Rosie and Michael

Rosie is my friend. She likes me when I'm dopey and not just when I'm smart. Says Michael.

Michael is my friend. He likes me when I'm grouchy and not just when I'm nice. Says Rosie.

Or is it Rosey or Rosi or Rosee or Rozi or Wrosie? However she writes it, that's the way Michael writes it, too.

And just because he sprays Kool Whip in her sneakers, doesn't mean that Rosie's not his friend.

Friendship overcomes all problems. That's what Rosie and Michael think. It's big enough for jokes, for laughter, for sharing possessions, for aiding each other in dire emergencies, and even for being mad once in a while.

That's what friendships are for. So say Rosie and Michael.

Judith Viorst has been writing for the more than fourteen years that she has been married, with a lot of helpful encouragement from her husband and three sons. She loves children's books and tries to write books that her own children will like -- and in which they will sometimes recognize themselves. Her husband is also a free-lance writer, and he works at home as she does. As one of their children once explained, "My father is a typewriter, and I think my mother is, too." Among her books for children are The Tenth Good Thing About Barney; Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: and My Mama Says There Aren't Zny Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Creatures, Demons, Monsters, Fiends, Goblins, or Things. In addition ot her books for children and adults, she writes a monthly column for Redbook magazine.