I think that in the picture it looks like the white mom thinks she is better than Clover's mom. I wonder why her name is Clover? Jacquelene Woodson wrote this book to show how even segregation can't keep people who want to be together apart. I think that Clover's mom said that is wasn't safe because the white people were not always nice to Black people and I think that Annie's mom said it that because she was so stuck up and snooty that her daughter would ruin her chances. Clover's mom watched them play. Annie's mother might be ashamed of her daughter playing with a black girl. I have read other books that E. B. Lewis illustrated. When Clover's mom told her to play with the toys, it doesn't look like she wants to play with toys. She is just looking out the window. Kind of in a way her mom is saying you need to sit there and play. She'd rather be playing out in the rain I think that the author wrote about kids because kids are more able to find friends in the strangest ways. Annie is almost always dressed in yellow and I think that is because Clover's house is yellow!