Books Matter. Art Matters. What You Do Matters, Too.

January 27, 2025


When I was a little girl, bedtime stories were the best part of my day. I’d snuggle up with Mom or Dad in the big green-upholstered armchair for another round of The Digging-est Dog or Stop That Ball (parts of which I can still recite to this day). When I got a little older, I’d lie in my big-girl bed while Mom read a chapter of Little House in the Big Woods or The Hobbit. There’s no doubt in my mind that these early experiences are the reason I’m a writer today. 

Reading together gives kids and their grownups common ground: shared knowledge, shared experience, and shared language for navigating tricky conversations. If time to read together is scarce, don’t despair. Some studies have shown that simply having books in the house improves kids’ reading, math, and technological skills.

Books are magic, ya’ll – the best kind of magic there is.

It’s Family Literacy Day today. In a time of organized efforts to restrict access to books — particularly books for children — reading has become an act of resistance. So read together today: fill your brains with ideas and your souls with stories. Knowledge is power, and power is between the pages of books.


On January 2, I flew to California for the first residency of an MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults (VCFA/CalArts). We had earthquake safety training on the first day…. and three days later, California caught on fire. I made it home safely, but a lot of people have no homes left to go to.

The world is literally burning, and for a while now, it’s felt like civilization is burning, too. Somedays it’s hard to imagine that anything we do will make a difference. In my case, it feels frivolous to invest in more education when I’m already pretty good at what I do. And it’s easy to wonder whether what I do actually matters to anyone other than me.

When I feel that way, this is what I tell myself:

I write a book, and if I’m lucky, that book gets published.

If I’m very lucky, that book finds its way into children’s hands.

If I’m very, very lucky, I get to meet some of those kids — kids who tell me that my book turned them into readers.

If I’m less lucky, I never meet those kids. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

We can never know the full impact of our own actions, and that goes for the good as well as the bad. So keep doing the best you can, because what you do matters. What you do really does makes a difference.

And so does reading books.

#FamilyLiteracyDay

Me (bottom left) and 10 members of my first-semester MFA cohort. Not pictured: two cloud-based members, and one on-campus member who was busy evacuating from Altadena.



2 Comments on ‘Books Matter. Art Matters. What You Do Matters, Too.’

  1. The other day I pulled a couple of my 17yo son’s favorite childhood picture books and left them on his bed (he loved him some Richard Scarry Gold Bug!). We’re dealing with a stressful and sad time. I thought the books might give him a sense of coziness + comfort > safety. He’s 17, so I didn’t get much feedback, but he said they made him smile.

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    1. If a 17-year-old boy actually told you that his childhood books made him smile, I would count that as a major parenting win, even if it weren’t a sad and stressful time. Under the circumstances, double bonus points. Wishing you comfort and coziness and safety as you find your way through this together.

      Reply | 

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