Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters [Hardcover]

Lenore Look (Author), LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2009 | Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Alvin Ho

Alvin Ho is back, and this time he’s facing his biggest fear: The Great Outdoors.

Alvin Ho is back and his worst fear has come true: he has to go camping. What will he do exposed in the wilderness with bears and darkness and . . . pit toilets? Luckily, he’s got his night-vision goggles and water purifying tablets and super-duper heavy-duty flashlight to keep him safe. And he’s got his dad, too.

Lenore Look’s touching, drop-dead-funny chapter book about an Asian-American second grader—with illustrations by New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham—is perfect for beginning and reluctant readers alike, and has tons of boy appeal.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 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
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Starred Review, The Horn Book Magazine, September/October 2009:
"Readers can only hope that Alvin continues to describe in such wonderful detail his many allergic reactions."

Kirkus Reviews, May 19, 2009
"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."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Schwartz & Wade; 1 edition (June 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375857052
• ISBN-13: 978-0375857058
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,503 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lenore Look began making picture books in kindergarten, and it took her the next thirty years to get it right. Her first book was finally published in 1999, followed by more picture books and two chapter book series. On good days, she's a regular writing machine. On bad days, she goes shopping. Her Alvin Ho series has turned her into a Red Sox fan (see photo), and a wearer of Sox paraphernalia (see photo), and a collector of Fenway Park trivia (see same photo). Her Ruby Lu series is set in Seattle, where she grew up, and makes her long for foggy mornings and slugs on the sidewalks. She currently lives in New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Characters in a Cute Middle Grade Book, July 12, 2009

By 

Julie Peterson "Booking Mama" (Central PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters (Hardcover)

I am so glad that I'm getting to relive my youth through my daughter! Don't take that wrong because I'm not one of those parents....I just love reading books that are geared towards her age range. What I love even more is when we both read the same book and then discuss it! That is the case with ALVIN HO: ALLERGIC TO CAMPING, HIKING, AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS by Lenore Look and pictures by LeUyen Pham. I just don't remember there being this many good middle-grade books out there when I was ten years old.

My daughter is probably a little on the older side for this book because it is really aimed for children ages 6 through 10; however, I still think many 10 year olds will enjoy the book as a quick, funny read. Alvin Ho is absolutely hilarious as a young boy who is afraid of almost everything. In this book, his father wants to take him camping and poor Alvin is just terrified of everything that could possibly go wrong. Maybe one of the reason that I liked this book so much is that I can so relate to his feelings about the great outdoors!

This book is really perfect for those kids who are ready to read chapter books, yet aren't quite ready for a book with a lot of pages. This book is a little over 150 pages, but the print is large and there is lots of white space on each page. There are also a few very cute (and funny) illustrations thrown into the body of the chapters. I especially liked that there is a glossary (Alvin Ho's Very Scary Glossary) at the back of the book with definitions of some possibly "new" words.

Kids are going to love Alvin and his adventures. I thought his paranoia was so funny, and I found myself laughing a lot at his insecurities. Even if your child isn't quite ready to read this book on his or her own, it's also a great book to read with your child. This book is being sold as "ideal for any father and son to read together before braving the untamed wilderness. Or, a perfectly manicured trail." Each chapter is just about the perfect length for a bedtime story.

I really thought Alvin Ho was a great character, and I want to go back and read the first novel in the series ALVIN HO: ALLERGIC TO GIRLS, SCHOOLS, AND OTHER SCARY THINGS. If it's anything like this book, I'm sure Booking Daughter and I will both enjoy it! I am looking forward to more Alvin Ho books, and I'm betting that Booking Son is going to love them in a few years.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars full of laughs and touching moments, September 1, 2009

By 

Great Kid Books "helping parents find great b... (-------------------------------Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters (Hardcover)

Alvin is still getting into mischief and wriggling his way out of sticky situations in the second book in this series: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking and Other Natural Disasters. While it didn't tickle me as much as the first in the series, it was a fun read. In the second chapter, Alvin receives a package at the front door.

"I ripped open the kit right there in the driveway. Inside, there were pencils, stickers, handcuffs, and handcuff key, a rope, a Houdini's Greatest Escapes DVD and a gold card.

'Alvin Ho -- GOLD MEMBER OF HOUDINI-IN-A-BOX -- do it yourself escapes'

Calvin whistled. 'Dude!' he said."

How great would it be for a second-grader to get a Houdini-in-a-box kit?! Funny situations turn into funnier situations, as the kids make a straight jacket and then Alvin volunteers to be trapped inside his sister's time machine. I liked how Lenore Look was able to turn funny situations into more poignant ones. Alvin got really, truly scared as his sister left him trapped in the box and forgot about him.

"My dad isn't a superhero, but he can pull me out of anything, even from long, tangled boa constrictors that were squeezing the last wheeze out of me.... 'You're my best friend, Dad. You saved my life.' "

This book has more touching moments like these. It isn't full of quite as many laugh-out-loud moments as the first in the series. But it will still make kids happy reading it. It would make a good family read aloud, especially talking about how Alvin learns to be brave during his camping trip.

I really like how Alvin's Chinese-American culture is simply a part of who he is. His favorite meal is vegetable wontons and noodles. His grandfathers are GungGung and YehYeh. His culture is not a pivotal part of the story, it's just part of the texture that makes Alvin feel like a real kid.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy reader for ages 6-10, August 21, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters (Hardcover)

LeUyen Pham's fun drawings accompany ALVIN HO, an easy reader for ages 6-10 that tells about Alvin's fear of the great outdoors. On a camping trip Alvin has everything he needs, from night-vision goggles to lots of toilet paper - but he can't plan for everything in this fun story of camping setbacks, perfect for light leisure reading.