Hawaiian scholar and educator Mary Kawena Pukui is credited with writing over 50 books, including the Hawaiian language dictionary and the ‘Ōlelo No’eau, a book collection of proverbs and poetical sayings. The U.S. Mint's new $1 coin, which was released on Jan. 31, honors Pukui.
Author David Del Rocco is on a mission to share her legacy with young readers. He was tapped by Beachhouse Publishing to write a children's book titled "Mary Kawena Pukui: Knowledge Is Life."
"What I had to keep in mind when I was researching and writing this was keep it at a simple level, try to include things that a young kid might find interesting. Like, for instance, Mary Kawena Pukui had a pet goat. That's not a commonly known thing, and I thought that was kind of cute — especially the fact that the goat didn't like boys and he would butt them if they were near her. But also the important things about her life, all the things that she did," he said.
He shared that Pukui was 15 years old when she started collecting ‘Ōlelo No’eau.
"I remember watching a video of her. She said ʻTo me knowledge is life.' When she interviewed the kūpuna for their knowledge, it was all handwritten. This is in the days before computers. Someone had asked her, 'Why are you doing this?' Because it was a lot of work. In fact, I saw videos of her with an old tape recorder, but her answer was, 'If I don't do it, who will?' This is at a time when people didn't really respect the culture as much as they should have — didn't recognize how much was already being lost and she was aware of that," he said.
Del Rocco wrote and Storm Kano illustrated this second title in the Wayfinders series geared for young readers grades K-4. His first biography was about Patsy Mink. Two future releases will feature Hawaiʻi leaders Eddie Aikau and Edith Kanaka’ole.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Feb. 13, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
