It ends with the whole family reunited on Christmas morning. After his long journey, Stick Man is brought home by Father Christmas and tumbles down his own chimney. He’s finally back with Stick Lady Love and the stick children three, and the last illustration shows them all celebrating together, safe and happy. It’s a very warm, traditional closing circle for a picture book.
Honestly, I found the ending a bit too neat and sentimental for my taste. It leans heavily on that deus ex machina with Father Christmas. I get that it’s a Christmas book, but the family spends the whole story passive, just waiting and pining. They don’t do anything to find him. The resolution is handed to them by a magical figure who just happens to be in the right place at the right time.
That said, I watched my niece read it, and she was absolutely riveted, especially when Stick Man goes down the chimney. So maybe my grown-up cynicism is missing the point. For a kid, seeing that iconic homecoming scene, where he’s suddenly back in the familiar room, probably feels like a perfect, earned reward after all his struggles. The family unit is restored, and that’s really all a young reader wants.
That little book breaks my heart in the sweetest way every single time. After being dragged all over the place—used as a flag for a sandcastle, a mast for a nest, you name it—Stick Man ends up washed ashore on Christmas Eve. He’s spotted by Father Christmas, who happens to be passing by on his sleigh. Father Christmas recognizes him from the family portrait Stick Man described earlier and, instead of delivering him straight home, takes him along for the rest of the Christmas deliveries.
Then comes the absolute best page turn. The final spread shows the family’s fireplace, and the reader sees Stick Man flying down the chimney, back into the living room where his Stick Lady Love and the stick children three are sleeping. He’s finally home, and they all wake up and celebrate. It’s not just a reunion; it’s a Christmas morning reunion, which makes the joy feel doubly special. The family is completely, safely back together, with the adventure finally over.
2026-07-14 05:17:46
1
Toutes les réponses
Scanner le code pour télécharger l'application
Livres associés
(Not) My Husband: Still The Father Of Our Children
DiaryOfDaisy
10
5.6K
He wasn’t searching for love.
He wasn’t ready for him.
But some things—like family, and falling—happen when you least expect them.
When Ezra Anderson's sister dies, he inherits three young children and a crumbling rural property he's nowhere near prepared for. Overwhelmed, heartbroken, and freshly dumped, Ezra turns to the one person he shouldn't: Sebastian Brown—the gentle, steady Omega child psychologist he once shared one reckless night with... and never dared to call back.
Sebastian offers a safe harbor. Routine. Warm hands and a softer kind of strength Ezra didn’t know he craved.
What starts as survival—two men building a life for three grieving kids—soon strains under the weight of something deeper. The Omega in Sebastian draws Ezra like gravity, making every glance burn and every touch linger. The lines between family and something more blur until Ezra can no longer pretend.
One night becomes two. Secrets slip into routines. And somewhere between sneaking into beds at night and morning coffee, Ezra faces the one truth he swore he'd never have to:
He might not be as straight, or as strong, as he thought.
As his Alpha instincts pull him closer to Sebastian’s Omega warmth, the world outside keeps pressing in. Desire stops hiding. And when the outside world comes knocking, Ezra is forced to choose:
Keep pretending... or hold on to the only thing that feels like home.
SNEAK PEEK:
“I’m not in love with you. I just… don’t know how to breathe when you’re not there.” - Ezra
“I’m not gay. I’m just yours.” - Ezra
“You keep saying you’re not mine… but you keep choosing me.” - Sebastian
“You’re allowed to love me, you know.” - Sebastian
NB: 18+ (Tissues highly recommended.)
"Look, chat! The rich guy who lives in this fancy apartment is secretly a pervert who gropes college girls!"
As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, my neighbor Yvonne Shaw cornered me at the door.
She tugged at her collar while crying to the camera.
"Chat, this is where the guy lives! Just now in the elevator, he covered my mouth and groped me all over... If the elevator door hadn't opened in time, he would have dragged me back to his place!"
The comments section exploded, the screen filled with curses aimed at my husband.
But later, in court, when they saw my husband who had lost both arms saving someone five years ago...
They were all dumbfounded.
My parents' enemy kidnaps me and livestreams chopping off my fingers just to force them to show up.
