Alvin Ho Allergic to camping, hiking, and other natural disasters

Review by Booklist Review

Alvin Ho's Chinese American heritage recedes into the background in this follow-up to Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things (2008). Sadly, the same can't be said for his numerous anxieties, and indeed he discovers a whole new set of them when Dad suggests a camping trip. The comical opening chapters only get funnier as one thing after another goes awry. Some children may find that Alvin's worries hit a little too close to home, but by its close, the energetic first-person narrative ably relays the curious, likable boy's bravery. Pham's thickly brushed ink illustrations catch all the action and the humor.--Zvirin, Stephanie Copyright 2009 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 2-4-This second story about Alvin Ho, the boy who is afraid of almost everything, is another delightful look into the life of the timid youngster. In this installment, his fears center around a big upcoming event: camping with his dad. Once again, Look's dialogue is spot on: she captures the silly, impetuous, jump-from-one-idea-to-the-next quality of a second-grade boy. Alvin's adventures (like getting trapped in a dishwasher box while pretending to be Houdini, and learning secret camping tricks from his uncle) are charmingly genuine and fun to read. Look's pitch-perfect descriptions and phrasing add to the overall humor and heart of the story (about his sister, Alvin says, "She's like a stoplight in the middle of my life and there's just no avoiding her.") and her sensitivity to what it means to be a not-quite-normal little boy is right on target. Whimsical illustrations pop up mid-page; Pham's expressive characters capture the essence of the story. A "Very Scary Glossary" of Alvin's fears and favorite things is included at the end. There are certain stories kids read and just feel good for having read: this is one of them.-Nicole Waskie, Chenango Forks Elementary, Binghamton, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

(Primary) Fans of Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things (rev. 7/08) are treated to more of Alvin's "allergies." The not-so-intrepid second grader's fears this time involve the great (Alvin: "What's so great about it?") outdoors. When Alvin's dad takes him and little sister Anibelly on a camping trip in the woods, Alvin discovers there are things even scarier than school. Fortunately, he also learns that "a hero is someone who is willing to be scared." Look takes familiar kid traumas and troubles and ramps them up a notch, leaving them easily recognizable to young readers but a whole lot funnier. Hilarious bits include Alvin getting wrapped up Houdini-style and taped into a large box by Anibelly (who then blithely goes off with their grandfather, leaving Alvin alone and trapped) and a twenty-one-step list of "how to pitch a tent" that includes "17. Stand back and admire. 18. Go in and check it out! 19. Don't panic. 20. Find your way out of the collapsed tent." As in the first book, Pham's illustrations convey the story's humor and capture the pure joy of such things as lying in a sleeping bag under the stars, wearing a Batman ring, and coming back from a trip to "a yummy dinner of fried rice...[that] smelled like home and tasted like Chinese New Year." Readers can only hope that Alvin continues to describe in such wonderful detail his many allergic reactions. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

The second installment in this series about an effervescent but nerve-wracked second grader will please its fans and appeal to new readers as well. When his father insists on taking him camping, Alvin is quaking in his boots. Sensing his panic, Alvin's older brother, Calvin, orders hundreds of dollars of survival gadgetry on the Internet with their dad's emergency credit card ("This way no one has to spend any money," Calvin explains, "you pay with plastic"). Further support arrives in the form of their uncle's lessons on trap building, and the inevitable comedy of errors that is the actual camping trip leaves Alvin, his little sister, Anibelly, and their dad in a variety of wild binds. While Look certainly embellishes at times for comedic effect, she has created in Alvin a character that is as real as he is irascible, and the tender relationships among the members of the Ho family provide a sturdy backbone for all the silliness. Pham's simple but vibrant line drawings leap off the page. Another triumph for Alvin Ho. (Fiction. 7-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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CHAPTER ONE Believing in Henry you will know some things about me if you have read a book called Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things. But you won't know all about me, so that is why there is now this second book. In case you missed it, my name is Alvin Ho. I was born scared and I am still scared. Things that scare me include: Long words (especially "hippopotomonstro- sesquipedaliophobia," which means fear of long words). Punctuation. (Except for exclamation points! Exclamations are fantastic!!!) The dark (which means I have nyctophobia). The great outdoors. (What's so great about it?) Lots of things can happen when you're outdoors: Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Mudslides. Landslides. The end of the world. I am scared of many more things than that. But if I put all my scares on one list, it would mean years of therapy for me. And I already go to therapy once a month on account of it's supposed to help me not be so scared. But my brother Calvin says when you're born a certain way, that's the way you'll always be, so you might as well hug your inner scaredy-cat. My brother Calvin, he gives good advice. I am not so good with advice. I can never think of any, except maybe this: When in doubt, always ask, "What would Henry do?" Henry is Henry David Thoreau. He's a dead author, which is really creepy. But he is also our school hero, which is not so creepy, and he was a lot like me--he had stuff figured out, even when he was little. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, just like me. And--gulp--he died in Concord too. Of course, I could never say, "What would Henry do?" at school, where I never say anything. This is on account of school is mortifying. And when I am mortified, which means totally scared to death, I can't scream, I can't talk, I can't even grunt. Nothing comes out of my mouth, no matter how hard I try. Having a lot in common with Henry can be very useful. For example, we learned in music class today that Henry played the flute. And whenever he played, a mouse would come to listen, and Henry would feed it with the extra pieces of cheese that he kept in his pocket. "My brother has a flute," I told the gang on the bus after school. "He rented it for lessons . . . and we have cheese in the refrigerator." "Let's go," said Pinky. So when the bus stopped at the end of my driveway, the gang followed me to my house. Usually, it is a tricky business getting them to play with me unless it is Pinky's idea. Pinky is the biggest boy and the leader of the gang, and no one plays with me unless Pinky does. Except for Flea. Flea plays with me no matter what. But the problem with Flea is that she's a girl. And girls are annoying. Fortunately, my mom was at work and my gunggung, who comes to watch us after school, was fast asleep on the sofa. So I left the gang in the kitchen and tiptoed past the sofa . . . to fetch Calvin's flute from the top of the piano where he had put it for safekeeping. No problem. The only problem was Anibelly. She's four, she's my sister, and she was wide awake, following me everywhere and getting in my way as usual. "That's Calvin's," said Anibelly. I stopped. I pretended I didn't see Anibelly. But it is hard not to see her. She's like a stoplight in the middle of my life and there's just no avoiding her. I can't go anywhere without going past her or taking her with me if I'm in a hurry. "But Calvin's practicing his karate moves at Stevie's house," I said. "And I need his flute for a little experiment." "What spearmint?" a Excerpted from Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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