The Book That Started It All by Alivia Parks

Have you ever had a book that meant so much to you that you  read it over and over again? Well, I sure have, and that book is  Loukoumi’s Gift. 

The reason I love this book so much is that it has a special place  in my heart. Even though I got the book when I was only one, my  mom and dad read the book to me every day because I met the  author and fell in love with the Loukoumi mascot.  

Photo Credit: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

And that’s when it all started. I got the book when I was in St. Jude  Children’s Research Hospital because I had bilateral retinoblastoma,  which is a cancer of the retinas in both eyes.  I was in the hospital for more than four months. It was the  hardest time of my life, and that Loukoumi book made me calm  though my chemo treatments.  

The next year Nick Katsoris (the author) sent me my second favorite book, Loukoumi’s Good Deeds. He even signed it for me and  wrote “Do something nice!” I found out that he was giving money from his books to St. Jude,  and that made me want to be kind to everybody. St. Jude started  calling me their little mascot. After that I wanted to give money to  St. Jude, the people who saved my life.  That year I did my first two fundraisers for St. Jude, and my  family and I have not stopped since—because a child with cancer  deserves more! We have raised a lot of money for St. Jude, and the  Loukoumi books inspire me to do more for everyone!  

They inspire me because, as Loukoumi’s Gift says: 

These sayings make me want to give to others, cheer people up,  help friends when they need help, and listen when they are going  through hard times. Even though I’m only ten years old, that doesn’t  stop me from giving to others.  

Hopefully you have been inspired by something in your life to  help others and do “good deeds.” It doesn’t take much to change a  person’s day—it can start with a smile on your face!