A favorite character from Three Little Hawaiian Pigs and the Magic Shark returns in a new role. Readers of all ages will laugh at his bumbling attempts to learn to cook, and children and their parents will enjoy making the delicious local recipes charmingly incorporated into the illustrations.
Donivee Martin Laird grew up in Hawaii, the daughter of a sugar plantation manager, where she lived on each of Hawaii’s major islands. She also lived for several years in Puerto Rico. She is married, the mother of two and grandmother of one.
Donivee was an elementary school teacher in Hawaii for 25 years. She began writing children's stories in 1980 to supply the literature component of a unit on Hawaiʻi she was teaching to preschoolers.
In 1981 Laird and illustrator Carol (Jossem) Johnson formed their own publishing company, Barnaby Books, and launched their book, The Three Little Hawaiian Pigs and the Magic Shark. Five more books followed. Today, over 200, 000 copies of the titles are in print.
Laird’s first three stories have been adapted into a musical for children. The show, entitled Talking Story has been performed numerous times in Hawaii.
In 2004 Barnaby Books sold the rights to their books to the Bess Press. Laird’s most recent book, The Magic Shark Learns to Cook, was published by the Bess Press in 2004.
This is a very odd story, but the book includes fun recipes for the kids! The illustrations are humorous and I love that it includes a lot of Hawaiian culture.