Lunch Money

Greg and Maura somehow manage to fight their way to a great friendship. They struggle to communicate and overcome their hostilities. The solutions they find serve as a roadmap for kids learning how to get along, especially with peers of the opposite gender.

As they approach their teenage years, boys and girls often feel deep uncertainty about being friends with the opposite gender. Boys taunt each other to keep from showing interest in girls, while girls mercilessly tease other girls who show any interest in boys.

From a young age, Maura is interested in Greg; she solves this problem by copying his activities; when he responds with annoyance, she directly competes with him. This definitely gets his attention. Sometimes he wins, as with the lemonade sales, and sometimes she wins, as with her ingenious endeavor to sell home-made potholders. At school, “Greg and Maura squabble like cats and dogs all day long, always trying to outdo each other” (43-44).

Greg wouldn’t think of being friends with her until she counters his comic booklet with one of her own. Sales and comics are his two biggest passions, and he is not about to be beaten at both by Maura.