Barbara Swift Guidotti – författare

The Wallaboo Stories is a collection of six stories: The Yellow Echo, The Wallaboo Clock, The Wallaboo Treasure, The Wild Wallaboo, The Blue Feather, and The Bumbleseed Tree. These wallaboo stories, as the author calls them, are about the world as seen through the eyes of children - or at least as Barbara Guidotti has seen the world through the eyes of her own children and the many children she has known in her teaching career. Each story tries to capture a special quality or qualities of the child''s world. In The Yellow Echo you will find an imaginary friend, the Yellow Echo. The Wallaboo Clock reflects the unhurried, mixed-up land of time in which children live. The Wallaboo Treasure is a child''s treasure hunt complete with maps and jewels which children love. The Wild Wallaboo is about all of those children (usually boys) who turn themselves into lions or other fierce creatures and have trouble turning back into themselves. The Blue Feather began on the themes of the tooth fairy, marbles and rainbows and then took on a life of its own. Finally, The Bumbleseed Tree was inspired by a child Barbara had in her classroom whose parents were concerned about her rocking behavior in the first several years of her life. This otherwise delightful, bright little girl eventually shed this behavior and joined the many other children who are constantly on the go.The Wallaboo Stories is an especially good book for beginning and early readers.It is an excellent choice for parents of young children as well as school librarians looking for a new book for the early grades.

Wallaboo Land brings us six more adventures with the wallaboos.Like those in The Wallaboo Stories these wallaboo stories are about the childs world as the author has seen it through the eyes of her own three children as well as the many children she has known in her teaching career.The Winking Wallaboo Frog starts out about puddles and winking. Then it just gets goofy, something children like to be. The Humming Bubble was inspired by several children the author has known who hummed while playing almost everything. The Stardust Trail is a mystical journey through make-believe lands.The Whistling Wallaboo Monster is a mystery which is solved by understanding that things arent always as they seem. The Hiccups Box starts with the hiccups and then imagination takes over. Finally, The Green Balloon is a simple tale starting with a balloon that blows up into the sky.Like the first wallaboo book, Wallaboo Land is a very good book for beginning readers and therefore an excellent choice for parents and teachers of young children.

Oliver, an Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, lived in the yard of the author in Fort Myers, Florida, over a period of several months and seemed to be begging for a story! The photos were taken by the author.