Alex and Alex is the tale of two friends who, despite having the same name, enjoy different things. White, red-haired Alex likes to drive (pretend) race cars, wear wigs, kick balls, and keep things tidy; brown-skinned, black haired Alex likes to dress up like a ballerina, have short hair, read, and make messes. They both like to build things, and sometimes do so together. One day at the museum, dark-haired Alex is enjoying the art, while red-haired Alex is bored and hungry and urges that they go to the cafeteria.
On the next page, red-haired Alex orders a burger while dark-haired Alex is a vegetarian. Dark-haired Alex is then “cross,” which on the face of it seems like a comment on vegetarianism, as dark-haired Alex scowls at red-haired Alex’s hamburger. I think, however, that the intent was that dark-haired Alex was cross about leaving the art and going to the cafeteria in the first place, but this is somewhat lost in the execution.
Alex and Alex then each have some alone time, red-haired Alex listening to music while dark-haired Alex plays video games. They always make up, however, since Alex “really, really” likes Alex.
Neither Alex is gendered in this story, and each does things traditionally associated with both girls and boys, making it a good starting point for discussion of gender expression, gendered play (or breaking the boundaries thereof), and friendships across gender.
