NOTHING IN COMMON

Two children who live separate but seemingly parallel lives reunite a lost dog with its owner and, in doing so, discover the marvelousness in each other.

Two apartment buildings—one blue, one red—stand apart, a void of white in between. In each edifice, a child sits in a window. Neither acknowledges their counterpart, assuming they have nothing in common. But they both find joy in watching an old man walk his dog every day; and both feel heartache when the dog is lost; and both search for the dog, charting the same course. In finding the pup, the two find each other—kindred spirits who share more than just a view. The last spread emphasizes this connection, as the children wave to each other from their apartment-building windows, this time not over a white chasm but across a shared, star-filled sky. Luyken distinguishes the beige-complexioned children with color blocking, from one child’s blue overalls and waterfall of midnight-blue tresses to the other’s tuft of black-red hair and red clothes. The pale palette of assigned colors allows each character to be distinguishable even as a silhouetted shadow. Rough-textured paper is used to create additional layers. At times, both text and art feel labored in their search for whimsy; however, many readers may still delight in the connection these two apparent preteens find.

A quiet adventure for youth searching for human connection and kindness.