On April 12, 2011, a baby girl named Juniper was born at a mere 23 weeks gestation. Hanging on to every second, and not knowing if there would be a tomorrow with her, Juniper’s father Tom French began reading to his new daughter every day. His book of choice was a magical tale about “the boy who lived” — Harry Potter.
Now a thriving 5-year-old, Juniper has had years to learn about Harry Potter and his friends, as well as what their story means to her family. So imagine her joy and surprise when she recently received a boxed set of the entire series with a special message from none other than the author herself.
“To Juniper, the girl who lived!” it read. “With lots of love, J.K. Rowling.”
When asked why he chose Harry Potter to read to Juniper in the NICU, Tom said he wanted Juniper to hear a story about children who could fly. As his wife Kelly later recounted in an essay for Upworthy, he wanted to read her a story about a baby who survived the most powerful evil in the world; all because his mother stood by his crib and protected him with her life.
“Stories are a promise,” he told his wife Kelley. “They are a promise that the ending is worth waiting for.”
Although she was just a tiny baby clinging to life when her father first began reading to her, Juniper seemed to hear her father’s words. She responded by breathing better, holding her temperature better, and staying calmer. But as all NICU __parents know, there are some days that are worse than others. On one particularly rough night, doctors and nurses weren’t sure if Juniper would make it through. “What if she never hears the end of the story?” Tom worried. “What if she never learns how it ends?”
But Juniper did hear the end of the story. Now in Kindergarten, she understands who Harry and his friends really are. Her mom Kelley tells Babble that she loves Hermione and Ginny. She was so excited to receive J.K. Rowling’s gift in the mail, but at 5, she still thinks J.K. Rowling wrote all of these books just for her. And after all they’ve been through, her __parents are okay with that for now.
And in fact, Juniper’s parents Tom and Kelley have written a book especially for her (and about her). They poured their hearts into the recently published book, Juniper: The Girl Who Was Born Too Soon. Kelley tells Babble that they wanted to write about how the tension of the hospital — of medicine and science and machines — came together with the love of the doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. They wanted to thank everyone who helped save their sweet little girl, including J.K. Rowling.
“Harry Potter was our sacred text. It was how we connected with her,” says Kelley.
So when J.K. Rowling heard about Juniper’s story, she reached out. She tweeted Kelley directly, which Kelley says was one of the most exciting moments of her life. To have a conversation with the woman who created a story that hold such meaning to her family, and then to receive signed copies in the mail were a dream come true for their entire family.
Harry Potter is more than a fictional boy who can do magic. And Juniper is more than your average 5-year-old. The bond Juniper shares with the Harry Potter characters started when she was just a fragile one pound.
Today, Kelley says she “sorts her chickens into the houses of Hogwarts. She voted for Hermione for president. At night, she tells me, she sees Hermione in her dreams.”