The Only Alex Addleston in All These Mountains

January 20, 2014
A boy and a girl who share the name Alex Addleston show up on the first day of kindergarten and quickly become inseparable. But when Alex (the boy) returns from visiting his grandmother for the summer, he discovers that Alex (the girl) and her family have moved to Kenya to do humanitarian work. Can the Alexes overcome time and geography and still remain “Harp slyamor, me zippal fwip” (“Best friends, no matter what,” in the secret code of their favorite superhero)? Although readers must first accept a modern-day world devoid of digital communication, many will know the pain of friends who move away and will get caught up in the bittersweet, dual-track story of how the Alexes grow while trying to keep their connection alive. Solheim (Born Yesterday) occasionally turns up the drama higher than necessary (“She learned to make a soccer ball dance like the memory of a boy her mind could never quite touch”), but the sheer force of his earnestness, together with Ebbeler’s (Tiger in My Soup) energetic and openhearted cartooning, will propel readers through to the Alexes’ equally improbable reunion. Ages 4–9. Illustrator’s agent: MB Artists.

April 1, 2014

K-Gr 2-In this unlikely tale, two Alex Addlestons, one a boy and the other a girl, meet in kindergarten and instantly become best friends, doing everything together. They collect frogs and trade Captain Moonbeam message rings, making up a code that means "Best friends, no matter what." The following summer Alex (the boy) goes to visit his grandma in Chicago, and when he returns, his friend is gone, leaving a note taped to her door explaining that her family has moved to Africa. However, the part of her note that has her new address has blown away, so he spends the next few years honoring his vow to be her best friend by whispering to her and making her presents. In the meantime, she is in Kenya, where she catches a fever and dreams about drinking cool lemonade with her friend. When they are 12, they meet again near their old homes, and endpaper illustrations reveal that they get married and have two children of their own. The text is a bit overwrought for young readers: "She learned to make a soccer ball dance like the memory of a boy her mind could never quite touch." Watercolor and ink illustrations provide lots to look at, with many pages set up like snapshots against a textured ground. Alex and Alex are appealing and expressive, conveying through their faraway looks the thoughts each has of the other. Still, children might just end up wondering why Alex (the girl) never wrote to her best friend, no matter what.-Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2014
An improbable coincidence spawns a deep friendship. When Alex Addleston arrives for her first day of kindergarten, she's pleased to find a desk with her name on it. But there's a boy sitting there, and he's wearing an identical name tag. He even looks quite a lot like Alex. What the female Alex finds in the male Alex (and vice versa) is a best friend and sidekick. The duo gathers blueberries in the daytime and lightning bugs at night. They do everything together, finding frogs and turtles or pretending to be robots or astronauts. In the summer, Alex the boy goes on a trip to Chicago to see his grandma; when he returns, he learns that Alex the girl has left for Africa with her father. That night, both lie staring up at the stars, he on Flatt Mountain and she in a Kenyan savanna half a world away. Six years pass, with many separate adventures for each. And one night, while both are out catching fireflies, they meet again. And it's like they were never apart. Solheim writes gracefully, but his apparent message is undermined by a disjointed story full of gaps that will puzzle youngsters--why, for instance, do the two children apparently forget each other after one page turn? Extraneous details further muddy the waters. Sweet but altogether odd. (Picture book. 5-9)

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