"EYES OF THE EMPEROR" BY GRAHAM SALISBURY; AGES 12 AND UP, $15.95, WENDY LAMB BOOKS

Graham Salisbury, one of the best writers of young adult fiction ever to hail from Hawai'i, further elevates his craft in the new novel "Eyes of the Emperor."

Salisbury's latest is a Newbery Award-caliber book revealing a little-known slice of American history that illuminates the depth of injustices endured by Japanese-Americans during World War II.

It is 1941 when 16-year-old Eddy Okubo lies about his age and enlists in the U.S. Army, joining his McKinley High School buddies. Okubo and his best friends Chik and Cobra, are shipped from Honolulu to California. On a train headed out of Oakland, Okubo, the narrator, describes his experience:

"I'd never been anywhere that I couldn't see the ocean. It was the strangest feeling to be inside the land. Trapped in it. We were islanders, used to small places. Only because we knew the ocean did we understand endlessness like this — mountains far away in the hazy distance, dry desert, red hills, miles and miles of pastures, cows, horses, farmland so perfect it looked fake."

After Pearl Harbor is bombed, Americans, including the Army, start to see Okubo, his friends, and all Japanese-Americans as the enemy. At every turn the young soldiers face racism, segregation and humiliation.

The most intense test of their loyalty and patriotism unfolds when Okubo and his friends discover they will take part in a secret government project ordered by President Roosevelt. On Cat Island, Miss., Okubo is one of 25 Japanese-American soldiers who will serve as dog bait for K-9 training to determine if dogs can pick up their "Japanese scent."

Painful, gripping, complex and multifaceted, "Eyes of the Emperor" is an important book for Hawai'i. Every seventh-grade student should discover and devour this thought-provoking coming-of-age novel based on factual events. Salisbury's first story of Hawai'i at war, "Under the Blood Red Sun," won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction and the 1998 Hawai'i Nene Award.

"THE HAWAIIAN BAT: 'OPE'APE'A" BY MARION COSTE, PEARL MAXNER ILLUSTRATOR; UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I PRESS, AGES 9 AND UP, $12.95

In her fourth book about Hawaiian native species, author Marion Coste's meticulous research and poetic prose are polished to a rich glow:

"In ancient times, Hawaiians thought the bat's wing, its skin stretched over a frame of slender bones, looked like pe'a, the wind-filled sail of the great voyaging canoes. The people watched bats swoop and dart in the evening sky and named them 'Ope'ape'a, flying sails."

The book opens with the story of a mother bat giving birth and raising her pups. Coste is adept at weaving a tale with strong kid appeal. For those who want more, further sections contain general information about bats, the debunking of common myths, and specific details about Hawaiian bats. Theresa Cabrere Menard, actively involved in bat research in Hawai'i, serves as science adviser.

"THE LITTLE GREEN WITCH" BY BARBIERI MCGRATH AND MARTHA ALEXANDER; CHARLESBRIDGE, AGES 3-6, $14.95

Honolulu's award-winning children's book artist Martha Alexander was just the right choice to illustrate this new twist on the classic Little Red Hen story.

Here, the little green witch seeks help in tending her pumpkin patch while the ghost, the bat and the gremlin refuse. Alexander's watercolor, color pencil and pastel art give the book an instant classic feel. A playful and appropriate title for introducing the very young to the Halloween holiday.