Every story
starts somewhere.
Ours began with a little boy named Maverick, a question he couldn't always answer, and a dad who wanted to help.
Read our story ↓
Why I started Starwink Stories
When my son Maverick was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, our family had a lot to learn. Along the way, I went looking for stories he could enjoy, stories that might help him understand his condition and share it with his friends.
But I struggled to find the kind of book I was looking for. I didn't want something that felt like a medical lesson. I wanted an adventure he'd be excited to read. A story he would want to show his friends.
When Maverick reached school age, we faced a whole new challenge. His teachers and classmates had questions about the sensor on his arm and his insulin pump. And Maverick, still so young, didn't always have the words to explain why he needed them.
He started to feel frustrated. He told us he didn't want his pump or sensor anymore. Sensor changes and infusion-site changes could turn into tears and struggles. Sometimes, he would cry and tell us he didn't want to have diabetes at all.
As his dad, that broke my heart.
I couldn't take type 1 diabetes away. But I could try to change the way we talked about it.
So I began weaving a little imagination into our everyday conversations. I described his insulin as a special serum that helped him get the energy he needed for his adventures. It was our own superhero language for something real and important: the insulin his body needs.
That's where the idea for Starwink Stories began.
Make it fun.
Make it theirs.
I wanted to write the kind of book Maverick would reach for because it was exciting, not because it was about diabetes.
A book where he could go on a big adventure, laugh with a friend, and explain his sensor or pump in words that felt like his own.
Stories that help little voices be heard.
Maverick and the Great Cardboard Rocket became the beginning of the What I Can Say series: imaginative, sing-along stories that give children simple language to talk about things that make their lives different.
Each story is meant to be an adventure first, with kindness, understanding, and a little learning woven into the journey. The goal isn't to have children explain everything about themselves. It's to help them feel more comfortable sharing what they want to share, in their own voice.
Because sometimes the first step toward being understood is finding the words to say, “This is part of me.”
More than a storybook.
My hope is that Starwink Stories helps children see that their experiences belong in the same joyful, imaginative adventures as everyone else's, and gives their friends, families, and teachers a gentler way to understand.
Michael Miller
Founder, Starwink Stories • Maverick's dad