"Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet," a new children's book from Random House, gives Hawai'i elementary school students an opportunity to see themselves authentically reflected in the national spotlight.

Calvin is the star of the book, first in a series written by award-winning author Graham Salisbury, who grew up in the Islands. The stories are set at Kailua Elementary, Salisbury's alma mater.

"This school gave me a lot. I went to school here from grades 2 through 6," Salisbury said, standing inside the school's library earlier this month. "Those were fabulous years."

"I am hoping Calvin will bring some fame, so that (these students) have some bragging rights. That's a payoff for me."

In the story, fourth-grader Calvin Coconut lives in Kailua with his sister and their single mom. Calvin became the "man of the house" when his dad, singer Little Johnny Coconut, had a hit song and left the family, "for the bright lights of Las Vegas."

Salisbury made several attempts to find the perfect character for this funny, bittersweet series about growing up in Hawai'i. The magic happened when the author began to think of himself as Calvin Coconut. "Once I put myself there, then it had a heartbeat," Salisbury said.

TROUBLE FINDS HIM

Calvin is a typical fourth-grader. He doesn't look for trouble, but trouble finds him. He has a big heart, but sometimes gets distracted and forgets his responsibilities, leading into humorous territory.

The action takes place at Kailua Elementary and as far away as a boy can ride his bike.

"This is the way Calvin walks home from school," Salisbury said, as we pulled out of Kailua Elementary's parking lot, driving toward the ocean. "This is still very much as it was. These are all the same houses. Fixed up a little bit, but basically the same."

As the car turned onto Mahealani Place, Salisbury said, "This is the street I grew up on. This house here is Julio's house — that was where Terry was raised." He's referring to his boyhood pal Terry Bauckham, today a professional photographer, still living in Kailua.

Calvin's pals Julio, Maya and Willy are characters loosely based on Salisbury's childhood buddies.

Farther down the street he gestures toward his own boyhood home. "That's Calvin's garage room. Right there."

Throughout our tour, Salisbury morphs into Calvin, and back again. "That's Pam Fisher's house," he said. "I stuck gum in her hair, and her dad came out and stuck gum in mine."

LOCAL LANDMARKS

Artist Jacqueline Rogers provides the exuberant illustrations, beginning with a map of Calvin's Kailua neighborhood (look for landmarks Buzz's and Kalapawai Market) and an authentic cast of multicultural characters, including Uncle Scoop, who runs a lunch wagon, and Stella, a 15-year-old live-in baby-sitter from Texas.

Hawai'i readers will get a lot of the inside jokes that are likely to slip by Mainland readers. That is how Salisbury intended it. "I want Mainland kids to know what Hawai'i kids are like," he said.

Until now, Salisbury mainly wrote novels for middle grades. "Under the Blood-Red Sun," "Eyes of the Emperor" and "House of the Red Fish" made up his prestigious and popular World War II series. A fourth war book is under way.

"Although I don't live here, I am still a local author, a transplanted local author, putting out the good word about the good place," Salisbury said. "Hawai'i is a fabulous place. Of course, it has its social problems, like everywhere else. But when you live here, you understand how to navigate those waters fairly well, so it's not so problematic."

"Calvin is a good kid with good friends and a loving single mom. But stuff happens, just like in all kids' lives. And that's what I'm after, plausibility. What happens with Calvin could happen with anyone. I want kids and parents who read these books to nod and think, 'Yeah, I can see that.' Quiet resonance, no shouting allowed."