Across the Alley

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

I began reading this book to my kids and after a few pages I stopped. It is about two boys who live across the alley from one another. They were great friends, though they never played with one another aside from tossing a ball across the alley from their bedroom windows. Willie was black and played baseball. Abe was Jewish and played the violin.

I stopped reading the book because I didn't like the stereotypes that were presented in the book, specifically by Abe's grandfather. However, I silently read further in the book and decided to proceed in reading it to my kids. I was pleased to see that the stereotypes were broken and in fact, Willie turned out to be quite the violin player and Abe turned out to be a quite a baseball pitcher.

The Friendly Four

The Friendly Four
by Eloise Greenfield
illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist

The lonely summer becomes quite eventful for Drummond when he makes three new friends. The book is about the summer adventures of "the friendly four." They build their very own town named Goodsummer, with a population of four. Although the friendly four knew they would be separated for one another for the fall, winter, and spring, they looked forward to next summer and the return of Goodsummer!

Being Friends

Being Friends

by Karen Beaumont
Illustrated by Joy Allen

This is a cute rhyming book about two friends. Despite their many differences, they both treasure their friendship with one another. "I like you and you like me, and though we're different as can be...we both like being friends." My daughter, especially, loved this book. She likened it to herself and some of her friends!