Starred Review The winning partnership that created The Rough-Face Girl (1992) reunites with this dramatic, beautifully illustrated adaptation of an ancient Hawaiian legend. After rescuing a shark near their tropical island--no thanks to their hard-hearted neighbors--a jubilant sister and brother can't resist playing the king's drum--a strictly taboo act, punishable by death. The pitiless king is unrelenting in his sentence, and the children's parents seek solace from the wise but wrathful Shark God, who destroys the island's population with a flood reminiscent of Noah's story, saving only the children and their parents and sending them off to a new life on another island with a kinder king. In text and images, the story creates a potent sense of atmosphere, power, and suspense. Children will feel the roaring Shark God's murky lair, see his strong, sharp, white teeth, and sense his ferocious omnipotence, impressively portrayed in vibrant paintings reminiscent of Gaugin and perfectly composed for large groups. In a concluding note, the author describes how he toned down the original for a young audience. Even with his alterations, this powerful tale will rivet children ready for a little terror and some heavy but well-handled morality. Great cover, too.

On an island ruled by an unfeeling despot, two siblings rescue a rope-entangled shark. When the children violate the king's rules, however, they are condemned to death. In desperation, their parents seek out the fearsome shark god. Shannon's dark palette is well suited to the tone, lightening effectively as the family sails to a new and more inviting land. Based on a Hawaiian legend, this is a real find for story hours and individual readers.

The creators of Rough Face Girl (1992) and The Boy Who Lived With the Seals (1993) belatedly get together for another strongly told, strikingly illustrated folktale. Detailing his own additions in an appended note, Martin reworks an old Hawaiian myth into a story of mercy rewarded. After freeing a trapped shark rather than allow it to be killed, two children celebrate by tapping on the king's drum, which is forbidden. When the hard-hearted king condemns them to death, their parents pay a call on Kauhuhu, the Shark God, who summons up a great wave that destroys the village, frees the children, and washes the reunited family on its way toward a distant, kinder home. Shannon peoples his island scenes with sturdy, tattooed, mahogany-skinned figures, but Kauhuhu, magnificently huge and ferocious, is by far the most powerful presence here: human in form, but with silver skin, decidedly sharklike features, and an immense toothy mouth tattooed across his shoulder blades. A slight confusion at the end identifies the father as a canoe-builder for the first time calling him by that name, but there's enough joy, terror, and drama here to captivate any reader or listener. (Picture book/folktale. 7-10)

Gr 1-4-Combining threads from a Hawaiian legend and his own creative imagination, Martin has woven a tale of two kindhearted children who aid a shark in distress and, later, are condemned to die after running afoul of their inflexible king. Shannon's vigorous illustrations provide a dramatic backdrop for this well-told tale of cruelty and compassion as the merciless king faces the implacable justice of the Shark God. The author provides a source note explaining his reasons for the changes in this retelling and mentioning the illustrator's research on Oahu. From the vivid cover depicting the Shark God assuming a gigantic human form to the laughing sound of the royal drum as the liberated family sails off to a new home, this is a winning package.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.