Evie & Margie by Bernard Waber

32 p., Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine, 2003.

Evie and Margie are best friends who dream together of being actors someday. Then they both decide to try out for the part of Cinderella in the class play. Margie is clearly the best at crying at will, and the tricks she teaches Evie to do this are too disturbing to Evie, and don't work for her anyway. Margie gets the part, and Evie is chosen as Margie's understudy. Evie is painfully disappointed, and when she gets home, she really cries. She realizes she's also jealous of Margie, and that upsets her. When Margie is sick on the day of the play, Evie plays the role of Cinderella, and has no difficulty crying at the appropriate time when she thinks about her disappointment in not getting the part, Margie's disappointment in missing out on her big day, and how awful it feels to be jealous. But a second performance is planned, and Margie gets to play Cinderella. Evie discloses her jealousy to Margie, who responds by saying that she had been jealous too. They're both relieved, and can be friends again. This story shows children how jealousy can disrupt a friendship, and how a strong friendship can survive it.

Ages 4-8
Main character's cultural background: non-human
Cultural context: non-human