"Alvin Ho" by Lenore Look

I chose to review this book because it is a nominee for the 2011 Oregon Readers' Choice Award.

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
Author: Lenore Look
Illustrator: LeUyen Pham
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 8-12 years

SUMMARY
Despite the fact that he comes from “a long line of farmer warriors who haven’t had a scaredy bone in their bodies since 714 AD,” Alvin Ho is afraid of practically everything: elevators, thunder, wasabi, heights, shots…but especially school. He is so afraid of school that he has never spoken a word there. His family is doing their best to try to help him learn to manage his fears. Along with his therapist, his parents believe that what he really needs is a good friend. There is a girl in his class who is nice to him, but Alvin is afraid of girls. By the end of the book, Alvin still struggles with many fears, and still gets into trouble, but he does make progress towards finding a friend.

The story is followed by Alvin's glossary of unfamiliar words as well as historical people and events. 

CRITIQUE

To be honest, when I began reading this book, I was pretty skeptical that it would be worthwhile, but I was pleasantly surprised. While there is some material that parents may find objectionable (see below for a thorough preview of the content), this book was pretty humorous. What I appreciated most about this story was the author’s depiction of Alvin's family. Alvin has an older brother and a younger sister and, while they have their normal sibling squabbles, they generally support one another and enjoy each other’s company. Alvin’s father is portrayed favorably as a man who loves his children and who is trying to teach his son to be a gentleman. Alvin also has grandparents who are a loving and supportive presence in his life.

The main character has fairly extreme fears. In fact, according to his therapist, he has performance anxiety disorder. While this is treated with humor, it may still raise some questions for your child that you may want to discuss. With this in mind, even though the intended audience is 7 to 10 year-olds, I would suggest that this book is more appropriate for 10 to 12 year-olds. The bottom line is that I probably wouldn't purposely choose this book for my child to read, but would not object to her doing so if she were to discover it on her own.

RATINGS
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude: Mild
Frightening/Suspenseful: Mild
Profanity: Mild
Sex: None
Substance Use: None
Mature Themes: None
Violence: Mild

SPECIFIC CONTENT

Disrespectful/Bad Attitude:
-Brothers call each other “weird” and glare at each other.

-Alvin says his dad is “old and beastly and has sausages for fingers.”

-Alvin curses Shakespeare-style at his psychotherapist. For example: “Sit thee on a spit, then eat my sneakers, thou droning beef-witted nut hook.”

-Pinky says to Flea, “Cyclops are losers.”

-Pinky orders Alvin to stick his tongue out at the bus driver, which he does. Then he dares Alvin to yell a bad word at the bus, jump off the roof of his house, and then watch a scary movie.

Frightening/Suspenseful:

-When Alvin is hanging upside down in the tree, he describes himself almost blacking out.

-Alvin gets scared touring the houses of famous people in his town because he thinks that, although they are dead, they still live there.

-Jules scares Alvin by telling him that his piano teacher is like the witch in Hansel and Gretel.

-Alvin and gang are in the back yard when a Horrific Thing comes charging toward them. It scares the boys so badly that Pinky pees his pants.

Profanity:
-Calvin calls his brother's emergency plans “stupid” and dumb.”

-Alvin calls Flea “stupid.”

Violence:
-Alvin talks about wanting to give his sister a thumping.

-Children in second grade class are shoving and tripping over each.other.

-Mrs. Ho gave Alvin looks that said “she would make dragon’s beard out of me” and that “she would have broken my legs”.

-Flea punches Alvin after he calls her “weird”. Alvin describes it as an uppercut which is “when you curl your arm like you’re picking up a pail of rocks and you send your fist into your opponent’s jaw from the bottom up.” Alvin feels certain that they would have “battled to the death” if a police car hadn’t rolled by right at that moment.

-Children at recess play Redcoats and Minutemen and pretend to shoot each other dead.

-Alvin briefly remembers one of his dad’s stories about when his yehyeh died and then everyone was so sad that they forgot to feed his bird, which also died.

-Sam kicks Pinky after Pinky grabs his library book.

"The Willoughbys" by Lois Lowry

I chose to review this particular book for two reasons. First, although I have not read many of Lois Lowry's works, I thoroughly enjoyed her two Newberry award-winning books: The Giver and Number the Stars. Second, as a winner of the 2008 Parents' Choice Gold Award, The Willoughbys appeared this year on the 3rd-5th grade list for Oregon Battle of the Books.

