
While in Cuba, this sweet little girl wanted to take home a book at a children’s bookstand but her parents couldn’t afford even one. Though she didn’t know how to read yet, she held her book tight against her chest with tears in her eyes while her parents tried to pry it away. With her parents’ permission, I bought her that book and three more. I told her it was important to me that children read because I write stories for them. She promised to treasure her new books and maybe be a writer of books like me one day too.