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Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Reading List

Check out books about diverse Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander experiences. Browse a list of our top picks for all ages.

King County Library System

25 items

  • Indigenous activist and lawyer Aguon writes a collection of essays and prose about his native Guam. For those interested in an incisive, searing, and hopeful look at the turmoil brought about by climate change.
    BookNew York : Astra House, [2022] — 305.89952 AGU
  • Sakamoto's Swim Club

    How a Teacher Led An Unlikely Team to Victory

    Abery, Julie,
    The true story of science teacher Soichi Sakamoto, who formed a champion swim club consisting of the Hawaiian and Japanese children of impoverished sugarcane workers in the 1930s.
    BookToronto : Kids Can Press, 2021. — EB SAKAMOTO
  • Aguon presents stories from his childhood in the villages of Guam. His work describes the beauty of his island, the magic of Micronesia, and the wisdom of his favorite books and elders.
    BookMangilao, Guam : University of Guam Press, 2021. — 996.7 AGU
  • A coming of age story about Alofa, a Samoan girl. Through her eyes is seen the clash of traditional and Western cultures.
    BookNew York, NY : Kaya, 1999. — FIC FIGIEL
  • A vibrant picture book about a young girl who learns to dance hula. A storytelling dance that carries the history and folklore of the Hawaiian people. Ano comes to understand the true meaning of aloha.
    BookBrooklyn, New York : Red Comet Press, [2024] — E GEORGE
  • A Child's Introduction to Asian American and Pacific Islander History

    the Heroes, the Stories, and the Cultures That Helped to Build America

    Hirahara, Naomi, 1962-
    Celebrate the diversity, history, and rich cultures of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and teach kids about the people, experiences, and events that have shaped AAPI history.
    BookNew York : Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2024. — J973.0495 HIR
  • Kahoʻolawe

    the True Story of An Island and Her People

    Hurley, Kamalani, 1955-
    Discover the story of the smallest Hawaiian island, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians, from its formation long ago to its present-day restoration as a protected site.
    BookMinneapolis, MN : Millbrook Press, [2025] — J996.922 HUR
  • Iep Jāltok

    Poems From a Marshallese Daughter

    Jetn̄̄il-Kijiner, Kathy
    Poetry about the traumas of colonialism, racism, forced migration, the legacy of nuclear testing by America, and the impending threats of climate change.
    BookTucson : The University of Arizona Press, [2017] — 899.521 JET
  • Hawaiian-born Clara is frustrated her best friend Leo doesn't talk to her anymore. Her grandmother suggests she make a wish on the family 'umeke to hear boys inner voices. She decides to use the power for good, but that's harder then it…
    BookNew York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2024] — J KAHAKAUWILA
  • A character-driven graphic novel about five players in a struggling girls' basketball team.
    BookNew York, NY : First Second, [2020] — YGN LEONG
  • A romantic fantasy where seadragon eggs can undo a person's "greatest sorrow." Two teens set out to find one, and discover there are many who seek it's power.
    BookNew York, NY : Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2024] — Y LUCIER
  • A memoir about coming of age as a queer, biracial teenager within the fierce contradictions of Boca Raton, Florida.
    BookNew York, NY : Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., 2019. — B MADDEN
  • Mophead

    How Your Difference Makes a Difference

    Marsh, Selina Tusitala,
    A moving graphic memoir of growing up Pasifika in New Zealand. At school, Selina is teased for her big, frizzy hair. Kids call her 'mophead.' She decides to let her hair out, to embrace her difference!
    BookAuckland, New Zealand : Auckland University Press, 2019. — JB MARSH
  • The author shows how different types of storytelling, primarily poetry, can be a form of healing from the many ills visited on the indigenous Chamoru people from Guåhan (Guam).
    BookOakland, California : Omnidawn Publishing, 2023. — 811.6 SAN
  • Through the diary entries of 13-year-old Sofia Savea, Smith explores an era of New Zealand history little known to many readers outside Oceania: the 1970s movement for Pacific Islanders' rights.
    BookMontclair, NJ : Levine Querido, 2021. — J SMITH
  • A collection that includes fifteen of Teaiwa's most influential pieces and four poems organized into three categories: Pacific Studies, Militarism and Gender, and Native Reflections.
    BookHonolulu : Center for Pacific Island Studies, School of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa : University of Hawaiʻi Press, [2021] — 355.021309 TEA
  • Maori poet Tibble meditates on the turbulence of youth and the spiritual guidance of her ancestors in her sagacious and humorously outspoken second collection.
    BookNew York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. — 821.92 TIB
  • Meet Punky Aloha: a girl who uses the power of saying "aloha" to experience exciting and unexpected adventures!
    BookNew York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2022. — E TUIASOA
  • After years in prison, Edie is determined to stay on the straight and narrow. However, an offer from the gorgeous woman who betrayed Edie tempts them into one last heist to take down a techno billionaire.
    BookNew York, NY : Harper Voyager, an imprint of HaperCollinsPublishers, 2025. — FIC YAMAMOTO
  • Telesā

    the Covenant Keeper

    Young, Lani Wendt,
    When Leila discovers she is heir to a fiery birthright, she must choose between the Sisterhood and the boy she loves. Can they overcome all that divides them, even the very elements?
    Book[Place of publication not identified] : [Lani Wendt Young], [2011] — FIC YOUNG