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Summary
Summary
Luka and her grandmother Tutu are best friends until Luka shows her disappointment at the traditional Hawaiian quilt that Tutu makes for her. Tutu is hurt, Luka is upset, and things just aren't the same anymore. But when Lei Day comes, the two set aside there differences to enjoy the holiday.
"Guback's storytelling proves as affable as her bright, intricate cut-paper collages." -- Publishers Weekly.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-When Luka's tutu (grandmother) makes her a traditional Hawaiian quilt, the child is disappointed because it doesn't have the colorful flowers that she envisioned. The two of them quarrel about it, and both are hurt. When Lei Day arrives, however, Tutu suggests a truce so that they can celebrate together. Inspired by her granddaughter's lei-making at the festival, Tutu creates a colorful fabric lei to accent the plain quilt, which restores her relationship with the child. As a story of intergenerational friendship and compromise, Guback's tale is a success. The changes in the relationship between Luka and Tutu are believable and well motivated, and the book provides an opportunity for young listeners to discuss their own emotions. However, the meanings of some terms, e.g., ``tatami mat,'' ``lei,'' and ``shave ice'' must be deduced through contextual clues, and they aren't always clear. The lush hues of the watercolor illustrations provide a tropical ambiance, while the collage overlays add both depth and a wealth of detail to the folk-art paintings. Overall, a pleasant introduction to modern Hawaiian culture via a warm cross-cultural theme.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, Wheeler School, Providence, RI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In her second book, Guback's ( The Carolers ) storytelling proves as affable as her bright, intricate cut-paper collages. Tutu (``That's Hawaiian for grandmother'') decides to make her granddaughter Luka a special flower-garden quilt. But the traditional two-color Island quilt that Tutu crafts is a far cry from the multicolored quilt Luka has imagined. When Luka complains, ``Tutu's eyes got watery, and she quietly turned and went to her room and shut the door.'' For days afterward, says Luka, ``We had nothing to say to each other.'' At the Lei Day celebration, however, Tutu thinks of a compromise: a rainbow-hued fabric lei to place atop the green-and-white quilt. Together Tutu and Luka sew it, mending their wounds, too. The anticipation, disappointment and hurt ring true, while the resolution is vaguely unsettling: Luka never apologizes, and it is Tutu who must go the extra mile. Nonetheless, like good, real-life relationships, theirs is a work-in-progress, tender and dearly worth the effort. Ages 4-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Tutu -- 'grandmother' in Hawaiian -- makes Luka a quilt that the young girl imagines will include many colors; Luka's disappointment with the green-and-white quilt hurts Tutu's feelings. When they attend a Lei Day celebration, Tutu begins to understand that Luka has her own taste in colors, and Luka begins to appreciate the traditional quilt design. Hundreds of details are included in the painted cut-paper collage illustrations. From HORN BOOK 1994, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Delighted that ``Tutu'' (``that's Hawaiian for grandmother'') is making her a quilt, Luka imagines the splendid colors of the flowers Tutu describes. When the beautifully decorated quilt turns out to be simply green and white, the little girl is bitterly disappointed. Tutu's explanation (``Two colors. It's our Island tradition. You chose green, remember?'') is no comfort, and a rift opens between her and the grandmother, who cares for her while her parents are at work. Then Tutu suggests ``a truce,'' and on a Lei Day outing agrees that Luka may make a multicolored lei even though it isn't traditional. Later, this gives Tutu the idea of making a fabric lei in many colors to lay over Luka's quilt. There are plenty of bright island colors in Guback's cheerful collages of painted figures and festive floral patterns. Attractively realized setting; disarming model of conflict resolution; unusually appealing story. (Picture book. 4-8)
Booklist Review
/*STARRED REVIEW*/ Ages 4-7. A Hawaiian girl tells about the time Tutu, her grandmother, decided to make her a traditional Hawaiian quilt based on a flower garden. Happy with imagining the quilt, the child is upset when the finished green-and-white quilt (two-color quilts are traditional) is so different from the multicolored one she had expected. The resulting coolness in their relationship continues for several days until the nontraditional, many-colored lei the child makes at the local Lei Day celebration inspires Tutu to find a solution to the quilt problem. She makes a brightly colored circle of flowers that her granddaughter can lay on top of the quilt or take off again. Eye-catching collages of brightly painted papers, the illustrations express the characters' emotions and show a delight in the Hawaiian landscape and traditions. Tutu's solution is possible only because she listens to and respects her grandchild's point of view enough to seek a compromise that pleases the child, yet doesn't violate the principles of her traditional art. Like the plot elements, the theme springs from the Hawaiian setting, where so many cultures live in harmony. An involving story that's all the more satisfying because the ending offers no mere emotional patch up but a real solution. (Reviewed June 1994)0688121543Carolyn Phelan
