Pele and Poli'ahu

Summary of Book

Long, long ago, on the Island of Hawaii, there lived two beautiful goddesses. Pele, the goddess of fire, lived on the slopes of Mauna Loa. Poliahu, the goddess of snow, lived on the snowcapped peaks of Mauna Kea. So begins the retelling of the classic Hawaiian legend a tale of fire and ice when Pele ventured off her fiery mountaintop to make mischief and challenge Poliahu to a sled race down the snowy slopes of Mauna Kea. It is a story about the power of nature, the power of wills, the power of skill, and an explanation of why the Big Island, to this day, is and island of contrasts.

Author Biography

Malia grew up in Hawaii and after leaving home for the wilds of Wisconsin where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Journalism from Beloit College. She spent a few years traveling and living abroad until going back home to Kailua, Oahu to get her Master’s in Literature at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. After finishing her degree she moved to Grenoble, France on a Rotary Ambassadorial scholarship to study French Literature at L’Universite Stendhal. It was there that she fell in love with snow and skiing. Shortly after returning to the States, she made a three-day stop in Boise to say hello to her grandparents. That was in 1999 and she’s been here ever since. She lives in Boise with her husband and two children.

Malia’s published short stories in a number of literary magazines, has two Hawaiian children’s books, and is currently working on a guide to Hawaiian Culture as well as a novel. She loves to swim in the ocean, walk Kailua Beach, and hike up Table Rock, particularly at sunrise.

Illustrator Biography

Kathleen B. Peterson has illustrated nineteen books. She is the founding director of the Central Utah Art Center and displays her landscape paintings in galleries around the west and on the Big Island of Hawai'i. A past resident of Hawai'i, Peterson currently divides her time between Utah and Idaho. Her other Hawaiiana children's book is Koa's Seed, written by Carolyn Han.