At the gateways of the day

"At the Gateways of the Day" by Padraic Colum is a book of Hawaiian stories and legends for kids from a long time ago. The book is meant to save old Hawaiian stories that were told out loud, and it uses the big Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-lore as a resource. It is full of characters from Hawaiian myths, especially the hero Ma-ui, who is famous for his adventures. The story begins by talking about what Polynesian myths mean and about when the writer studied them in Hawaii. One of the first stories is about a smart kid named Pu-nia who tricks the Shark King to get food for his mom and himself. Pu-nia is brave and clever, and his story shows how to be brave, brilliant, and how to survive, which are some of the big ideas of the stories.