Writer waxes poetic about sea creatures

“Kelli’s Hanauma Friends: Poems and Art about Hawaiian Reef Dwellers” ($7.99, CreateSpace) focuses on the sea creatures that reside in the bay. Jean Yamasaki Toyama’s playful poems are accompanied by Russell Sunabe’s colorful paintings of fish, eels and octopuses. The common, scientific and Hawaiian name of each creature is included.

Toyama rediscovered Hanauma Bay in 2001, when she began snorkeling. After swimming with the uhu, manini and scorpionfish, she began writing stories that evolved into the book.