Pidgin to da Max (Paperback)

~ (Author), Pat Sasaki (Author), Ken Sakata (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Upon publication twenty-five years ago, Pidgin To Da Max became a best-seller and remains one today, with over 200,000 copies in print. The sequel, Pidgin To Da Max Hana Hou, also became a best-seller. The anniversary edition combines the words and illustrations in those two collections in a paperback format. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Bess Press; 10th Printing edition (January 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 093584841X
• ISBN-13: 978-0935848410
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,785 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny book, brah!, July 20, 1999

By A Customer

Howzit? The wife and I bought the book while on our honeymoon in Oahu, Hawaii. It's one of the funniest books we've ever read. It also helped us communicate with the locals! Since we look Hawaiian (we're actually Filipino-American) everyone believed we were "locals"! The cartoons and definitions of each pidgin word are very well drawn out and understandable. I recommend this book to anyone visiting the islands, getting to know the locals or looking for a good laugh!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for nostalgia or laughs, stand-alone teacher it is not, October 10, 2001

By	Connie Chun (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pidgin to da Max is da bes'! I just discovered it recently when my friend gave it to me as a gift. She is a local girl and is always trying to teach this lolo (me) pidgin. I'm grateful to have such a great (live, human) instructor, with correct pronunciation and inflections, and this book offers excellent supplemental support to her teachings, but -- as it warns, do not attempt to use it on its own to develop fluency in pidgin, unless you want to invite strange looks (and trouble!)

My favorite part of the book is the illustrations -- they are hilarious! Especially the 'Wot? I owe you money?' for the guy with the staring problem. Douglas Simonson has a gift for capturing just the right facial expression in a very simplistic drawing in order to breathe meaning into each phrase or term.

To sum it up -- use this book to give you laughs, or as a quaint reminder of the islands. Accurate though the definitions are, it should not be considered an exhaustive instructional book. Having said that, bravo - this book is awesome!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you think you speak pidgin?, April 30, 2001

By A Customer

This is an awesome book! Loved it since I was a little kid growing up in Hilo. Only thing is - if you one haole, no expec em fo teach you how speak da kine. English: If you're a foreigner to the islands, dont expect it to teach you how to speak pidgin english. You'll end up sounding like an idiot, may get some locals laughing. Enjoy the book, it's great. Just please, please dont think it will turn you into a Hawaiian! :)