Tales of Polynesia: Folktales from Hawai'i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa

by Yiling Changues (illustrator)

Explore the enchanting world of Polynesian folklore in this beautifully illustrated collection of traditional stories.

A woman falls in love with the king of the sharks. Two powerful sorcerers compete in a battle of magical wits. The king of Maui's fastest messenger races to bring a young woman back from the dead. In these traditional tales, the borders blur between life and death, reality and magic, and land and sea.

This volume includes legends from Hawai'i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa, showcasing the rich narrative tradition of the Polynesian islands. You'll encounter awe-inspiring warriors, tricky magicians, and fearsome creatures of the deep. Each tale is paired with evocative contemporary art, creating a special illustrated edition to read, share, and treasure across generations.
 

POPULAR The Tales series gives new life to traditional stories. Celebrating the richness of folklore around the world, and featuring the work of beloved contemporary illustrators, these books are treasured by adults and teens alike.

TALES THAT TRANSPORT These folktales are deeply rooted in the landscape of the Polynesian islands. Dramatic mountain peaks, secluded valleys, and mesmerizing ocean vistas offer striking settings for timeless stories of magic.

GORGEOUS SPECIAL With a mesmerizing full-page illustration for each story, as well as creamy paper, a ribbon page marker, and a handsome hardcover design, this edition is perfect for gifting and display.

Perfect

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Folklore, Folk Tales, Audiobook

144 pages, Hardcover

Published May 9, 2023

Reviews

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: An interesting collection of folklore from four Polynesian places. Liked the stories; didn’t like the presentation. This is more of a collector’s edition than a children’s storybook.

This is a collection of fifteen folktales taken from Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa. The stories are clubbed into four groups: Tricksters; Creatures of Earth and Sea; Life and Death; and Family.

The stories are similar in feel to most traditional lore, in that they are somewhat dark and not exactly straightforward and not necessarily with neat or happy endings. Nature and fae folk have an important role to play in every tale. The location is the highlight, and the richness of the island locale can be perceived in each story.

These stories have all been taken from works published in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As the original text hasn’t been modified much, the stories feel somewhat clunky in flow. The roundabout writing style, and the vocabulary level makes this suitable only to teens and older readers.

The length of the stories is quite varied; while most are just about 3-4 pages long, a few are quite lengthy, with one story reaching 24 pages.

Some of the unusual names/terms are accompanied by a footnote. But many of these notes were totally useless. For instance, why would the Latin/scientific name of a traditional plant be helpful to me the lay reader in understanding the story better? Wouldn’t its relevance in local culture be a more useful bit of information? Or when I see the name ‘Mohoalii’ in the text, how is learning that it is the alternate name of ‘Kamohoalii’ going to help me if I don’t even know who Kamohoalii is or what he does!?

I was also disappointed in the illustrations. When the blurb promised ‘a beautifully illustrated collection’, I expected the pages to be filled with artwork. However, the stories are presented in a plain text format. Each story has only one main full-page colour illustration, which appears just before the story begins. The illustrations also weren’t really appealing to me, but this can’t be taken as a concrete negative as art is always subjective.

This would work well for readers who have a passion for folklore and would want to explore beautiful tales from places whose lore isn’t commonly found in print. I just wish the writing style had made it a more accessible book to a wider audience. We do need more indigenous stories from the Polynesian islands.

3.25 stars.


My thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “Tales of Polynesia: Folktales from Hawai'i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.





———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, and series in general, is good for anybody who is interested in folktales from different cultures. If you've read any of Grimm's fairy tales, you'll already be familiar with the writing style in this. Unfortunately, it is not one that I particularly like.

The footnotes throughout are more annoying than helpful. Sometimes they're just stating the Latin name of a plant, or a phrase in the native language. A couple times they translated something from the text, but there were a few more times where that would've been helpful instead of just leaving the reader to guess the meaning of non-English words.

