About the Author Ilene Weinberger grew up in Cleveland, Ohio where she won her first writing award in the fourth grade for an essay about America. Her skills as a writer were honed while writing greeting card verses for the American Greeting Card company as well as being a featured writer on her high school paper. While continuing to write her greeting cards, she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Speech and Hearing Therapy from Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Her first professional job was an experimental program treating speech therapy 23 problems working with first and second grade classes in southeastern Ohio and her success there developed into a permanent program. Upon graduation, she also married her high school sweetheart, Irwin Herman. After he finished his medical school, residency program and Army service they made the decision to move west as California beckoned. After settling in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ilene became enamored of California and Native American history and she embarked on a career of studying and writing about these topics. She obtained a master’s degree in Applied History from Holy Names College in Oakland and has published numerous papers accepted by the Bancroft Library of UC Berkeley as well as commentaries in some of the local newspapers. When she became active in helping form and becoming part of several writers’ groups, her writing style changed as she began writing more verses and short stories as well as plays, essays and travel articles as the couple travelled the world over the years. Many of her stories were based on fictionalized real events that had been part of her life, but Ilene also had a knack for creating spontaneous tales appealing to children as her grandchildren began to arrive, which was very helpful on long driving trips. Many of the characters, as well as the plots and locations evolved as the little ones would suggest specific items they wanted to hear. Ilene has also been published in anthologies such as Thema and Chicken Soup for the Soul among others. She was always a strong supporter of many social issues, especially those supporting children’s issues and policies, and 24 it was this that I believe prompted the creation of the theme of this book, namely that, early education of our children can help solve the divisiveness and hate that is plaguing the world today, because our future really is in their hands. After a sudden illness, Ilene died after sixty-five years of marriage at the age of eighty-seven. This book is being published as a memorial to her efforts and her beliefs. I hope you and your little ones enjoy the story.