Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves

This book tells a story of the initial discovery of the Hawaiian islands by five Polynesian brothers, who plan on moving their families onto the island. Manu, the youngest of the five, initially hates the new island; all the things he loved from his home aren't on the island, and he's stuck being told what to do by his older brothers. While walking on the beach one day, he comes across what he thinks is a dog, though it has the fins of a fish, the body of a dolphin, and no legs! Manu realizes that its badly injured, and nurses it back to health while his brothers abandon the animal. Manu calls the animal- we know it as a seal- "Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves," and the two become friends. After many months, the brothers are ready to return to show more their home to bring their family back to Hawaii. Manu says goodbye to Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves, and all five brothers board their boat and sail away. They see smoke coming from the south of the island, so the brothers get off the boat to see what's wrong. It turns out to be an active volcano, which forces them to jump in the ocean to avoid the ash and lava. Manu is stuck under the rough waves, but is saved by Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves. The brothers thank the seal, and take Manu onto the boat to sail home. They later return with their families, and embrace Hawaii as their home. Throughout the story, nature is shown as important and impactful; the five brothers find a home that has plenty of resources for them and their families, Manu finds companionship in the form of a seal, and the ocean and an active volcano almost kill the brothers. I actually think that I would like the book more if the discovery of Hawaii was focused on more than the seal, though it was enjoyable despite this. show less

Although Dog of The Sea is a fictional story, there is a sense of realness that rains through each page. Dog of the Sea is based on the first five Polynesian brothers who had discovered the Hawaiian Islands. The story allows you to get easily connected with the five Polynesian brothers, by immediately telling the reader a little bit about what each brother finds enjoyment in. We know the four main characters as Hoku,Na’ale,Opuna,Makini, and Manu. In the beginning, Manu is distracted by an animal he discovers in the sea. Manu developed an immediate liking to the animal and spent every day with him, but his brothers shunned him for it. Towards the ending of the story the animal who we know as “Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves” saves Manu’s show more life and all of his brothers start to understand why Manu loved the sea animal so much. Being that the story takes place in Hawaii the illustrator draws beautiful pictures of the Hawaiian Island that allows us to easily connect with the story. Since the author gives each character such a bold personality and brought each of their journey to life, I almost felt is if I myself were one of the Polynesian brothers. Each character was taught a lesson and was able to bring all of their things and their other family members to the islands to embrace the land and make it their own. This is a great story to read to your students to give them a little idea of how a Hawaiian island was discovered while also sharing an entertaining story along the way. show less

When the untouched Hawaiian Islands are discovered by a group of five brothers, the Islands will never be quite the same. Manu and his four brothers arrive to the island and are ready to explore. Although his brothers are excited about this new adventure, Manu continues to remember home and miss all the things that come with it. After exploring on the island, the brothers decide that they need to return home and bring their families to this new place eventually. One day as Manu was exploring, he saw an animals figure on the sand near the waters edge. From a distance, they all thought this creature was a dog but they soon realized it was a creature they had never encountered before. This animal was hurt and everyone except Manu knew it show more would surely die. Manu stayed true to his vow on saving this animal and nursed it back to health, not only did he save this animal he now gained its trust and friendship; this was a bond that would not be easily broken. This animal became known as Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves, better known today as a seal. Soon, the brothers started to prepare to return home to gather their families, Manu and his new friend refused to help and stayed together until they were forced to be apart. Months later they were ready to return home, Manu was deeply hurt and wanted nothing more than to stay with his friend. Manu and his brothers sailed further down the island chain and stopped at a neighboring island, when they got on the island Manu realized something was not right but his brothers ignored him. Soon the island was shaking, and they were forced to jump from a cliff into the raging sea far below. Manu was taken by a wave and could not find his was back to the surface when all of a sudden he felt familiar whiskers touch his cheek. Manu's Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves was there, saving his life. They were finally able to leave to go home, but this time they all promised their friend that they would be back! They soon returned with families and made this new land their homes. This book was full of adventure and obstacles at every turn. I think that I enjoyed the illustrations in this book the most. I also loved the relationship between Manu and the seal, I think this is a perfect representation of what a human/animal relationship really is. show less

This book is the story of five brothers who journey to a new land. The youngest brother, at first, is not happy about the voyage. When the brother were on the beach, they see an animal washed ashore. Although they thought it was a dog, it was actually a seal. The brother helps this animal get health again from his injury, and they became friends. The seal was able to return the favor when the young boy was in trouble. I enjoyed this book at lot. I really enjoyed that there was a Hawaiian translation for the story in the back as well as a couple of animals that are natives to Hawaii. I would love to add this book to my personal collection because it includes some history of Hawaii that is often not studied.

This was one of the favorite books to read simply because I am an animal lover. This was definitely an interesting book for many reasons. Something I didn't know was that this story is basked off of a Hawaiian folktale about how the islands became populated. It included five brothers which one of them befriended a seal. It also introduced native Hawaiian plants and animals, many of which are unique to the islands and also endangered. But, the best part was a look at the Hawaiian language, as the story was told in English with the pictures, and then completely in Hawaiian without pictures.

James Rumford did a great job creating this book! This story takes place thousands of years ago. Rumford writes about five brothers who travel through the great big sea and run into some islands, which we know today as Hawaii. They make many new discoveries and run into many dangerous situations. One of the brothers, Manu, befriends a creature that he calls dog-of-the-sea-waves. This creature becomes his best friend and ends up saving Manu’s life. The setting is basically what the story is about! Without the setting there would be no book because the story is all about the five brothers who first discovered and survived Hawaii.

This is a story about the historical discovery of the Hawaiian Islands by five Polynesian brothers. Nearly fifteen hundred years ago, the brothers traveled across the ocean and landed on the islands, exploring the new world. One day while exploring the brothers came across an animal who was hurt and that they thought was a dog. It resembled closely to a dog and the youngest called it "Dog of the sea waves". Manu, the youngest brother, nursed the animal back to health while the other brothers were preparing for their voyage back home. The two grew very close and when it was finally time to leave Manu was upset to leave his friend. On their way home, they stopped on an island to explore the mountain. The brothers were thrown into the show more ocean and Manu was lost in the waves. He was saved by the dog of the sea waves. The brothers then traveled home and brought their families back to their new home on the islands. I found this book interesting to read because of the many different types of people around the world that discovered the different areas. This book was informational on how the islands of Hawaii were discovered and began developing. This historical setting shows the people that came before us and how they evolved the area to become the Hawaii we know today. show less