This is the life story of the "father of modern surfing" Duke Kahanamoku. This story tells about his life growing up in Hawaii along with his struggles and many accomplishments. One thing that I really like is how the author focuses on Duke's sportsmanship and how he was truly a role model not just for his athletic ability. The book is beautifully illustrated and shares the voice of a Pacific Islander that many students may not have heard before.

I enjoyed this book for numerous reasons. One is that I love Hawaiian culture. My dream is to live in Hawaii and I wanted to emerge myself in a book that had to involve some aspect of Hawaiian history. Second, this book is extremely educational. Not only does it talk about the background of Duke Kahanamoku, it talks about historical events and monumental events in the Olympics. It pushes readers through the difficult racial challenges Duke faced when competing in the Olympics as a Native Hawaiian. One thing that suprised me was that the book was quite long becuase it was so jam packed with educational moments. Those moments include Hawaiian language, world events such as WW1 and the development of race culture in the early 1900's in the United States. ( )

I liked this book for two reasons. First, the illustrations throughout the book were very realistic and detailed. The illustrator really created the feel of the ocean through with the use of color by using deep blues. Also, I liked this book because it was non-fiction. Even though it was a biography about the life of Duke Kahanamoku, it was far from uninteresting. The main idea of this book was to explore the life of Duke Kahanamoku. ( )

I enjoyed this book very much. I loved that it was a biography but didn't feel dry or boring. The writing was engaging and the illustrations were beautiful and accompanied the story very well. I found the plot to be an inspiring story of overcoming adversity and adjusting to new cultures. ( )

I liked this book because the vivid pictures brought the story of Duke Kahanamoku alive. This book told the story of how Duke never liked school and he was always in the water. Many people (including me) did not know that in addition to him being a great surfer, he was also an Olympic swimmer. The book is rather long, so it can be slightly tedious to read if you do not connect to it in the beginning. However, I think it is still a good book to read as an independent book, especially for people interested in Hawaiian culture or surfing. I think the message of the book was to share the life of Duke Kahanamoku and to show that he was not just a surfer. ( )