When Jeremy snuck out in the dead of night in order to meet Woodman and see animal magic, he could hardly believe what he beheld –the old Indian could become any animal. Woodman would impart his skill only so Jeremy could continue a living tradition which would die when Woodman was gone.

The Changer is my first published book and I wrote it because I wanted my readers to experience nature and animals intimately. I wanted to help them commune with the animals in their lives, get on some sort of wavelength that fosters closer relationships because when we approach our animal friends like our human friends we are the richer for it. Since I am deeply touched by nature, by the wind that comes like a messenger, bringing me scents and sounds, by the colors of the trees, by the ever-changing majesty of the sky, I wanted to share this, too, because if we notice the beauty around us, even in our own backyards or down a city street, our lives are happier. David Kenneth Waldman, who published this book, provided editing, found a superb illustrator and made the final book exactly what I was hoping it would be. He also helped me see that there was a sequel waiting…

As an author I write because I can't draw. When I was a kid I'd see something I wanted to share – a gorgeous winter dawn or a fat, sleepy kitten – so I would try to draw it and it never looked even remotely like what I was looking at. Then I realized I could write and capture the world in words. Tatiana Strelkoff is a published author of nine books and lives in Rome, Italy with her husband and her two children, now fully grown. Tatiana does literary translations of novels and screenplays, including the script of Tornatore's most recent film "The Best Offer", and works for several United Nations agencies in Rome for their Language Services Departments. I was born in 1957 and lived in the United States until I was 23, when I moved to Rome, where I live with my husband and two kids – not kids, really, adults now, but you know how mothers are… My parents are Russian and I was brought up speaking Russian at home and observing Russian holidays. I majored in cultural anthropology at UCLA and subsequently learned Italian so I am particularly attuned to the beauty and the power of words. In fact, I write because I can't draw. When I was a kid I'd see something I wanted to share – a gorgeous winter dawn or a fat, sleepy kitten – so I would try to draw it and it never looked even remotely like what I was looking at. It was frustrating, and annoying to have to describe my pictures because nobody could tell what they were, until the day I realized I could describe it from the start, write it down and capture the sight in words. It worked, and I never looked back. Most of my stories are for middle grade readers. That age, 9-12, is a precious time in life – beginning to understand complex ideas and adult sentences without losing the ability to wonder and marvel at the world. Maybe inside I'm still in that time frame though there are, of course, issues and concepts that require greater maturity and those are the stories I've written that are more suitable for a young adult, or adult, audience. When I write I am aiming for your senses, hoping that you will feel and see and smell and think things you might not have otherwise. The greatest pleasure is finding out if I have succeeded, and hearing from my readers is a joy. It helps me hone my art and develop friendships – what more could a writer ask for?