Butch Helemano's Popo the Hawaiian Surf Dog.

Helemano catches publishing wave
The Adventures of Popo the
Hawaiian Surf Dog: The Sleeping Giant

By Liza Simon / Ka Wai Ola

REVIEW: You would think with his heaping big mixed plate of creative and cultural pursuits, Butch Helemano wouldn't have time to get into the publishing biz. In truth, he says he never really planned to add another enterprise to his career as a recording artist (12 albums and a string of Jawaiian hits like Wave Rider and One Banana), his masterful work as a woodcarver and his esteemed position as Waimea Valley Park kahu. But he has more recently stepped into the arena of self-publishing children's books.

Blame it on a box of hula ki'i. Hula ki'i are traditional Hawaiian puppets. Helemano had several custom made by Jim Henson of Muppet fame. Helemano penned theatrical scripts for the hula ki'i, and he planned to use them for cultural entertainment 20 years ago at Waimea Valley Park. But Helemano's show was cancelled when new park management took over.

Helemano follows his 2005 release of The Lost Surfboard, on left, with 2008's The Sleeping Giant of Waimea.

Helemano put the puppets and scripts in the box, where they didn't see the light of day for many years until a light went on his head about engaging children – like the seven he has raised – with good Hawaiian stories.

“I've always known the importance of reading to kids, so I decided to dig up those hula ki'i scripts and turn them into stories with Hawaiian values aimed at young readers,” said Helemano.

So went the birth of Popo the surf dog. In the first book in the series, 2005's The Adventures Of Popo The Hawaiian Surf Dog: The Lost Surfboard, the kolohe canine character learned a few lessons the hard way about ocean safety and honesty.

With Helemano's new release in 2008, The Adventures of Popo the Hawaiian Surf Dog: The Sleeping Giant, the plot thickens again with mischief. Popo ventures into an off-limits locale only to find himself entangled in the whims of a banana-eating giant forever hungry for more bananas. In the end, Popo drags his tail to the foot of a talking tree, which dispenses old-fashioned kupuna wisdom.

“I market test all my books by having my youngest read them,” said Helemano. The 13-year-old gave the book the thumbs up. Though he may have been a bit biased, since Helemano also asked the boy to color the illustrations for this new book.

Self-published, the book does incur costs, which is why Helemano turned to OHA for a Mālama Loan for help. Popo is on sale at local bookstores. While this new volume is not in 'ōlelo Hawai'i, don't give up on the surf dog's linguistic abilities.

Helemano has tentative plans to put out several more books in the Popo series. It seems there are endless lessons for a kolohe dog to learn, and somewhere down the road, it's very possible the fictional dog may be “ruffing” it out in his native language.