The journey of Gabbaluchie
The story of Gabbaluchie the Wolf dates back many decades. My grandfather, Papa, Zephyr Esteve, began telling tales of this sweet Italian wolf to his three children, Linda, Maria, and Ron. The stories then spread to all the children in the family. This imaginary wolf became very important to us all.
Evening bedtime stories were told about how Gabbaluchie watched the children go through their days. He spoke of their swimming, sledding, roller skating, walking on stilts, baseball, flying kites, soapbox race cars, bike rides, birthdays, and all the neighborhood games played with our friends. As the children grew, my grandfather told stories through Gabbaluchie of encouragement, acceptance, right and wrong, family, pride, loyalty, love, and especially kindness. My grandfather always spoke of the importance of kindness.
Raising a family, and in cases like his, multiple families in one home during World War II brought plenty of challenges. Maybe that’s why the stories of Gabbaluchie became so important… for every night, our final thoughts were of good and happiness. The storytelling of Gabbaluchie continued through my generation and my children’s generation. My grandfather Zephyr lived to be 86 years young! He’s been with me every step of writing this children’s book.
With your help, we will continue to tell the tales of Gabbaluchie the Wolf for many more decades.