I'm unsure about the art style in this, but I think that I like it overall. The cover is definitely the best one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

[Lingli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that it is written in how it would be told to people, or how distinct their mythical storytelling is from the more western way of storytelling (think of Brothers Grimm). Maybe it is also quite literally translated, I don't know, but I like how I have to read the stories. The stories itself are logical, as in Polynesia are islands, and with islands, I can imagine that a lot of folktales will revolve around the sea and sea creatures seen there. I do wish that with every story, we would get a bit of context about the people, area, time/history and objects, because it can be confusing for non-polynesian people what is what, just to get the bigger picture.

[Shaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Yiling Changues for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Tales of Polynesia coming out May 8, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A young woman falls in love with the king of sharks. Two great sorcerers compete in a battle of wits. The king of Maui's messenger works to bring a young woman back from the dead. In these traditional folktales, the lines blur between life and death, reality and magic, and land and sea.

This volume includes legends from Hawai'i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa, showcasing the rich traditional narrative of the Polynesian islands. You'll encounter great warriors, tricky magicians, and dark creatures of the deep. Each tale is paired with contemporary art, creating a special illustrated edition to read, share, and treasure across generations.

I loved this book so much! I hope there are more books like this. I’m part Samoan on my mom’s side. My grandparents and mom have lived in Samoa, New Zealand and Hawai’i. So I was definitely interested in reading these tales. I’m always looking for new books about Polynesians. I don’t think there are a lot out there, so I appreciate the author creating this compilation of stories and artwork. It’s such a beautiful culture.

I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in Polynesian folktales! 
 

[Shannon Lee]

I wanted so badly to love this book as myth retellings are some of my favorite stories. sadly this book just wasn’t it for me. the stories themselves were interesting but this book is written in a way that everything reads very monotone and I wasn’t compelled to continue reading. the footnotes were also a bit confusing as they did not seem to help or hinder the reading experience. it would have been nice if the footnotes would have included how to pronounce some of the words or names. overall it came down to the actual writing of the book and not the stories themselves that made me DNF around the 39% mark. thank you netgalley for the arc!

[Jeannie Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Tales of Polynesia: Folktales from Hawai'i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Somoa
Author: Yiling Changues (Illustrator)
Genre: Folklore - Mythology
Publisher: Chronicle Books - Copyright 2023
Publication Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781797217567
Read: January 10-11, 2023
Disclaimer: I received a digital advanced reader copy from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: Explore the enchanting world of Polynesian folklore in this beautifully illustrated collection of traditional stories.

A woman falls in love with the king of the sharks. Two powerful sorcerers compete in a battle of magical wits. The king of Maui's fastest messenger races to bring a young woman back from the dead. In these traditional tales, the borders blur between life and death, reality and magic, and land and sea.

This volume includes legends from Hawai'i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa, showcasing the rich narrative tradition of the Polynesian islands. You'll encounter awe-inspiring warriors, tricky magicians, and fearsome creatures of the deep. Each tale is paired with evocative contemporary art, creating a special illustrated edition to read, share, and treasure across generations.

Review: Tales of Polynesia is the perfect introduction to the rich folklore and native cultural heritage of Hawai'i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa. Divided into sections, these fascinating tales deal with legends and myths surrounding Trickers, Creatures of the Earth and Sea, Life and Death, and Family. Bringing the tales to life are stunning illustrations from Yingling Changues. A perfect addition to the folklore series from Chronicle Books and a great way to engage young readers in the vibrant world of mythology.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable introduction to Polynesian folktales, appropriate for both adults and children. The stories are drawn from different regions and are divided into sections on tricksters, creatures of earth and sea, life and death, and family. I also appreciate the list of sources at the end of the book, complete with links to digitized editions of the collections from which the stories were taken.

My one complaint is kind of nit-picky: the stories were printed nearly verbatim from late 19th and early 20th century anthropological works and there is no consistency in how the authors used footnotes. It would have been nice if this collection had done some light editing so the footnotes were uniform.

