"My favorite is Maggie:
short hair,
scruffy clothes
(just like me),
fork in one hand,
book in the other,
as she eats Mama's pie."
Nicky loves being in the library with Ms. Gillam. She spends recess time there, welcoming borrowed books back and helping them find the places where they belong. Outside the window children, who love the same activities, have found each other and are spending their recess time together. Nicky prefers to be doing what she is doing.
Today brings a surprise. Ms. Gillam is going to be away for a week; Nicky will be outside for recess while she is gone. At her mom's cafe after school, Nicky appreciates that it is fine to be on her own, as are some of the guests. Of them all, Nicky likes Maggie best. Maggie is a reader who lends her books to Nicky when she has finished reading them. Nicky admires Maggie's happy, carefree life.
Maggie's Saturday visit to the cafe introduces a new group of friends. They all ride motorcycles as Maggie does. They are members of the same group, yet Nicky notices that each one is different from the others too. When Monday rolls around and Nicky must be outside at recess time, she finds herself wishing for Ms. Gillam and Maggie to keep her company. As she reads and rereads a poem from Maggie's book of poetry by Mary Oliver, she looks up to see a girl who also loves poetry. Is it time to take a chance on a new friend?
Collage and pen-and-ink images invite careful examination and interest. They add context to the clear emotions felt by Nicky as she discovers that being quiet (and liking it) doesn't limit her from finding a friend.
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