The Storytelling Form of Hula

Kaylin Melia George shares Aloha Everything, a story celebrating a courageous young girl named Ano who learns, grows, and comes to love her island home with all her heart.

BOOK DESCRIPTION: Aloha Everything by Kaylin Melia George and Mae Waite 

In this exciting adventure, you'll encounter mighty canoes crashing over ocean waves, royal hawks soaring high above the clouds, and brilliant lizard creatures jumping nimbly through forest trees! Most importantly, you'll meet a courageous young girl named Ano who learns, grows, and comes to love her island home with all her heart.

Since the day that Ano was born, her heart has been connected to her home. But, this adventurous child has a lot to learn! When Ano begins to dance hula — a storytelling dance from which carries the knowledge, history, and folklore of the Hawaiian people — Ano comes to understand the true meaning of aloha.

NOTABLE QUOTES:

(4:46) “The word aloha has a lot of different meanings and it primarily, for me, the way that I kind of root myself in it, the way that I think about it, means love. But aloha can also mean hello. It can mean goodbye. It can mean affection. It can mean a kind of caring or respect. And I like to think of it as when you say hello or goodbye to someone, you're greeting them with love and you're saying goodbye to them with love. That's the way that I like to think of it.” 

(6:08) “‘Aloha everything’ is really a reminder to ourselves to give love, care, respect, and appreciation to everything and everyone around us.”

(7:32) “It is first and foremost a form of storytelling. And through the hula, through the dance form, through the stories that are told, it is a way that the Hawaiian people pass on from generation to generation, information. Information, wisdom, knowledge, stories, folklore, genealogies. 

(14:22) “It's remarkable to me the things that I learned, not only about the islands, not only about the history of the Hawaiian people, but also about my own family and about myself throughout the creation of this book.”

(16:00) “All should remember from time to time the importance of aloha everything, the importance of giving love and care and respect to everything and everyone around us. And that also includes ourselves giving love to yourself and self-love and self-care and self-respect. 

And I think that that's something that I've learned a lot through the course of this process and something that I would love for every child to feel.  I hope that we can all remember to aloha everything. Aloha our friends, our family, our earth, our plants and animals, and also ourselves.” 

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

• Aloha Everything Website - www.mythify.com/aloha-everything

• Purchase the Book - Aloha Everything

• Hula Preservation Society - website

TALK ABOUT THE EPISODE:

1. Kaylin shared that ‘aloha’ and, specifically, to ‘aloha everything’ is to give love, care, respect, and appreciation to everything and everyone around us. What are some of the things that come to mind for which you give love and thanks?

2. Hula is a form of storytelling through dance. In fact, hulu is a way that the Hawaiian people pass on from generation to generation, information. Information, wisdom, knowledge, stories, folklore, genealogies. What are ways that your family has passed down information from one generation to the next?

3. What are some ways that you can show love, care, respect, and appreciation for the people and the living things in your life?What might that look like if you were to share with someone who is near you right now?

CREDITS:

This podcast episode of The Children’s Book Podcast was written, edited, and produced by Matthew Winner. For a full transcript of this episode, visit matthewcwinner.com. 

Write to me or send me a message at matthewmakespods@gmail.com. 

Our podcast logo was created by Duke Stebbins (https://stebs.design/). 

Our music is by Podington Bear. 

Podcast hosting by Libsyn. 

You can support the show and buy me a coffee at www.matthewcwinner.com.

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Fellow teachers and librarians, want a way to explore building a stronger culture of reading in our communities? In The Reading Culture podcast, Beanstack co-founder Jordan Bookey hosts conversations that dive into beloved authors' personal journeys and insights into motivating young people to read. And I am a big fan! Check out the Reading Culture Podcast with Jordan Bookey, from Beanstack. Available wherever podcasts are found.

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