“Make every mistake a new mission to grow.”

I was overjoyed to receive a copy of Being Me from A to Z  by Lauren Kukla and Aviel Basil. This book not only teaches the alphabet, but “inspires kids to be their best selves.”

Letter M was one of our favorites! “M is for mistakes—yes, make them you will, missteps and missed chances and milk that you spill. You’ll hurt someone’s feelings, you’ll step on a toe. Make every mistake a new mission to grow.” Read More

Audrey Bunny’s Message: God Loves You and Made You Special

Audrey Bunny sits in a barrel of toys day after day— she waits and watches. Audrey Bunny has a smudge right over her heart and believes this imperfection makes her unworthy to be loved. God aligns Caroline, a sweet red haired girl, to be the one to help Audrey Bunny understand that the spot over her heart makes her beautiful and is ultimately the reason she is chosen.

Psalms 139:13-16

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

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Applegate Challenges Humanity

The One and Only Ivan is a work of fiction, but the inspiration for this imagined tale lies in a true story. Ivan spent 27 years of his life alone in a cage. When I started to write about the grim facts of Ivan’s solitary existence, a new tale slowly began to take shape. At least on the page, where anything is possible, I wanted to give Ivan (even while captive behind the walls of his tiny cage) a voice of his own and a story to tell. I wanted to give him someone to protect, and the chance to be the mighty silverback he was always meant to be.   ~Katherine Applegate

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