By Lois Yamanaka
Illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
Make Me a World, 2022, c2021
36 pages
9780593127377
Ages 4-8
Claire and her brother, Timbo, each make winter-themed dioramas for a school project. Timbo’s is cotton balls of snow and glitter; Claire’s is about migration—their home, the Big Island of Hawaiʿi, is a winter refuge for many birds. Their parents drive them high up Mauna Kea to see and play in snow for the first time. Someday, Claire thinks, she’ll live where snow falls regularly; she’ll own mittens so she doesn’t need socks to warm her hands; she’ll have a real sled instead of an inner tube; she’ll be like the Inuit and know a hundred names for snow. “Native Hawaiians know the names of a hundred winds and all of the ocean currents,” says her father. On a later trip to Hapuna Beach, Claire and Timbo repeat their snow activities but with sand and water. “My father names the hundred winds that carry the fragrance of these waters to us near the far reef … The tide begins to rise, filling sand angel wings with soft sea foam. I watch my sandman melt away. But I am not sad.” A lively story expressing longing for something different and deep appreciation for what one already has, this lyrical picture book about a girl and her family, which includes Japanese ancestry, and her Hawaiian home and culture is set against dynamic, richly colored digital illustrations. An author’s note discusses the environment and microclimates of the Big Island of Hawaiʿi. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center