Gill McBarnet is one of Hawaii's top children's authors.  For nearly 20 years Gill (pronounced "Jill") has been writing and illustrating books with Hawaiian settings, and her words and delightful illustrations have inspired a generation of island youngsters and young visitors to Hawaii. 
From a whale who wanted to be small, a
brave little turtle,  a bullying shark and
geckos who like to play hide and seek, 
Gill has explored a host of Hawaiian
themes with liveliness and humor. 
Her stories are entertaining, comforting,
amusing and interesting, and even her
earliest books have stood the test of time
because a number are still best sellers in
Hawaii.  "The Whale Who Wanted to be
Small", "Wonderful Journey", "Shark Who
Learned a Lesson", "Brave Little Turtle"
have all been best sellers, and "The
Goodnight Gecko" (1991) and "Gecko
Hide and Seek" (1993) are still amongst
the top 5 best selling children's books in Hawaii.  "Gift of Aloha" and "Tikki Turtle's Quest" are Gill's
more recent titles, and "Tikki Turtle" was awarded the Ka Palapala Po'okele "Excellence in Children's
Books Award" for 2001. Gill was born, raised and taught elementary school in Zimbabwe, but she and
her husband Terry and 3 children Eddie, Will and Tara live on the "valley isle" of Maui, Hawaii, where
Gill still draws inspiration for her stories from the people, animals and lifestyle that surrounds her.

Take a look in some of Gill's books, to see how effectively she conveys Hawaiian images, mood, story,
humor, information along with a sense of the magic of childhood.

                            

 

 

Hawaiian images...

 

 

 

 

 
Mood...l


Mood...

 

 

 

Action...   


 
Action...
 
Information...  

Information...

 

 

       
The magic of childhood...

 

The magic of childhood...

 


                  

     

Copyright 2003 by Gill McBarnet