This book was born from a question I ask at almost every Mahina workshop:
“When was the last time you saw the moon?”
The answers always make me pause.
So many people confidently say, “Last night.” Some will tell me they were on the lanai with their keiki, admiring it together. And in my head I’m thinking… interesting, because the moon didn’t rise until four o’clock that morning.
I don’t think people are intentionally lying. I think something else is happening.
We’ve learned about the moon, but we haven’t really learned how to observe it.
That realization is exactly why I wrote ʻIke Wau i ka Mahina.
One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that the moon only comes out at night. And honestly, I get it. Those big, bright full moons that rise around 6pm and stay out all night are hard to miss.
But the truth is, the moon is out all the time.
The moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, which means throughout a lunar month it appears during early morning, daytime, afternoon, evening, and night. Each moon is out for roughly 12 hours. You might not always notice it—but it’s there.
This book was created to help people slow down enough to realize that.
Seeing the Moon Through Time
The title ʻIke Wau i ka Mahina translates to “I see the moon.”
And that’s really what this book is about—seeing, not memorizing.
In the book, observation is organized by times of day, using the ways Hawaiians traditionally told time:
• Wanaʻao – early morning
• Kakahiaka – morning
• Awakea – midday
• ʻAuinalā – afternoon
• Ahiahi – evening
• Pō – nighttime
• Aumoe – midnight / late night
Within each of these time periods, we focus on the moon phases that are easiest to see. This does two important things. First, it gives you a clue of what to look for. Second, it gently shows that the moon doesn’t belong to just one part of the day.
This book isn’t asking you to get it right.
It’s inviting you to look up.
Repetition With Purpose
A big inspiration for this book came from my mom, a former kumu. She was all about repetitive sentence structures when teaching keiki how to read. Repetition builds confidence. It helps readers anticipate language and feel successful.
I took that idea and layered it with times of day and moon phases.
So while ʻIke Wau i ka Mahina feels simple on the surface, it’s holding big ideas underneath—time, movement, cycles, and observation. It’s a gentle entry point into kilo and relationship-building with Mahina.
Working With Kai: Bringing the Vision to Life
One of my favorite parts of creating this book was working with the illustrator, Kai Godden.
I really believe it matters to work with a local artist—someone who understands place, feeling, and can truly vibe with you creatively. Kai does exactly that.
The way we work together is very intentional. I give her an outline of the book—the words in Hawaiian, with translations—and then I drop in reference photos. Some are photos I’ve taken myself, others are images pulled just to show her the elements I want included.
What I don’t give her is the full picture.
If I could fully visualize and draw it myself, I would—but I’m not an illustrator. My role is to give her all the pieces: the feeling, the movement, the details that matter. And her role is to take those pieces and bring them together.
And she does it so beautifully.
It honestly feels like she can see what’s in my mind’s eye and draw it out for me. The end result is always more than what I imagined—balanced, thoughtful, and just… magnificent. That kind of creative partnership is special, and I’m so grateful to work with her.
Why This Book Matters
ʻIke Wau i ka Mahina exists to expand how we think about the moon.
It’s for the people who swear they never see it during the day.
For keiki who are just learning how to observe the world around them.
For adults who want to reconnect with rhythms they didn’t even realize they’d lost.
This book doesn’t give you all the answers.
It gives you permission to start noticing.
And from noticing comes kilo.
From kilo comes relationship.
And from relationship comes deeper understanding.
That’s the real lesson 🌙