ADDLE MEETS MAX

Addie's anxiety at the arrival of new neighbor Max--she's sure Max's dog is barking to chase her away, she screams that Max's bike ran into hers when it was the other way around--is not your usual zippy Early I Can Read situation: there's considerable weight on the pictures (for the emotional climate, for what Addie doesn't tell) and a good bit to read between the lines. Also, Truesdell's gangly Addle and Max have something like nine-year-old proportions, and a generally distraught air, that don't go with training wheels on the bikes or clutching at stuffed animals. But Addle and Max are comical and touching in their mutual wariness--gobbling up pizza and chocolate chip cookies in Addie's kitchen, without speaking--and in their mutual glee, when Addle shows Max her bike-crash bruises and he shows her that he lost a tooth. The tooth is ceremoniously buried under a tree, and dog Ginger makes plain her liking for Addie too. A natty little drama of dialogue and mood.