hawaiian legends of dreams

while wandering through the stacks at the bookstore, i discovered that one of my favorite artists, caren loebel-fried, has published another book delving into the mythology of ancient hawaii. her stunning block prints are sprinkled throughout hawaiian legends of dreams which is a treat for both young and old.

keola beamer sums up the book very nicely in his foreward:

"dreams are the beginning. they are the seed of our ambitions, the source of our inspiration, and the impetus for our creations. the book you hold in your hands is the manifestation of caren loebel-fried's dream to share the mana`o of traditional hawaiians on the amorphous world of dreams.

in this book, her love of our culture is evident in her research and beautiful art. she has captured the spirit of our view of the world, in which all things are connected and there is no distance between souls, alive or passed over, which cannot be bridged. we believe that mana, or life force, flows through the universe, and all things have a voice . . . even in our dreams."

the companion book, hawaiian legends of the guardian spirits, is also perfect for bedtime stories so definitely check them out if you want to share the hawaiians' love of storytelling with the little ones in your life.