The One and Only Family

by Katherine Applegate

I tried to believe in myself, and on the days when I couldn’t, I had friends who believed in me.

I suppose it’s true that I’m rather predictable. I’m an artist, an introvert, a serene and pensive sort.

You’d think the missing would end. But it doesn’t. It just softens around the edges.

Sometimes when the world gets stormy, the sameness of everyday life can feel like a life raft.

“Daddy, do grown-ups stop growing once they’re all grown up?”

Always, with the twins, it’s about fun and games. How lovely is that? Why don’t we grown-ups think that way?

Stories help us ready ourselves. For joy, for sorrow, for growth. They teach us empathy. They let us practice being better humans. Sadly, battles over children’s access to books have increasingly put librarians and teachers on the front lines. But in the end, locking up books always fails because words have wings.