Alvin Ho, middle child in a Chinese American family says, “I was born scared and I am still scared.” He’s afraid of the dark and of the great outdoors, where bad things like hurricanes, tornadoes, and mudslides could happen.
After watching a DVD about the amazing escape artist, Harry Houdini, Alvin tries on his brother Calvin’s fantastic homemade strait jacket and has Anibelly tie him up with rope. Then she rolls him into their time machine box, made from a big box the dishwasher came in, and tapes it shut, so he can escape, just like Houdini did. It’s then that Alvin remembers he has claustrophobia. Adventures ensue including a camping trip with his accident-prone father.
You can read this book independent of the first one, Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, but it may prove fun to read them together. In that book, Alvin tells you right away, on page one, that he is afraid of many things (including elevators, airplanes, thunder, substitute teachers, kimchi, shots, and, most important, school). He says, “The sixth thing you should know about me is I have never spoken a word in school . . . My voice works at home. It works in the car. It even works on the school bus. But as soon as I get to school . . . I am as silent as a side of beef.”
THEME: CHINESE AMERICANS. FAMILY LIFE. FEAR. HUMOR. MULTICULTURAL BOOKS.
Alvin Ho, middle child in a Chinese American family says, “I was born scared and I am still scared.” He’s afraid of the dark and of the great outdoors, where bad things like hurricanes, tornadoes, and mudslides could happen.
After watching a DVD about the amazing escape artist, Harry Houdini, Alvin tries on his brother Calvin’s fantastic homemade strait jacket and has Anibelly tie him up with rope. Then she rolls him into their time machine box, made from a big box the dishwasher came in, and tapes it shut, so he can escape, just like Houdini did. It’s then that Alvin remembers he has claustrophobia. Adventures ensue including a camping trip with his accident-prone father.
You can read this book independent of the first one, Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, but it may prove fun to read them together. In that book, Alvin tells you right away, on page one, that he is afraid of many things (including elevators, airplanes, thunder, substitute teachers, kimchi, shots, and, most important, school). He says, “The sixth thing you should know about me is I have never spoken a word in school . . . My voice works at home. It works in the car. It even works on the school bus. But as soon as I get to school . . . I am as silent as a side of beef.”
Alvin is afraid of everything; many of his phobias (including the best one ever: hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, fear of long words, which will be loads of fun to sound out) are named throughout the book. For a clever and funny picture book about phobias, share Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears by Emily Gravett. Alvin is a fan of Harry Houdini, so pull in Kathleen Krull’s picture book biography, Houdini: World’s Greatest Mystery Man and Escape King. And finally, Alvin’s Uncle Dennis gives him some secret tips about camping, using the acronym SURVIVAL. Ask your kids to make a list of other secret tips and tricks they have learned from being in the great outdoors. Lynne Brunelle’s Camp Out!: The Ultimate Kid’s Guide, from the Backyard to the Backwoods and Jane Drake and Ann Love’s The Kids Campfire Book will help.
TIPS AND EXTRAS: Alvin writes a limerick to his friend, Flea, a girl, on page 51. You could segue into a lesson on limericks and have kids write them about each other.
THEME: CHINESE AMERICANS. FAMILY LIFE. FEAR. HUMOR. MULTICULTURAL BOOKS.
