Overview

This illustrated children's picture book retells the Tongan tale of how Maui 'Atalanga lifted the sky to its great heights. Maui the Sky Lifter allegorically explains why the sky is so far away, why plants have flat leaves, what causes earthquakes and why rain clouds are dark grey-all the while remaining faithful to Tongan oral tradition. Like all cultural legends of the sky and nature, this Polynesian tale views our world through the poetry of science. Maui the Sky Lifter also introduces the reader to the three Tongan generations of Maui who form Orion's Belt, and pays homage to the culturally important role of storyteller. This legend offers a set of strong values and lessons for the young reader-reminding them that greatness comes not from the strengths and talents you have, but from how you use them. Formatted 17"" x 11"" double-page page with 38 pages, Maui the Sky Lifter includes an epilogue of selected vocabulary words and a set of maps of Tonga, all intended to familiarize the reader with this region of Polynesia. Besides a star map of Orion, the appendix also describes Tonga's famous trilithon Ha'amonga 'a Maui (Maui's Burden) which is believed to memorialize Maui 'Atalanga's heroic task of lifting the sky, while also representing the constellation of Orion.

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Joseph Ciotti's storytelling passion spans over 50 years of planetarium performances beforeaudiences of all ages. He has produced and illustrated numerous planetarium shows, includingMaunakea: Between Earth and Sky and Voyagers: Risking the Dream. He currently is ProfessorEmeritus at Windward Community College-University of Hawaiʻi, where he taught astronomy, physics and mathematics, and served as the coordinator of the college's Polynesian Voyagingprogram and the planetarium director of the Hōkūlani Imaginarium. Prior to then, he taught atSt. Louis High School in Honolulu. He was selected as a NASA Teacher-in-Space finalist fromHawai'i for the Space Shuttle Challenger Mission 51L and recognized with the Christa McAuliffeNational Aerospace Educator and the Carnegie Hawaiʻi Professor of the year awards. Abby Worthley is the primary illustrator for Maui the Sky Lifter: A Tongan Tale. She is an art major in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa and interned atWindward Community College's Hōkūlani Imaginarium. While there, she created the computergraphic artwork for a series of six planetarium ""Star Stories"" from various cultures, including The Triplet Stars: A Korean Story for which she received the prestigious Silver Paragon Award for Computer-Generated Illustration by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations.

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