Received via NetGalley.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed bag, but never an unwelcome bag, this takes us to the nations of the Pacific islands and gives us some of their more interesting folk tales, fairy stories and suchlike. Now I've been a storyteller for public recital for the last year or so, so this volume – given suitable quality – was right up my street. Plus the artwork, taking traditional forms and patterns, and making an us/them, here/there, B+W/coloured dichotomy of them all, was always bound to have some interest at least.

The first section, on tricksters, has a heron in combat and winning by pester power, and a man inveigling himself into NZ fairies and by some accident or design learning how to fish as they do. The third one, barely on topic, is a battle between two warlocks, and it shows that the book is intent on giving the stories as the native tellers would know and use them, and not for any global audience – they refer to place names and spell names and descendants of the protagonists as if any of it might at all be meaningful. To me, it certainly wasn't. Better is a slightly beefier, longer story of revenge – and a magical way for a canoe to disappear back into the forest from whence it came… So much better, in fact, I tweaked it to my style and put it right into my repertoire.

We open the second section with a very interesting piece, too, as it starts being about one thing – a man leaving his wife and enchanting everything to keep his whereabouts from her knowledge – and ends up a great battle that shaped and coloured all the fishes of this young world. A Hawaiian lad born to a human mother and a shark god father has the drive and energy desired of such a drama, but again a look at a girl with a size-changing lizard for a brother is given with such specificity to place and its place in the culture that it struggles to get close enough to a universal story.

In the 'life and death' section, Hawaii gains a reincarnated girl as queen, and an important part of their culture, apparently. Longer stories from the islands have a real feel of the epic, that a wrought, well-sustained legend can bring, and actually manage to make me long for more of them when the closing shorter pieces lack some oomph.

All told, this is a very good book deserving of many a purchase. Yes, it is highly flawed in that it has made the most peculiar choices of translated terms, giving us the Hawaiian for much and not the necessary English for a host of things it needed to. If I'm on my couch wishing to be on a Samoan beach as per the setting then Auntie Google is not really that much of a friend, more of a distraction. But on the whole this is a really commendable book, as much of interest to the ethnologist as it is to the short story seeker. Yes, I can see a better version of this in my mind, and yes I can accept there may be more comprehensive and/or readable versions out there, but in my experience this is the best book of these legends from this region, and until it gets knocked down a peg is well worth something over four stars.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

These were kind of boring to me. I think maybe if I'd grown up with them in their cultural setting they would have been more meaningful. The rambling and random nature is reminiscent of Grimm's Fairy Tales, which I like, but I clear and gorgeous visuals associated in my head with European fairy tales so they feel really alive. That's not the case here, and while the colorful illustrations are nice, they're kind of flat and graphic and don't really pull you into the story like something by Rackham would.

A couple other differences for those more familiar with European folktales--- the themes in Grimm of underdogs overcoming their disadvantages doesn't come up as much here. The heroes of these stories are usually powerful warriors or related to supernatural beings in some way, more like the heroes of Greek mythology- the concerns of common people aren't much addressed. One other interesting difference is that marriage isn't so frequently the solution to a problem- in fact, the demands and jealousies of polygamist marriage are sometimes the problems themselves.

Here's the brief on what you get:
* A guy tricks the fairies into teaching him how to make fishing nets
* Two sorcerers try to curse each other and one of them wins
* A guy builds a canoe to avenge his father and leads a mass slaughter against the enemy tribe
* The fish of the Pacific get their various forms as rewards for fighting in a battle
* A were-shark terrorizes various villages until a local god helps people kill him
* A magic brother helps his sister win the affection of her chiefly husband
* A were-shrimp overcomes his shortcomings to get a wife
* A guy trying to marry a chief's daughter goes through various trials and discovers the first royal feather cape
* A guy wins various battles in disguise, much like Cinderella appears at various balls in disguise, in order to marry a chief's daughter and take over his lands
* A girl's true love is killed by her parents because he isn't the right class, then she's married to someone else but isn't happy, then she dies and is reborn and everything is okay
* True loves are separated by a jealous father and eventually die together
* A beautiful young man escapes various attempts to kill him by a jealous chief
* A woman is forced into marriage to the Sun, escapes but is banished, & gives birth to a son who saves her in the end
* Warring tribes make peace after one chief returns the son of the other chief

