Princess Kaiulani Keiki Festival Hosts Kauai Authors

The Annual Princess Kaiulani Keiki Festival will be held in Hanapepe Town on Saturday October 18th, 2013. This very special event celebrates the life of Princess Kaiulani and the culture of Hawaii.

The festival includes a full day of Hawaiian cultural activities, performances by local hula halau, celebrity story readers, a main street parade, children's arts and crafts,  and of course a visit from the princess.

For the last few years, the festival has also hosted the Kauai Children's Authors Guild. This year, children can enjoy listening to local authors reading their books in the Storybook Theatre. The children will be able to interact with local authors and the authors will also be available for book signings. The Kauai Children's Authors Guild members will also be able to discuss their goals for Read Across Kauai Day that will be held on February 28th, 2014.

This event is produced by the Storybook Theatre of Hawaii. For more information please visit www.storybook.org or email director@storybook.org.

Hurray for an official Read Across Kauai Day!

The Kauai Children's Authors Guild is elated to announce that Kauai Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. has issued a Proclamation designating February 28th, 2014 as Read Across Kauai Day. Members of the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild were recognized for initiating a huge project to support literacy on Kauai.  The designation of this day was requested in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood education and literacy. 

"Literacy is so important." states Guild Member, Susan Dierker. 

Here are some startling literacy statistics:

• According to 2009 NAEP results, 33% of 4th grade public school students are at or below the "Basic" level and 26% of 8th graders performed at or below the "basic" level.
• Two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare. 
• Over 70 percent of America’s inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level.
• According to UNESCO, two-thirds of the adult illiterate population are women.
• According to NCES, 26% of children who were read to three or four times in the last week by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet. This is compared to 14 % of children who were read to less frequently.
• Only 53% of children ages 3-5 were read to daily by a family member (1999). Children in families with incomes below the poverty level are less likely to be read to aloud everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above poverty (UNESCO).

"After reading statistics like these, you just have to take action when you are in a position to be able to help," says Guild Member Monika Mira.

As a result, the Guild members came up with the idea of having a day designated to literacy right here on Kauai. The concept for the event, which corresponds with the date of the national Read Across America Day, is that Kauai authors will be reading books to Kauai’s preschool and kindergarten students. The authors will also be distributing books to these children on the day of the event. Children who participate in the event will  be sent home with information about the program and encouraged to read the books with their parents. The goal for the first year is to raise enough money to put 500-1000 books in Kauai’s student’s and teacher’s hands.

Any business or organization that is interested in sponsoring books for children or for a classroom is encouraged to contact the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild. Schools, libraries and educational organizations that would like to request a visit from an author should also contact the Guild.

Children's Book Week on Kauai

Children’s Book Week is celebrated from May 13-19 in 2013. This year, the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild is doing something a little different. Members are working to develop a day devoted to literacy on Kauai. This project is in the early stages of development, but Guild members hope to gain support and partner with other agencies around the island and the state as they get closer to a date sometime next year.

The Kauai Children’s Authors Guild recognizes the importance of early childhood education and the need to support literacy efforts on Kauai. The Guild is proposing the creation, proclamation, and designation of a day devoted to promoting literacy on Kauai. For now, we are calling this day, “Read Across Kauai Day,” but it could also be called “Kauai Literacy Day.” We would like to model this day after the efforts of organizations like Jumpstart and First Books, Read for the Record, and Read Across America Day.

The idea is to partner with a non-profit agency to help raise funds for the purchase and distribution of children’s books by Kauai authors to preschool and kindergarten students attending schools on Kauai. Why not just any books? Guild members feel that the impact of meeting and interacting with local authors far surpasses just handing a child a book. However, the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild will also be partnering with other organizations like KART (Kids are Readers Too Foundation) to provide additional books to the children that may not be written by local authors, but could be read and delivered by local authors.

