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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Chapter 22 Summary

  • Francie can finally read. She doesn’t have to sound out words anymore and she now knows them by sight. Our girl starts reading and never seems to stop.
  • Reading solves her loneliness problem, and books become her friends and poetry her buddy.
  • On the day she realizes that she can read, she promises herself that she will read one book a day.
  • And she doesn’t just love reading—nope, she also loves numbers. Francie creates a special code wherein each number represents a different member of a family. For example, she imagines that the number 0 is a baby. She also thinks of 5 as being the mother. With this in mind, when she sees the number 50, she imagines a mother taking a baby out for a walk. In other words, whatever number she sees, she creates a little story behind it in her mind. (Our girl is wicked creative, huh? She is clearly a storyteller, right? She sees stories everywhere—even in math.)