POKO AND THE GOLDEN DEMON

Adolescent anxiety--this time in the south Seas: Poko, undersized son of the aliki (chief), is self-conscious until his stature proves advantageous. He hesitates to report that his underwater explorations have stirred up a demon living in a house in the lagoon, but blames himself for the food shortage which follows a storm and confesses. Investigation proves the demon to be a golden grouper fish trapped inside a sunken ship; the fish is large enough to feed the starving islanders but impossible to reach. It's Poko to the rescue because his body is small enough to fit through a porthole. A Bangor-to-Santa Barbara idea is transplanted to Bora Bora, the names have been changed to reflect the consequent cultural differences. As eye-catching as the same team's The Sky-Eater and other South Sea Tales but without the legendary point of view as the basis.