The inspirational story of three whales trapped in ice off Alaska hits theatres Friday.
"Big Miracle" became the subject of a best selling book written and illustrated by Hawaii residents sixteen years ago.
"It was all over the media," said the book’s author, Suzanne Kita. "We were just drawn into this story."
Inspired by true events dating back to 1988 when three whales were saved from entrapment off of Point Barrow, Alaska, Hilo resident Suzanne Kita’s 5 year-old son’s simple request would change her life.
"And then he said, mom why don’t you write a book about it so a lot of people can know this story."
The english teacher never wrote a book before but eight years later, "Three Whales – Who Won the Hearts of the World," was printed by Island Heritage Publishing.
"My book is framed beginning in Hawaii," she said.
The series that began in 1996 also features the artwork of another Hawaii resident.
"I have been painting marine life for years now 30 years or something so that came quite naturally, but it was fun to have a whole story to interpret," said Illustrator Steve Sundram.
The internationally known artist took on the challenge of creating art for the children’s book.
"And yeah it was just such a fun thing to get into, and one thing that happens when you are painting for children you start to become a kid yourself," Sundram said.
Now both are eager to see how the movie interprets the events they know so well.
"they are different takes in a way on the same situation, but in a way, they are not – they overlap in so many ways.">
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
