Across the Alley [Hardcover]

Richard Michelson (Author), E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: October 5, 2006 | Age Range: 4 and up

Abe and Willie live across the alley from each other. Willie is black and Abe is Jewish, and during the day, they don’t talk. But at night they open their windows and are best friends. Willie shows Abe how to throw a real big-league slider, and Abe gives Willie his violin to try out. Then one night, Abe’s grandfather catches them—will Abe and Willie have the courage to cross the alley and reveal their friendship during the day?

Like the bestselling The Other Side, E. B. Lewis’s striking, atmospheric watercolors bring to life a moving story of baseball and music, and how two young people try to bridge the divide of prejudice.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3–The poignancy of two boys who can be friends only at night is revealed brilliantly in both text and rich watercolor art. Willie's dad, a starter in the Negro leagues, expects that his son will pitch in the majors. Abe's Jewish grandfather, a violinist in the old country before World War II, is sure that his grandson will be the next Jascha Heifetz. What neither man knows is that the boys have been sharing their talents across the alley at night. When Abe's grandfather discovers that it's Willie's beautiful music he has been hearing, he invites him to perform at the temple. As Willie's dad, Abe's grandfather, and the two boys walk there, people stare at them, and Willie's dad says, Ignorance comes in as many colors as talent. Nobody wants to sit by Willie and his father in the temple, but the boy is as victorious at the recital as Abe is at the baseball game later that afternoon. Best of all, supported by their loving families, the expectation is that they now can be friends in the light. With lovely art that captures the joy both boys feel about their respective talents, this endearing picture book offers a compelling message about overcoming prejudice.–Alexa Sandmann, Kent State University, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Racial differences keep Abe and Willie apart during the day, but at night they lean out of their bedroom windows and talk together. Willie shows Abe how to pitch a slider, and he proves himself adept at the violin that Abe hands across the alley. Lewis fills out his urban setting with indistinct figures and details for a timeless feel, though text references to Sandy Koufax and Satchel Paige give the background a general fix. Abe turns out to be better at baseball than Willie, and when the lads' secret comes out, it's Willie who gives a recital at the temple, and Abe who takes the sandlot mound. Willie's father makes the point explicit: "Let people stare . . . Ignorance comes in as many colors as talent." Despite some careless detailing (the alley looks too wide for passing a violin, and Willie holds the slider incorrectly), this purposeful tale works well as a similarly themed companion to Jacqueline Woodson's Other Side (2001), also illustrated by Lewis. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; 1 edition (October 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399239707
• ISBN-13: 978-0399239700
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for grandparents and grandchildren March 13, 2007

By Jewish Book World Magazine

Format:Hardcover

This beautiful book is perfect for grandparents to enjoy with their grandchildren. Who else could fondly recall the alleys, stoops, and apartment houses where children could lean out of bedroom windows to speak with a friend across the way? References to Sandy Koufax, Satchel Page, Jascha Heifetz, and the Negro Leagues help set the time and place. Artist E.B.Lewis' grainy, sensitive watercolor paintings make this story of breaking stereotypes, irresistible. Like the engaging narrative, the paintings leave a lot of space for the reader to imagine the details. Lewis' free brush strokes are rich and airy at the same time and the images of people are warmly represented. There's a charming, smiling grandpa wearing his yarmulke, full of hope that his grandson, Abe, will be a great violinist. Grandpa's other expectation is that Willy, the African-American boy from across the alley will be a future baseball player in the Negro Leagues. Grandpa turns out to be very wrong, and as stereotypes are broken, he accepts reality with grace.

The paintings romanticize the tree lined blocks of Brooklyn brownstones fifty summers ago, when kids played stickball in the street, and neighbors like Willy and Abe could walk to Temple, or to the corner lot to play baseball. This book is a gem, highly recommended for secular and Jewish schools and all public libraries. It is an excellent example of both an intergenerational and a multi-cultural picture book at its best.

For ages 6-10, and a grandparent.

Reviewed by Naomi Morse

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A 2007 Association of Jewish Libraries Notable Book for Younger Readers January 27, 2007

By Rachel Kamin

Format:Hardcover

Abe is a Jewish boy whose grandfather wants him to play the violin like Jascha Heifetz. Willie is an African-American boy whose father wants him to play baseball like Satchel Paige. The boys enjoy a secret friendship at night across the alleyway between their bedroom windows but it turns out that they are both more successful when they switch hobbies. When their secret is discovered, it is Willie who performs in the recital at the synagogue and Abe who takes the pitching mound at the baseball game. This lovely story of friendship in post-World War II Brooklyn, New York is complemented by the beautiful illustrations by Caldecott and Coretta Scott King award winner, E.B. Lewis.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A white kid and a black kid become best of friends and playmates. February 11, 2007

By Marci Twain

Format:Hardcover

The book is well-written and the illustrations (watercolor images) are good, too. The text works well with the images, but I couldn't really follow the story by just looking at the pictures. There are 17 scenes in this book, some of which are two pages wide.

The story is about a white kid and a black kid that live across an alley from each other. One kid has a grandfather who is skilled with a violin and the other kid has a father who is good with a baseball. Each kid teaches the other to excel in the skill their relative has taught them. In the beginning of the story the boys have to be friends in secret because the neighborhood did not believe in the mixing of races. But by the end of the story the boys are able to be best of friends so all could see. What a nice ending!

I think some kids will like this book a lot. But I think some kids will misunderstand it. I'm curious why the author makes it an issue that the white kid was Jewish. He never mentioned the black kid's faith. Were the kids supposed to stay apart because they had different religions or because their skin color was different? I would have liked the book better if it had left religion out of the story. 4 stars!