[Anna Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a somewhat frustrating read. I went in hoping to really like it because I generally like folktales. I like reading old origin/creation myths, finding out what makes a culture gel together, what kinds of stories they tell each other, and how these make up who they are as a nation.

Most of the stories were fascinating, but they were a really hard, dry, and boring read. I mean, these are pretty much fantastic and fantastical stories, but struggling through unending sentences just made me want to give up. I feel like... pulling together a bunch of old translations into one book and giving them really fancy illustrations wasn't enough to keep my attention.

Maybe I lost out a little on the reading experience because this was an ebook ARC and the formatting really sucked (footnotes that only appeared several pages later instead of as a pop-up; illustrations that were somehow split into multiple images; Kindle only shows black & white images instead of colour; fancy drop caps don't show up; random line breaks, page numbers, headers and footers appearing haphazardly in the text) but... that really shouldn't change the experience of the stories themselves?

I just felt like the stories needed someone to edit them for a better flow, and probably to slightly more modern English, instead of just using centuries-old versions. I don't think these need a "retelling" in the way everyone is retelling folktales and making them into whole novels, but they do need a bit of a rewrite for readability's sake.

Or maybe I'm somewhat at the end of my interest in the folktale style of storytelling.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the Chronicle Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Meagan | The Chapter House · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a particularly interesting read now that I've been to both Hawai'i and New Zealand! That certainly lent depth and appreciation to the read; not that it's mandatory, of course, but it sure helped for me. I grew up with such a Northern Hemisphere-centric feast of folktales and children's stories, I really had minimal exposure to "down south," as it were. This book is a welcome addition on that front, and also helpfully provides additional resources at the end for those who want to learn more.

I realized while reading this that folktales have a writing style all their own. It's hard to edit them for conciseness, nor would one necessarily want to; yes, certainly it's possible to be overly wordy, but on the same token, brevity doesn't do a folktale favors! (And let's face it, one an editor, always an editor, lol. It's in my blood. :D) I think this collection suffers a wee bit in that most of the translations are from the public domain, ergo around a hundred years old...sometimes the stories read a little rough as a result, but they're still enjoyable.

The cover art is definitely my favorite of the illustrations, and what initially drew me to the book. It's quite pretty.

A solid introduction to the topic of Polynesian folktales; 3.5 stars.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received an ARC via Netgalley.
This is a wonderful collection. Changues divides the tales up into types – such as Life and Death, Tricksters. There are tragic love stories, happy endings, and tricky characters. There is a good section of tales from Hawaii which is nice as that state tends to get overlooked way too often. I also like the fac that Samoa is included.
While the book can be used by the younger set, it is also a good source for adults interested in folktales and legends.
While most of the tales are shorter ones, the inclusion of longer, almost epic tales, is wonderful to see. Including such stories is important and provides a nice showcase for the legends. Changues also includes darker tales, and some tales do not have the traditional happy ending. This too is a nice touch.
There are plenty of tales, as well, where women take center stage.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Chronicle Books for a digital ARC - pub date 5/9/2023. A delightful, fast read that covered a wide variety of tales from Hawai'i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa. The stories are separated by some lovely artwork and patterned pages that show the spirit of the rich culture inherent in these islands. The tales are told almost entirely unpolished or tailored to the Western English-speaking ear. They flow with the way words do when spoken narratives are passed along to people who already know the weight of the references and the cultural import. Sometimes this meant I had to work a bit harder to follow and parse things but it was worth it. I love folk tales in general and I love them even more when they are closer to their roots. This book grabs those roots and tugs ever so gently.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of stories from Hawai’i, New Zealand, Tahiti and Samoa. I enjoyed reading the section “A Note on the Sources” section at the back. It’s sad to think of colonialism having a detrimental impact on the recording and gathering of these folk tales for future generations.

