, the author received thousands of emails asking two questions: “Have you gotten another dog?” and “Are you writing a new book?” Now, the bestselling canine lover answers both, in the most heartwarming way. Told in Pukka the pup’s charming voice and accompanied by more than 200 photos, Pukka: The Pup After Merle tells the story of how Ted found Pukka. It recounts the early days of their bonding as they explored both Ted’s hometown of Kelly, Wisconsin, and the wider world. As walks become hikes and hikes become climbs, pup and man’s adventures culminate in a rugged wilderness journey that teaches both Pukka and Ted something new about the dog-human partnership. Filled with stunning images of the West—and adorable pictures of Pukka—this book also shares Ted’s in-depth research on the best food, toys, and medical choices he could provide to ensure that Pukka would live the longest, healthiest life possible. “Glimpses of Pukka’s charmed life are interwoven with vast amounts of important information . . . that [encourage] you to draw your own conclusions and make the best choices for you and your dog.” —The Bark

John Severson (born 1933) revolutionized pop culture's vision of surfing and surf culture through his prolific artistic output that transverses decades and disciplines. He began his career as a painter, selling his canvases at Long Beach State College. These first works consisted of oil paintings, photographs, drawings and prints relating to Hawaiian and Californian surf culture. In 1958, Severson expanded his repertoire and created a series of popular surf movies, such as Surf Safari, Surf Fever, Big Wednesday and Pacific Vibrations. While his were among the first surf movies, it was the posters associated with them, hugely popular when issued in the 1950s and 1960s, that remain collector favorites today. Showcased in these early posters, his graphic skills translated easily to Surfer magazine, which he founded in 1960. The magazine was the first to celebrate and revolutionize the art and sport of surfing, establishing it as a powerful pop culture phenomenon. The first issue was a 36-page collection of black-and-white photos, cartoon sketches and short articles--every aspect of which was created by Severson himself. His photographs appeared in Life, Sports Illustrated, Paris Match and other print venues. John Severson's SURF explores Severson's surf odyssey through painting, photography, film and publishing. Featuring an interview with the artist by Nathan Howe, artist and curator at Puka Puka, Hawaii, foreword by Gerry Lopez, surfer and co-founder of Lightning Bolt surfboards and afterword by Drew Kampion, author and former editor of Surfer, John Severson's SURF documents the birth of surf culture and serves as a testament to our ocean.

Zomorod (Cindy) Yousefzadeh is the new kid on the block...for the fourth time. California’s Newport Beach is her family’s latest perch, and she’s determined to shuck her brainy loner persona and start afresh with a new Brady Bunch name—Cindy. It’s the late 1970s, and fitting in becomes more difficult as Iran makes U.S. headlines with protests, revolution, and finally the taking of American hostages. Even puka shell necklaces, pool parties, and flying fish can't distract Cindy from the anti-Iran sentiments that creep way too close to home. A poignant yet lighthearted middle grade debut from the author of the bestselling Funny in Farsi. California Library Association’s John and Patricia Beatty Award Winner Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award (Grades 6–8) New York Historical Society’s New Americans Book Prize Winner Middle East Book Award for Youth Literature, Honorable Mention Booklist 50 Best Middle Grade Novels of the 21st Century