A cutting put-down of Ellie's treasured $2.98 ring gets Ruth off for what seems like the last time but when she shows up at the party after all, Ellie's mom helps save the situation, as well as the uneasy friendship. Mom has set a limit of three for the birthday sleepover as Ruth-believably depicted as a spoiled youngest child, thoughtless but not ill-natured-blows confusingly warm and cold, Ellie puts her on and off the list. In her first grade, Ellie has three friends with whom she enjoys imaginative games (at one point ``Pioneers'' becomes ``Pioneers and Fairies''-after all, Dorothy was from Kansas) slightly older neighbor Ruth is also a sometime playmate, though her camaraderie evaporates in the presence of girls her own age. The author of several contemporary fantasies (Mail-Order Wings, 1981) tells a realistic story about the two weeks before a seventh birthday.
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