The Willoughbys
"Nefariously written and ignominiously illustrated by the author"
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9-12 years

SUMMARY
The Willoughbys is a parody of old-fashioned children’s literature, and it has all the required elements: orphans, a rich benefactor, a nanny, a long-lost heir, even a baby abandoned on a doorstep. Essentially, the story is a very simple one. It is about four siblings whose parents do not love them. The children, in turn, dislike their parents so much that they would prefer to be orphans. Unbeknownst to the other party, both parents and children are concocting plans to get rid of each other.

While Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby go on an exotic vacation, the children (with the help of the nanny) try to prevent their house from being sold. Down the street, a miserable candy bar tycoon finds happiness - after years of grieving the loss of his wife and son - when he finds a baby left on his doorstep. The two story lines interweave when the children are ultimately compelled to find a new home and the presumed-dead son of the billionaire reappears. As with all good, old-fashioned stories, (almost) everyone lives happily ever after.

The story is followed by a humorous glossary of “old-fashioned” words. There is also a bibliography containing a list of the “old-fashioned” children’s books to which the author alludes throughout the course of the book.

CRITIQUE
I loved Ms. Lowry’s award-winning books, The Giver and Number the Stars. I also thought the premise of this book sounded interesting, so I looked forward to reading The Willoughbys. Although there were some genuinely humorous parts, overall I was disappointed. Ms. Lowry attempts to create 'more realistic' characters than those found in classic children's literature but, in my opinion, only succeeds in making them less appealing. Furthermore, in her attempt to entertain rather than instruct, she fails to convey anything of lasting value which ultimately is what gives those "old-fashioned" books their intrinsic worth.

As I mentioned in the summary, this book is intended to be a parody of “old-fashioned” children’s literature. Specifically, Ms. Lowry alludes to classics such as Mary Poppins, James and the Giant Peach, and The Secret Garden. However, unless children have read these other books, they will not understand the allusions and the humor will be lost on them. Ms. Lowry herself, in an interview she gave with Time For Kids, admits that kids today “are not going to rush to read those books,” and if they do, they are “not going to like them much” because they are “kind of outdated.” (To see this interview in its entirety, click here.) For this reason, I consider The Willoughbys to be an example of a children’s book that is probably more appropriate for an older audience.

The bottom line is that, while I would highly recommend some of Ms. Lowry’s other works, reading The Willoughbys is probably not worth your time. For a thorough preview of the potentially objectionable material in this book, please see below.

RATINGS
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude: Heavy
Frightening/Suspenseful: Mild
Profanity: Mild
Sex: Mild
Substance Use: Mild
Mature Themes: None
Violence: Mild

SPECIFIC CONTENT
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude:
-The oldest brother, Tim, is extremely bossy and dictates to his siblings what games they can play, what food they can eat, and even what they should think and feel.
-Tim calls his younger siblings and parents “dolts” and “dodos.”
-Tim calls a baby “disgusting” and beastly.”
-Tim tells his younger sister, Jane, that she will “never be called upon for important work because she is a girl.” This makes Jane cry.
-Willoughby parents and children do not like nor respect one another and plot to get rid of each other.
-Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby write, “The crocodile river was such fun. Two tourists were eaten…but it was not sad at all because they were French.” Later they write, “Only the pilot was lost and it didn’t matter because he was a Presbyterian.”
-Commander Melanoff says. “That is how we billionaires exist…we profit on the misfortune of others.”
-Mrs. Melanoff calls her husband an “old goat” and an “old fart.”
-Willoughby children are not saddened in the least by the death of their parents.

Frightening/Suspenseful:
-Mrs. Willoughby talks about wanting to see the frozen bodies of several famous climbers littering the side of the mountain.

Profanity:
-Mr. Willoughby calls fondue “fon doo-doo.”

Sex:
-Nanny poses as a nude statue to camouflage herself when prospective buyers come to view the house.
-Hans-Peter von Schlusseldorf, the Swiss postmaster, finds himself thinking about Mrs. Melanoff’s hair and “the way it fell around her shoulders in soft, luxuriant waves. And her lips! The redness, the moistness, of them!”
-Commander Melanoff hears Nanny in the kitchen and imagines her pulling something out of the oven and being tempted to “pat her large behind affectionately as she bent over.”
-Commander Melanoff looks at Nanny with a “lovesick gaze.”

Substance Use:
-Mentions beer drinking as part of the wedding ceremony in Switzerland.

Violence:
-The twins suggest that they should “murder the villain” when discussing what they should do about the fact that their house has been sold.
-Tim suggests that Jane should die a slow and painless death, Nanny should get lost in the jungle looking for heathens, and the twins should drown in a whirlpool.
-Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby die in the Swiss Alps and their bodies are frozen on the mountainside.