The effort would be to raise awareness about the importance of both literacy and early childhood education. Children that are sent home with books would be given information about the program and would be encouraged to read books with their parents. Members of the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild would be available to appear in schools to read their books to children on the day of the event. When an author interacts with a child, there becomes a personal connection with the book. Allowing children to actually meet and interact with local authors can make a further impact on the children about literacy, not just about reading but also about encouraging creativity through writing and artistic expression.

The goal for the first year is to raise enough funds to put 500-1000 books in student’s hands. For future years, the goal is to get a book to every preschool and Kindergarten student on Kauai.

Any nonprofit agency, literacy organization, retailer, volunteer, or corporate sponsors that would like to help the Kauai Children’s Authors Guild put books into the hands of children is encouraged to contact the Guild at lucidhawaii@mac.com.

Free Books for Earth Day

Kauai author, Monika Mira is concerned about the state of our coral reefs. In a recent interview she stated, "I feel that it is my duty to not only highlight all the fun and interesting facts about these amazing animals, but also make children aware of the things that may threaten their existence. I am committed to teaching children to become stewards of the environment, so in my books, you will often see a list of ways that children can help conserve these animals and their environment."

Recently, Kauai's north shore reefs have been plagued by a mysterious, fast spreading coral disease. Mira feels that it is not only extremely important to spread the word about protecting coral reefs, but also also extremely urgent. Coral reefs are at the basis of the food chain and are extremely valuable to our economy and the overall health of the environment.

 So, for Earth Day, Mira is offering her book, Coral Reefs FREE on Amazon. She has also discounted her best-selling book, Hawaii's Green Sea Turtles to just 99 cents. She hopes that you will download her books and take action.

 Mira's first title, The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book, just won another national award, the KART Kids Book List Award. This title is printed on Green Seal certified recycled paper in an effort to be consistent with Mira's environmental goals. Happy Earth Day! Spread the word and help protect our coral reefs!

National Library Week Events, Kauai Authors Day at Kukui Grove

Kauai Authors will celebrating National library week by making a number of appearances at events on Kauai during the week of April 14th-20th.

On Saturday, April 13, 2013 dozens of authors will be signing and selling their books at Kukui Grove shopping center. The event is sponsored by Friends of Lihue Library in conjunction with their Spring Used Booksale Fundraiser. This event will host dozens of Kauai's Authors, and a number of different   genres will be represented.

Pam Brown will be signing copies of her recent release, Kauai Stories, a magical collection of stories written by the residents of Kauai. Each heartwarming story tells about the history, culture, and people of Kauai through the eyes of its residents.

Jan TenBruggencate will be signing copies of his book, Lihue Mill, One Hundred Years of Sugar Processing along Nawiliwili Stream: Grinding Cane and Building a Community. This is probable one of the most interesting historical accounts of how the sugar industry influenced life on Kauai.

The Kauai Children's Authors Guild  members will be signing their children's books. These include: The Eye of the Lion by Mark Jeffers, Benny the Beetle by Carol Peacock-Williams, Knuckles, The Hound of Hanalei by Susan Dierker, Sabrina, The Girls with a Hole in Her Heart by Wendy Lewis, King of the Beach by Mark Huff and The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book by Monika Mira. Monika Mira will also be signing copies of her new release, Who Lives in the Sea? Ocean Animals of Hawaii.


Many of Kauai's Authors will also be present at different events being held at Kauai Museum over the next month.

Who Lives in the Sea? Ocean Animals of Hawaii

Lucid Publishing is proud to announce the release of Who Lives in the Sea? Ocean Animals of Hawaii!


Award-winning Kauai author, Monika Mira brings you a repetitive rhyming story about ocean animals that encourages early reading skills and answers the burning questions that the inquisitive minds of young children tend to ask about the world around us. The rhythmic verse is accompanied by captivating collage illustrations that introduce children to sea creatures like whales, dolphins, sharks and starfish and the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal. A perfect gift for children visiting Hawaii, or any child that is interested in marine life. Recommended for Ages 2-5. Available on Amazon.

Click below to preview a sample portion of the book.

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