Module 7: Realistic Fiction
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
Look, L. (2008). Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things. New York, NY: Schwarts & Wade Books.
This books follows Alvin Ho's adventure through the beginning of his school year until around Halloween. Alvin Ho must cope with his fears as he strives to get through each day of school and attempt to make friends.
The story starts out with Alvin introducing himself and his fears. Then he goes on to explain how he is coping with his fears at school by putting together his own Personal Disaster Kit (PDK) which includes plans for any difficult situation, like How to Meet Your New Teacher. Alvin seeks advice from his older brother, Calvin, on how to make new friends. Although Alvin doesn't approve of Calvin's methods, he writes it down anyways.
The school year begins and Alvin tries to get out of class by claiming to be "allergic" to school. His dad sees through it anyways and sends him to school. There he becomes desk mates with a girl named Flea who was one eye. Alvin is unhappy about this scenario, but he "loses his voice" at school and can't fight back. When Flea comes over after school and shows his mother The Book on Alvin, Alvin flips out and offends Flea. She remains upset with him over the whole ordeal.
Still trying desperately to get out of class, Alvin attempts to get chicken pox from a girl, Jules. He trades a piece of gum to Pinky so he can go in her house. Although the children do not show symptoms immediately, they later all come down with the chicken pox and school is cancelled. During this time, Alvin's dad allows Alvin to play with his Johnny Astro toy and saying that one day it will be his. Once the children go back to school, Alvin decides that Johnny Astro will be a great "show and tell" item and he borrow it without permission. As fate would have it, Johnny Astro gets destroyed and Alvin's dad is very upset. After this, Alvin's dad decides that he needs to take piano lessons.
The piano lessons do not go well because Alvin is scared of the piano teacher. He had been told by Jules that she is a witch like in Hansel and Gretel. After his meltdown at the piano teacher's house, he is sent back to the psychotherapist. Alvin is scared of the therapist because he thinks she is a psycho. He refuses to speak to her and eventually they play cards. The therapist is doing poorly and Alvin ends up yelling Shakespearean insults at her. Alvin's dad takes him home, but first they go to the ice cream shop and have a heart to heart. Alvin's dad tells Alvin that he knows it is hard to deal with fear and get new friends, but he would not change anything about Alvin. He also tells Alvin about how he made friends by trading baseball cards. Alvin decides that that is the way that he will win over Pinky, the popular boy in his class.
Alvin ends up attempting to befriend Pinky, but after several mishaps, including throwing a ball through his neighbor's window, he decides that he does not want to be friends with Pinky. In the end, Alvin ends up playing with Flea and they become friends.
Impressions:
This is a brief read and fast paced. I easily knocked out the book in a hour. I think it is a good read for children who want a quick story with an intriguing protagonist.
What I appreciate the most about the book is that it addresses anxiety and fear in a way that is easy to understand. Most of the book is written as internal thoughts instead of conversations between characters and it shows a young boy's vision of what is going on in the world around him and how his fears impact him. I don't think that there are enough books out there that address mental illness or going to a therapist and I appreciate that Look did just that.
Look also takes the opportunity to introduce a main character with an Asian heritage. Although much of Alvin's life is pretty standard in American ways, Look brings in details of Alvin's Chinese heritage and history into the tale. For example, Alvin has a signed baseball by Daisuke Matsuzaka, which he keeps in a case and later uses as a play ball.
The cherry on top of this book is the inclusion of Alvin Ho's Woeful Glossary which describes what Alvin means when he says different things. These glossary entries are written in the same style of the book and can allow any reader who does not understand what some of the words mean. For example, Look uses this glossary to explain who Daisuke Matsuzaka is and his significance to baseball history. It is definitively a nice touch and explains things in kid friendly language.
Reviews:
Bird, E. (2008). Review of the Day- Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, school, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2008/07/28/review-of-the-day-alvin-ho-allergic-to-girls-school-and-other-scary-things-by-lenore-look/
"I can also see some people getting a little squirrely when it comes to Alvin’s dialogue, though. You could make the argument that no boy in the history of the world would say, 'My dad is not superhero material,' or 'The fourth thing you should know about me is that I love Plastic Man, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, Concrete Man, Aquaman, King Henry V and all the superheroes in the world.' You could SAY that but can I point out that Alvin never actually speaks these sentences? They’re just explaining his state of mind. And if a sentence says, 'The scary thing about girls is that they are not boys' then can’t you argue that the author is clarifying what Alvin is feeling even if he wouldn’t use those exact words at that exact time? In a sense, Look is translating Alvin’s thoughts and emotions into coherent, remarkable little sentences that every second grader feels but is incapable of putting into words. There’s the acknowledgment that 'crying is really great' alongside the almost poignant 'I am not good at anything ever since I started school.' Alvin isn’t precocious. He just happens to have an author capable of bringing him into crisp, clear relief."
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things [Review of Book] (2008) Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lenore-look/alvin-ho/
Library Use Suggestions:
I think that this books would be a good way to introduce mental illness to a child who is struggling with anxiety. There are not many children's books that deal with debilitating fear and this is a lighter way of approaching it. A teacher or librarian could use this as a read aloud to introduce the idea of coping with extreme fear while Alvin goes through his adventures. Children who are suffer socially can take solace in the fact that Alvin eventually finds a friend in Flea at the end of the book. 
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