Prologue

Creating Context

Cluster One: What Is a Friend?

• Dirk the Protector (autobiography)Gary Paulsen
• For Heidi with Blue Hair (poem)Fleur Adcock
• Joe King (personal reminiscence)Bailey White
• Dawn (short story)Tim Wynne-Jones
• Untitled (poem)Langston Hughes

Cluster Two: What Would You Do for a Friend?

• Kimchee and Corn Bread (article)Helie Lee and Stephanie Covington
• Jones and the Stray (article)Martha Soukup
• Scream of the Little Bird (short story)David S. Jackson
• Blue Diamond (short story)Neal Shusterman

Cluster Three: Friend or Enemy?

• Shaking (poem)Robert Morgan
• War Game (short story)Nancy Werlin
• Take Your Best Shot (short story)Jackie Vivelo
• Directions to the Armorer (poem)Elder Olson
• hey, jealousy (essay)Francesca Delbanco
• Farewell, My Friend (eulogy)Roger Ebert

Cluster Four: Thinking on Your Own

• Building Bridges (short story)Andrea Davis Pinkney
• Moco Limping (poem)David Nava Monrael
• Promises (short story)Ellen Conford
• The Kayak (short story)Debbie Spring
• Meeting the Demons (prose poem)Dawna Markova