Every adult who reads to a child has seen what happens when a book speaks. For a time, the book becomes the child's beloved friend. It is asked for repeatedly and learned by heart. But books do more than speak to a child. Children use books to speak to adults. If one wants to understand a child's deepest emotions, take a look at the books they never tire of hearing, that are carted around with them everywhere, that are hidden in their backpacks on the first day of school. These are the books that communicate to a child. And these are the books that help a child say something to adults. Those who spend their lives striving to put books in the hands of children--those in publishing, teaching, bookselling, librarianship--rarely see the full results of their labor. It is not often they are allowed inside a child's heart and mind to see what is written there. But sometimes they are given a little clue. In this article, the author shares a story about Luke, a fifth grader who had tried to tell her that a book she had written had been important to him. It had given him a voice and a measure of personal empowerment at a time when he needed it. It had helped him feel good about himself in a way he could not articulate, but could still remember.