Wilburs of the World

...because the world needs a Wilbur.

About the Author

Elaine Birchfield was born in Alabama but grew up in Georgia in, what was then, a fairly remote area. Since there weren’t many playmates, she spent many happy hours riding her stick horses in the backyard. On rainy days she would line up her many stuffed animals in her room and teach them the lessons she had learned at school that day. As she grew, horses and dogs became a very real and wonderful part of her life and they taught her many valuable lessons. The idea of Wilburs of the World actually came to her many years ago in a dream. She saw the little Bears with their overalls and their little flag pockets and the name, Wilburs of the World, was very specific. She kept the idea in the back of her mind as, she, and her husband, David, were running a working horse ranch and a busy sub-contracting business. Her writing during those years was limited to several articles that were published in various horse magazines. The ideas of Wilbur’s life and travels and philosophy has really evolved since their retirement to North Carolina. When she hiked up to the old growth forests above where they live and saw the huge frees, she knew instantly that was where Wilbur was born. She fashioned Lucks and Doodle after her own horse and dog and Skippy was a little animal she observed one day ( she just knows there must be skipmunks!). Grady is a groundhog that lives up the road from their house by the stream. So it all came together one fall day as she was riding through the beautiful Mountains on the way to visit her dad in Georgia. The next morning looking out into the backyard where she grew up, Wilbur’s world came to me. She hopes children everywhere will learn from Wilbur’s outlook on life and spread his message of love And friendship to all they meet.

Storybooks