So many stories will have been lost to time due to the oral history and tradition, as well as the white-washing of the indigenous people who weren’t credited by colonial writers that benefited from publishing these Polynesian stories.

At least today in this edition, this has been noted and of course it can’t correct the past, it calls it out and tries where possible to give credit where it’s long overdue.

[Anna C · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my fourth or fifth of these beautifully-made Chronicle books on mythology, and it's such a pity that this one is so poorly done. The stories are pulled verbatim from public domain sources, with no retelling and minimal editing, so between one story and another there are jarring shifts of voice, style, etc. There is not enough cultural context, and words in the local languages only have translation footnotes about 15% of the time. There are anachronistic Latin and French phrases, and the writing is just atrocious. Best/worst sentence: "Suddenly Sautia cried out, 'Alas, my leg has been bitten off by a shark!'" Alas indeed!

[Swampscott Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tales of Polynesia is a collection of folktales from Hawai’i, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Samoa with illustrations by Yiling Changues. The book is split up into four sections, each with three or four different tales that have to do with the same topic. My personal favorite was the story of Pili and Sina, which is under the “Creatures of Earth and Sea” topic. The illustrations are absolutely stunning and go along with the different stories and legends so well. If you like reading folktales or want to learn more about the stories and legends of Polynesia, this book is perfect for you. I would highly recommend it.

Rating: 5/5 stars

--Teen Volunteer Lucy, 9th grade

[Natasha P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chronicle Books and NetGalley provided an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I love folks tales and mythology, but this particular collection felt flat. I felt like I was reading back dictation instead of being immersed in rich stores and I found myself quickly losing interest.

In contrast, the artwork included in this book is stunning. I have to add a star just for that.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nice compilation of tales from a part of the world I’m not very familiar with. I felt like I was able to catch a glimpse into the cultures and customs of each place as I read. The illustrations were vibrant and really helped set each story up.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely compilation of myths, legends, and folklore from Polynesia. The book contains stories from Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti and Samoa. It demonstrates the rich storytelling of the culture and includes lovely illustrations with the stories.

[Alan Bach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without this being one of the rare books of Polynesian tales, as well as the wonderful illustrations this book wouldn't have gotten 4 stars from me. The stories often is too terse in the exciting parts, and end very suddenly.

[Christa Mandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wording in this is kind of awkward at times, but BOY these stories go places! So many twists and turns. They're utterly fascinating! Great read. I enjoyed them very much. I laughed at several of them that were perhaps not meant to be funny...

[Morgan]

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish these had been updated by current Polynesian authors and storytellers, since the old stories they just freshly illustrated could have used native voices behind them.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the folktales. I hadn't found too many books from Polynesia before now and I am glad that I have managed to find some.

[Alexa Esperanza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading these stories and learning more about Polynesian folklore. I also really loved the visual art included!

[Amanda Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Chronicle Books Tales series is a curated collection that pairs contemporary artists with themed public-domain folktales. By keeping everything in the public domain, the quality of the tales varies greatly from book to book. Unfortunately, this entry in the series suffers from the use of public-domain content. The sources used are primarily pulled from anthropological texts; these texts are dry and lack the life that a storyteller brings to their writing or performance. For a collection that typically publishes volumes that are engaging and visually interesting entry points, this is especially disappointing.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely beautiful book! It is perfect for middle-schoolers to old-timers. Yiling Changues does a wonderful job bringing these stories from Hawaii, Tahiti, New Zealand, and Samoa to life. The stories are about tricksters, love, family, creatures, and life and death.. Each story has a beautiful piece of art next to it. This book is perfect for lovers of folklore, it is a must for your collection.