Guess Who Loves You, Mrs. Banks? Written by Mary Brenchley. Illustrated
by Jacob True Draper.
Roxy loved looking at all the
houses in her neighborhood as she walked home from school.
One house had a dog that barked and
jumped up and down in the window.
Another house had birds
chirping in the trees.
And then there was Mrs. Banks's house.
Mrs. Banks had been her third grade
teacher, and she was Roxy’s favorite.
Roxy always waved at Mrs. Banks when
she saw her sitting on her chair on her front porch. Mrs. Banks was
always friendly and happy.
But today, the chair on her porch was
empty. The house looked quiet.
Even Mrs. Banks’s cat,
Chester, was gone.
Roxy remembered her mom saying
that Mrs. Banks was sick.
She went to the hospital every day
for treatments. Roxy felt sad. She wanted to do something nice
for Mrs. Banks. But what?
Roxy looked around at the bees
flying from flower to flower.
Then she had an idea. Roxy ran home
and picked a rose from her garden.
She went back to Mrs. Banks’s house and
placed it on her front porch.
The next day, Roxy put a sunflower
on Mrs. Banks’s chair.
And the day after that, she put a
daisy on her front door. Each day for two weeks, Roxy left a
flower for Mrs. Banks.
She was careful not to be seen.
One day on her way home, Roxy saw Mrs.
Banks sitting on the front porch.
She was holding some flowers
in her hand.
Roxy, Mrs. Banks said. Look
at my beautiful flowers. Someone has been leaving
them here for me. Each day a new flower has been waiting
for me when I got home from the hospital. Roxy smiled. Do you know
who it was? Mrs. Banks smiled back.
Whoever it was, I'd like to thank them.
It was probably someone who
loves you, Roxy said. Do you think your cat
left it? Roxy asked.
Chester likes to leave me surprises,
but he's never left flowers. Mrs. Banks laughed. What about
the flower on my chair? Was it the dog down the street, or a
squirrel? Roxy smiled even bigger. Oh, my, said Mrs. Banks, laughing. I didn't realize there were so
many creatures who loved me, but the flowers sure did
make me feel special.
Roxy was almost bursting with happiness. She was glad she helped Mrs.
Banks smile again.