Book Review: Across the Alley

I have a soft spot for books about people who forge unlikely friendships, and when looking for multicultural books, I really like seeing children of different ethnicities in these roles. I think children are so used to putting things and people into categories that it makes more of an impact when storybooks remind us that things or people don't always need to stay within their own boundaries.

I also have a weakness for books about music and musicians (especially violinists or singers, since I can relate).

Across the Alley by Richard Michelson and illustrated by E.B. Lewis quietly charmed its way into my heart; it has all these great things, and more. Abe and Willie are two boys that live in neighboring apartment buildings. Their bedroom windows happen to face each other, so they become best friends-- but only at night.

Abe is Jewish, and Willie is black. They don't play together during the day. But after bedtime, Willie tells Abe about his baseball games and Abe tells Willie about his violin lessons. Soon, they are swapping gloves and violins through the window across the alley. The friends find common interests, and discover that even their families have things in common: Abe's grandfather was imprisoned in a concentration camp during the war, and Willie's great-grandfather was a slave in the South.

One night, they are caught when Abe's Grandpa walks in to see Abe winding up a pitch and Willie across in the other building, holding Abe's violin. Abe is frozen with fear and guilt, but Grandpa surprises them both, and even recruits Willie's dad into a scheme to bring out the best talents of both boys.

This book reminded me very much of Henry and the Kite Dragon by Bruce Edward Hall and William Low. Across the Alley is more low-key in the storytelling style and the size of the conflict, but both very effectively show without preaching how friendships and talents can transcend our physical differences.

Across the Alley by Richard Michelson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

Tags: children's+book+review racial+issues multicultural