"NA MO'OLELO LOMILOMI: THE TRADITIONS OF HAWAIIAN MASSAGE AND HEALING," EDITED BY R. MAKANA RISSER CHAI; BISHOP MUSEUM PRESS, PAPER, $16.95

If you think that lomilomi, Hawaiian massage, is just walking on someone's back, this book will be an eye-opener.

Chai, a student of the famed Auntie Margaret Machado and a licensed massage therapist, has gathered nearly every bit of original source material about this complex Hawaiian practice. She explains, through excerpts from manuscripts dating back to the 1700s, that lomilomi is a family of practices that ranges from the familiar long massage strokes (with hands, forearms, elbows and feet) to such healing forms as bone-setting, midwifery, cupping and herbal remedies.

Chai emphasizes that this is not a training manual and warns against attempting to self-medicate or take the concepts out of context. Tools include not only the practitioner's hands, eyes and intentions but prayer, dietary regimens, blessings with water, cleansing rituals and ho'oponopono (the healing of relationships through talk and family counseling).

All the practices are covered in clear, concise detail, with Chai serving as something of a group facilitator, stepping aside to respectfully allow each voice to speak, explaining what needs explained but not attempting to reconcile differences of belief or custom, upholding the oft-quoted proverb that "all wisdom is not taught in one school." An extremely valuable contribution to the understanding of this widely misunderstood practice.

"DEAR MISS BREED" BY JOANNE OPPENHEIM; SCHOLASTIC NONFICTION, HARDBACK, $22.99

In 1941, Clara Breed was a beloved children's librarian at the San Diego Public Library. When library regulars — children she considered her friends — were forced into internment camps, Breed did one small thing that made a tremendous difference: She stuck stamps on postcards imprinted with her name and address and handed them out to every child of Japanese descent who came into the library as the time for departure grew near. She even tucked the stamps into a bagful of books and went down to the train station to hand them out to the children as they boarded trains for Poston and Manzanar. Throughout the war, Breed maintained a lively correspondence with the children, and sent them books. She would not see some of them again for half a century.

Forty years later, about to retire to a nursing home, Breed entrusted the letters to a former internee, who in turn gave them to the Japanese American National Museum. So begins this beautiful book by a New York-based children's writer, who stitches together the histories of the children and their remarkable friend, and excerpts the letters that detail their experiences and feelings.

The book ends with what appears to be the only surviving letter from Miss Breed, handed to a child at the train depot. It illustrates her generosity and the respect she accorded to the children, never talking down to them: "Dear Tetsuzo, I am going to miss you a great deal, as you must know. You have been one of my restorers-of-faith in the human spirit. I know that you will keep your courage and humor in the weeks and days that lie ahead, no matter what they may bring."

"Dear Miss Breed" is one of those footnotes in history that opens a fresh window on a story you think you already know.

"WINGS OF PARADISE: HAWAII'S INCOMPARABLE AIRLINES" BY PETER N. FORMAN; BARNSTORMER BOOKS, HARDBACK, $29.95

A gotta-have for airplane buffs, "Wings of Paradise" is the story of, as the book says, "Hawaiian, Aloha, the commuters and the upstarts" — the flight path of all the local commercial passenger airlines, from the first scheduled air service in 1929 to the bankruptcies and downsizings of 2005.

Forman, a pilot, has done his homework, right down to reporting the weather on the day of that first Inter-Island Airways flight. The eight-passenger Sikorsky S-38 was chosen by Inter-Island founder Stanley C. Kennedy for its dependability and flexibility (it could taxi on land or water) and took off on Nov. 11, 1929, from John Rodgers Field, which later became Honolulu International.

Forman interviewed old-timers and reviewed years of published reports. The book includes both funny air stories and detailed reporting on the business side of the industry.

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.