This book was a favorite in my classroom! The kids loved it, I loved it. It is such a great feel good book with a great message!

Mahalo to Ilima Loomis, spotlight audio and publishers for an advanced copy of Ohana means Family audio in exchange for my honest review. Ohana means Family: Family extending beyond mother, father, brother, and sister to neighbors and friends, all coming together and connecting through food and a shared meal. This truly is the Hawaiian way. This beautifully created soundtrack transported me back to the island of Hawaii. The rich traditions are brought in a way that teaches children sequencing. Ohana means family is a warm book that was a joy to listen to. I wish the audio had the book available so that I could follow along with the pictures and share with my four-year-old but that just means I have a new book to buy. Many praises for this touching story.

This is a charming story about the process of making a luau for a Hawaiian family. The story has a good rhythm and goes wonderfully with the music in the background. There is an explanation from the author about the culture and what goes into the story. I really like the culture it imparted. The story reminds me of "there's a bird in the nest, and the nest on the branch, and the branch on a tree, and the tree in the hole on the ground, and the green grass grows all around."

I enjoyed the audiobook! It did feel a little lacking without the pictures but I think it's still worth a listen, especially for night time reading before bed or for kids who can't see. The background music and sound effects were a great touch to the audiobook, made it feel more immersive. It was also enlightening and portrayed and gave us an insight to luaus, the culture and its family values as well. It's less than 1o minutes long so I think this would be a perfect listen for kids to wind down to before bed.

Exquisite Hawaiian music and the sounds of the preparations for a luau accompany the narration of this beautiful cumulative story. Lyrical rhymes and rhythm draw the listener into the traditions of the community. The audiobook is so gorgeously done that I felt I had to acquire the eReadalong picture book as well. Absolutely brilliant with gorgeous illustrations, this book is a treasure.

I loved this story for younger students! Especially for students that do not know of the cultural difference! It reminded me of a Mother Goose rhyme I listened to when I was younger!

This was a really nice read. I think it would work best as an add-on to the picture book, or at least for me it would. I am a very visual person so while I did love this and enjoyed the narration, the sounds, and the music, I did feel a bit lost. The glossary is at the back so a lot of what was said didn't make sense to me vs. if I'd seen the visuals, I could take a guess at what was being talked about. I also really love that this exists because I can hear what these Hawaiin words actually sound like/are pronounced like

Lovely short story, beautifully read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

I visited Hawaii recently for the first time and learning about Polynesian culture and Hawaii history and traditions was one of my favorite aspects of visiting. I went to a luau and I tried poi. I saw the taro growing in the wild and heard the story about it. I loved how this book incorporated so much of that and the interconnectedness of nature and people in poetic verses that build upon the story with each page. It incorporates colorful illustrations and the audio helps to hear the pronunciations. A helpful glossary is provided in the back as well. Educational and beautiful book.

This is just wonderful. My 4 year old has been very interested in learning more about Hawaiian culture ever since hearing the music from MOANA, and this is a delightful, age appropriate book to introduce her to it.

The book teaches young readers about the native Hawaiian tradition of making poi and coming together for an Ohana Luau in the style of THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT.

One of the things I love about the audio version is being able to hear native Hawaiians speaking the words, especially with the glossary. It's a very enjoyable listen, and fully produced with not just audio, but also SFX and music.

We also got the physical book from the library which has beautiful illustrations and I fully expect we will add it to our family library.

***Thank you to Publisher Spotlight Audio, Live Oak Media for providing me with the audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

Me and my son listened this wonderful story about Hawaiian culture and the meaning of the world Ohana.

With melodic, Hawaiian background music, to the gentle lilt of the narrator we were both feeling dreamy and interested while listening and we learned some amazing cultural things.

It’s rare to find a children a audio that can hold a four year olds attention but this one does it.

Ohana Means Family
by Ilima Loomis , Kenard Pak

the cd version of the book shows not only the method of creating Poi, but also the Hawaiian culture, from the definition of words, and recipe of Poi. The meaning of family and how important the food is not only for survival, but for cultural and social reasons. The added music and meanings enhance the story for young students as they learn about different indigenous cultures and peoples.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

***AUDIO BOOK VERSION***
Ohana Means Family is a beautiful audio book story vert much in the style of The House That Jack Built but as a hawaiian version of making poi for a luau in hawaii.
The audio book version was great to listen to with accompanied sound effects of the busy preparation of getting ready for the hawaiian celebratory Ohana luau with musical accompaniment that really gets you in the vibes of the hawaiian culture. This is a great book to share with children to teach them of hawaiian culture and celebrations.

Ohana means family and family means no one is left behind or forgotten. We can thank Lilo and Stitch for the general population knowing the word ohana. This book is a beautiful celebration of a Hawaiian family and their Luau as told in a ‘the old lady who swallowed a fly’ type story.

This is a very sweet children's book about a family party. The narration is perfect and the production elements are wonderful and create a really immersive experience.

As non-Hawaiian speakers, my son and I didn't know what several of the words referred to and since it was an audiobook, there were no picture clues to help us understand. There is a glossary at the wnd which explains the terms we were unfamiliar with and so we listened to the book a second time and enjoyed it a lot more.

I think with audiobooks, it is good to have the glossary first, as this will help facilitate the listener's understanding of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a cute book. I read this with my 6-year-old twins and they loved it. About halfway through they picked up on the repeating pattern and by the end was trying to say the words along with the book. I would love to own a physical copy of this so we could see how to pronounce the words and see the pictures that go along with the pictures. They were definitely interested in the story and so was I. We will definitely buy a copy when this is released.

I have read this book to my Kindergartners and First graders. They love the repeated lines, rhyme, illustrations and story. They might love the audiobook more!

This audiobook incorporates subtle background sounds that help create a tropical feel and really adds depth to the words. Students will return to this over and over.

The additional information about poi, taro and the cultural significance behind the food was really interesting.

Ohana Means Family is a great book for units on family, farming, food, cultures, Hawaii, AAPI, poetry and so much more.

The audio narration of this picture book will be best utilized as an aid for reading along with the book. On its own and without the pictures, some of the vocabulary taught won’t make sense since you can’t visualize with it.

It’s a wonderful idea and the narrator has a calm and warm voice. This is perfect to teach pronunciation of the Hawaiian words and the background rain and music adds a special level of detail.

We loved the story and the narrator did a great job. I listened to the audiobook, so it was hard to get the full idea of the book. We will go look for the book version and read that as a family.

I very much appreciate the background and love the Hawaiian information and word descriptions at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the audio arrangers who allowed me and my family to receive a free audio copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Spotlight Audio, Live Oak Media for providing me with the audiobook of Ohana Means Family, a picture book by Ilima Loomis and illustrated by Kenard Pak.

The book taught me about taro, a staple of the Hawaiian diet and how it is farmed and prepared. I think the audiobook will be most enjoyed while reading along with the picture book so the reader can also enjoy the illustrations as well as the music the audiobook includes. All three narrators are Hawaiian, including the author.

If you want to learn more about Hawai'i and its culture, I recommend picking up Ohana Means Family.