Alone Like Me

K-Gr 3--In a simple story about change that uses a spare telling to create emotional heft, Liling is a little girl that has recently moved from the countryside of China to the bustling city where bicycles, apartments, factories, markets, and scores of people are everywhere. This scene is vastly different from what Liling is accustomed to. Amid oppressively crowded cityscapes and factory scenes, she is lonely and unable to attend school due to the family's hukou; the household registration system that specifies where a family, unless it has money to change it, can receive government services, purchase food, and attend school. Liling often goes to the sewing factory with her mother, where she has to be very quiet, and to the can factory with her father where she has to be still. Neither workplace is ideal for a young child, and Liling feels lost in the shuffle until she spots another girl about her age. On the lookout for the girl everywhere she goes, Liling is pleasantly surprised to see that same girl on a balcony in the apartment building next to hers! A new friendship blossoms aided by a can and some string. Bleak blue watercolor illustrations are awash in melancholy grays; Liling is painted in bright red and her new friend Qiqi in brilliant yellow. Back matter includes a glossary and author's note about China's hukou system VERDICT A beautiful purchase about friendship even in difficult circumstances.--Tracy Cronce