For a time, the entire Internet searches for my parents. But what they don't know is that the captain who appeared in the livestream is my biological father.
At that moment, he's on a beach in Hashford, setting off magnificent fireworks for his adopted daughter. And on their barbecue table, the livestream of my fingers being severed is playing.
Later on, when I survive long enough to be rescued, I reach out my mangled hand to touch my parents.
They recoil in disgust and leave without looking back, taking the adopted daughter out for Wersole food.
But they don't know that the thing hidden within my mangled palm will make them regret their actions beyond measure.
My father, Daniel Jacobson, teams up with the elders in my family to launch the Family app. Every child's behavior is converted into points, and those points determine who inherits the family's wealth.
As the least favored daughter in the family, I am one of the first people forced to use it.
"You earn one point for greeting your parents. Massaging shoulders or washing feet gives you ten points. Handing over your entire paycheck gets you 1,000 points. This is my original digital system for measuring good behavior."
If I dare complain even once, or if I rank last on the scoreboard, Dad humiliates me relentlessly in the family group chat. He even forces me to kneel and wash the feet of whoever has the highest score as an apology.
He looks at my hands that are red and scalded from the hot water and sighs.
Then, his expression turns resolute again as he says, "I know it hurts now, but this is for your own good. A rough diamond has to be cut and polished before it can sparkle. I'm helping to smooth away your rough edges so your future will be smoother.
"The points system is my greatest achievement. It's the deepest expression of a father's love."
Today is Independence Day. It's also our family's annual scoreboard finalizing day.
Dad invites all our relatives over. In front of everyone, he plans to announce that I, the child who ranks last, will be disowned. He wants everyone to see what happens to anyone who dares challenge his authority.
"I'm doing this for the good of our family. Without rules, there can be no order. And without a strict upbringing, you won't build up the perfect character. One day, you'll understand my good intentions."
But, Dad...
I have already ended my own life by overdosing on some medicine. Right now, my lifeless body lies cold in the room upstairs, waiting for you to uncover it with your own hands.
My six-year-old son, Zac Quest, deliberately fed me almond cake, which I was allergic to, to make me miscarry. Standing in front of the hospital bed, he hid behind my husband, Sterling Quest, with a long face and refused to admit his mistakes, "Grandma said you won't ever divorce Dad once you give birth to my sister. I don't want you as my mom anymore. I prefer Ms. White!"
Sterling said indifferently, "We'll have other children. Winona... is indeed more fit to raise Zac than you."
Hearing those words, I gave up completely.
The day I was discharged from the hospital, I went back home and cleared out all my belongings. All I left behind was a divorce agreement and a letter disowning Zac.
One night, my family sat together watching the New Year’s Eve Live on television.
My little sister, Stella Larson, said she had to pee and hurried to the washroom.
Half an hour later, she still had not returned.
When I went to check on her, the washroom was empty.
“When did Stella leave the washroom?” I asked my parents.
Both of them were stunned for a moment before feeling my forehead and saying, “What are you talking about? You’re an only child. Who is Stella?”
They forcibly pulled me back to my seat.
My mind went blank.
Did the three of them just pull a prank on me?
After finishing his drink, my father clutched his stomach and rushed into the washroom.
I stared fixedly at the washroom door.
A long time passed, but no one came out.
My father had vanished, too.
My hand trembled as I pointed at the bathroom.
My mother stepped forward to go in.
“Don’t go in! Dad and Luna disappeared in there!”
My mother looked grief-stricken as she said, “Sweetie, it’s been just the two of us for the past twenty-plus years, remember?”
Her words hit me hard. I was in total disbelief.
I explained myself frantically, but the more I spoke, the more confused my mother became.
She finally shook me off and said, “Why are you doing this to me? I’ve raised you your whole life! Why do you have to ruin New Year’s Eve?”
She walked straight into the washroom, and the house soon fell into a dead silence.
Terrified, I called my best friend, Kathy Scott, who lived nearby. I rambled incoherently as I begged her for help.
But her words utterly crushed me.
“What family members? You’re an orphan.”
I hung up the phone, rushed out, and pounded frantically on the neighbors’ door.