Notes

"... adapted from a variety of sources and retold at a fourth-grade reading level ..."--Back cover Mariana Islands. How the women saved Guam -- Why mosquitoes suck blood -- Palau. The creation of Palau -- How the dugong came to be -- Turtle and canoe -- Marshall Islands. La Kakelok (man make fly) -- Caroline Islands. How to steal the moon -- Yap. K'ow and Buneney -- Chuuk (Losap Island). The island of the dolphin girls -- Pohnpei. Tik and Lap and the ravenous fish -- Pohnpei (Kapingamarangi Atoll). Hina and the wooden bird -- Strong old magic -- Kosrae. The origin of the rat clan -- Kiribati. Tebwere, Tebarere, and Tetintiri -- Papua New Guinea. Kambel creates the world -- The circle of birth and death -- The jealous sun and his beloved moon -- Solomon Islands. The warrior women of Lumalao -- Vanuatu. How the rat got its tail -- Why people have to die -- The thieves who helped invent the canoe -- New Caledonia. The seagull and the mussels -- The sun, the moon, and the woman -- Fiji. The fire-walkers of Beqa -- Why the reef stands far from Bau - - Samoa. Chief's day ends -- Turtle and shark -- Rescue with fruit bats -- Tokelau. How counting came to Tokelau -- Cook Islands. Rori-of-the-Rocks -- Hina and her lover eel -- Tonga. The creation of the Tongan Islands, people, and kings -- Pitcairn Island. The tale of the Bounty -- French Polynesia (Tahiti). Tangaroa creates the great shell of the world -- Tahaki, the golden-skinned boy -- French Polynesia (Tuamotus). The legend of Rata -- French Polynesia (Marquesas). Tahia, the fragrant girl -- Easter Island. Makemake and the birds of Easter Island -- Hawaiian Islands. Hina, stolen queen -- New Zealand (Maori). The blood, the promise, and the tattoo -- Australia. The sky spirits create the sun -- How the kangaroo got her pouch -- Nerida and Birwain : a love story -- Where frost comes from