HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: Last Queen of Hawaii: Liliuokalani
Author: Hazel Hutchins Wilson
Illustrator: W. T. Mars
Publisher: Knopf , 1963
ASIN: B0006AXPT2
Language level: 1
(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing and/or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing and/or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)
Recommended reading level: Ages 8-12
Rating: ***** 5 stars
(5 stars=EXCELLENT; 4 stars=GOOD; 3 stars=FAIR; 2 stars=POOR; 1 star=VERY POOR; no stars=NOT RECOMMENDED)
Category: Biography
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
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Wilson,Hazel Hutchins. Last Queen of Hawaii: Liliuokalani (Published in 1963 by Borzoi Books, an imprint of Alfred A. Knopf Inc., New York City, NY). This book is the life story of Liliuokalani, the last days of the kingdom of Hawaii, and its transition into territorial status. Liliuokalani was born on September 2, 1838, in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. While her natural parents were Analea Keohokālole and Caesar Kapaʻakea, she was informally adopted at birth by Abner Pākī and Laura Kōnia and raised with their daughter Bernice Pauahi. Baptized as a Christian and educated at the Royal School, she, her siblings, and cousins were proclaimed eligible for the throne by King Kamehameha III. She was married to American-born John Owen Dominis, who later became the Governor of Oahu.
Liliuokalani ascended to the throne on January 29, 1891, nine days after her brother’s death. P;ro-American elements in Hawaii overthrew the monarchy on January 17, 1893, bolstered by the landing of US Marines under John L. Stevens to protect American interests. The coup d’état established the Republic of Hawaii, but the ultimate goal was the annexation of the islands to the United States. After an unsuccessful uprising to restore the monarchy, the oligarchical government placed the former queen under house arrest at the Iolani Palace. On January 24, 1895, Liliuokalani was forced to abdicate the Hawaiian throne, officially ending the deposed monarchy. She had conspired against the government, they said, but she thought that the only crime she was really guilty of was being a queen.
Liliuokalani was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Of noble blood, but unluckily born in time of constant strife and change in the tiny island kingdom of Hawaii, the proud and pathetic figure of Queen Liliuokalani had to hold her head high with queenly pride, as she watched the power of the throne being slowly and inexorably sapped by self-interested men. The composer of “Aloha ʻOe” and numerous other works, she wrote her autobiography Hawaiʻi’s Story by Hawaiʻi’s Queen during her imprisonment following the overthrow. Living out the remainder of her later life as a private citizen, Liliuokalani died at her residence, Washington Place, in Honolulu on November 11, 1917. This children’s biography is very similar to the “Childhood of Famous Americans” series.
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