Muggie Maggie, by Beverly Cleary
Maggie Schultz’s third grade classmates are excited about learning cursive, but Maggie decides that she doesn’t want to have any part of it.
The first day, her teacher compares cursive writing to a rollercoaster. While the other students are practicing loops and curves, Maggie draws rollercoasters all over her paper. At home, she studies her parents’ handwriting. They certainly don’t form their letters the way they’re supposed to. When Maggie’s class begins to write individual letters, Maggie tries writing them the way her parents do. She even tries writing left-handed like her mother. When she writes her name is looks more like Muggie than Maggie.
All of this attracts negative attention, and Mrs. Schultz is asked to meet with the principal. Everyone expects Maggie to buckle down and learn cursive. By now, she is willing to but her pride won’t let her back down. Then, her teacher devises a plan that changes Maggie’s mind about learning to write in cursive.
