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Caterina and the Best Beach Day

By Erin Eitter Kono

Chances are most families are making plans this time of year. They’re going to pick up, pack up and take off to the mountains, beach or wherever else they choose to chill out for the summer.

And it’s an even bet that at some time or another, those plans will include a trip to the beach. Jersey shore? Hamptons? Coney Island? Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket or a favorite lake.

Unless you’re a spur of the moment type that just needs a sunshine day and some free time, beach trips need a bit a planning.

Caterina of the Perfect Party and the Lemonade Stand, is on a beach bivouac search.

She and Leo are hoping for whale sightings. But first, Caterina must set up.

This is one beautiful bird that could have planned a D Day invasion if paraphernalia were part of the planned mix of deployed objects.

Caterina is methodical to the point of mania with “to do” lists that include the application of sunscreen, shell collecting, arts and crafts, an organized break for lunch, kite flying, sand castle building and looking for lost Leo. LEO!!!!! Where have you gone?

Not to worry, Leo is well, and whale watching is now high on Caterina’s agenda. Do they find one? Do they ride one? My money is on Caterina and Leo.

And if you look at the list on the last page in the hands of the smiling, larger than life, blue-framed, eye glass wearing Caterina, you will see how to really have a great beach day!

                     Taste the salt

Smell the sea

Hear the waves (listen to Leo)

Feel the sand

See EVERYTHING

Enjoy the WONDER of it all

Caterina is doing it her way. And I couldn’t have said it better.

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Here at the farm, we are having a happy season of showing what we grow to people that visit.

Please listen to Chad and Jeremy, and their classic 1964 “Summer Song” hit that recalls with its tunefulness, a simpler time with simple pleasures.

So, please, just take a deep breath… and enjoy it, and the moments of your summer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D2XD341xHo

Having spent eons now on a (still unfinished) illustrated middle grade novel, I can attest to the absolute necessity of proper character development.  Of course everyone knows how important unique characters are.  And everyone who begins to write and/or illustrate thinks they're creating them.  But, thinking and doing are not the same.  Looking at some of my early work, what frustrates me most is the lack of depth and differentiation.  The characters have a bit of spark, but they're not specific enough.  They should have been pushed more. Lots more. So, I've set up an exercise for myself to paint at least two animal portraits a week.  I've started with friends' and family's and may take on others as they come.  Hopefully by the end of the project the specific will be so engrained in my work that I’ll never paint another generic dog again.   

Here's some examples:

Ginger Silvia

Not new; but elephants.erin eitter konohttp://www.eekono.com/

"In Hawai'i the warm breeze often carries the sound of the ocean waves, the rustling leaves, and the rhythmic chants of the hula. It is not difficult to imagine rocking one's child, or keiki (keh kee), to sleep to the accompaniment of this gentle cadence." ~ Foreword, Hula Lullaby, by Erin Eitter Kono.


HULA LULLABY by Erin Eitter Kono (Little, Brown, 2005),
picture book for ages 4-8, 32 pp.

I first heard about Hula Lullaby when Sam Riddleburger interviewed Erin Eitter Kono for Robert's Snow: Blogging for a Cure 2007, organized by Jules and Eisha at 7-Imp.

High quality picture books about Hawai'i always get my immediate attention because they are so few and far between. This one just happens to be beautifully produced and culturally authentic, making it even rarer and cause for unabashed adulation.

Hula Lullaby is pitch perfect -- from the title page, awash in deep, Prussian blue and graced by red anthuriums, to the Foreword spread, set against the red-orange sky of a Hawaiian sunset, to the simple, soothing, repetitive rhyme of the lullaby itself, as it enfolds the reader in its warm, tropical spell:

Come little keiki
Crawl into my lap
Listen to the ipu
thump tap thump-a-tap.

See the fire's glow
Toss its golden light
Watch the dancers sway
Against the starry night.

There is a wonderful feeling of completeness here, a reverence for and connection to the natural world, which is underscored by a prevalence of round/circular images -- mother's arms caressing her child, hula skirts, lei, waves, moon, flowers. The lilting chant is accompanied by instruments made from natural materials -- a pahu, or drum made from a hollowed tree, an ipu heke, made from two gourds, and the pu'ili, bamboo rattles.



The reference to sky, mountain, land, and sea reminds me of a well-known chant by Hawaiian translator, enthnographer, and composer, Mary Kawena Pukui, entitled, "Behold," which is often taught to grade school children.

Above, above
all birds in air

Below, below
all earth's flowers

inland, inland
all forest trees

seaward, seaward
all ocean fish

sing out and say
again the refrain

Behold this lovely world.

In Erin Eitter Kono's entrancing book, the whole world partakes in this nighttime symphony.



The primitive acrylic and pencil illustrations are rendered in lush jewel tones, remniscent of Tahitian paintings by Gauguin. The movement of the dancers, the rolling and crashing of the sea waves, and the drift of warm breezes, all perfectly complement the pacing of the text, as the mother rocks, rocks, her baby to sleep. I love the sensual detail, too -- smell of the sea, fragrance of flowers, sounds both natural and manmade, which further envelops the reader in its comforting embrace.

Hula Lullaby received the Excellence in a Picture Book Award from the Children's Literature Council, and was named Best Lullaby and Goodnight Book by Nick, Jr. Magazine. Because of the traditional hula instruments (explained briefly in the Foreword), various Hawaiian flora and fauna, and its lyric beauty, this book, aside from being a lovely bedtime story, is an excellent resource for general Hawaiian study.



*As a special treat, Erin has agreed to share one of her favorite recipes, Chocolate Truffles!  She says it's not Hawaiian, but "really really good." Since it calls for Belgian chocolate, I need no convincing. Now, this is what I call the perfect way to sweeten the new year!

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
from Erin Eitter Kono

1/2 lb. bitter sweet chocolate (preferably Belgian)

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (preferably Irish)

crushed almonds

Melt chocolate and butter over simmering water.  Refrigerate until firm.  Scoop 1/2 inch balls and roll in hands until round, drop into crushed almonds and roll until coated.  Try not to eat all in one sitting.  Can also substitute almonds with other nuts, or cocoa.

Thanks, Erin!!

For more about Erin, visit her website or blog, and read this great article at THonline.com.

For more about Mary Kawena Pukui, see my Poetry Friday post here.

And be sure to check in with Anastasia Suen's Picture Book of the Day for today's Roundup!

                      

**Interior spreads posted by permission, copyright © 2005 Erin Eitter Kono, published by Little, Brown. All rights reserved.