"Frederick wants to dictate a story. He has been listening to the older children and has watched me write their words on lined paper. When it is his turn, he says, "Frederick." I print his name at the top of the page and wait.
'Frederick,' he repeats.
'What do you do in the story?'
'Nothing.'
'You could go to school.'
'No.'
'Just 'Frederick'?'
'Yes.'
"At the end of the morning, we go upstairs to the carpeted piano room where we sing and act out the stories told each day during playtime. I hold up Frederick's page and read, 'Frederick.' He runs to the center of the rug and smiles. The others, seated on low benches against the walls, smile back but I yield to the teacher's role.
'Is anything different about Frederick's story?' I ask.
'Because he's Frederick,' Libby answers.
'Right. But I wondered about a story that has only one word.'
"John, nearly five, responds quickly. 'It's not one word. It's one person.'"
- Passage from p12 of Mollie is Three by Vivian Gussin Paley
