Mr. Aloha

Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe

This biography about Duke Kahanamoku, a six-time Olympic swimming
medalist and the man who introduced surfing to the U.S. and
Australia. The book is laid out like a picture book, it has beautiful full page illustrations of Duke. The book starts with some facts about his life in Hawaii. He is one of many children in his family and loves to surf. He drops out of high school to become a better swimmer in the early 1910's. In this book you get to read about Duke overcoming racism to become an Olympic athlete, surfer, and hero.

Librarian Katie's Review

I know very little about surfing, virtually nothing. What really drew me to this book was the images. The illustrations are full pages and sort of tie in with the era that Duke lived in. The biography (a story about a real person life) was really fascinating. It was incredible to think how someone could over come financial trouble and discrimination in the 1910's. Duke is portrayed as a humble person who believes that hard work is the only way to success. The book is well written and a nice story.