Module 4: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things & There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look

Summary:  Alvin Ho is a Chinese American with a long line of warriors, but Alvin is nothing like them…he is afraid of everything!  Teachers, girls, elevators, school and many more things give Alvin the creeps!

Citation: Look, L. (1990). Alvin Ho:  Allergic to girls, school, and other scary things. New York: Yearling.

Impressions:  This book is hilarious!  Although Alvin has many fears, children his age can identify themselves with him because some of his fears are natural for a boy his age.

Reviews:  School Library Journal

Grade 2–4—Second-grader Alvin Ho is determined to make friends, even though he is afraid of any number of things and can't talk—at all—in school. Episodic chapters feature events at home, at school, and in his Concord, MA, neighborhood. Everyday adventures include being left stranded by his siblings during stretching exercises that leave him upside down in a tree, being sent alone to the scary piano teacher's house, and deciding whether or not to hang out with the classroom bully. Although Look resists providing a tidy ending, readers will be sure that Alvin is on the right road when he surprises even himself by suddenly speaking to his psychotherapist. And they won't have to understand the Shakespearean curses that come out of his mouth to know that this time he has a good reason to be afraid. Whether they are fearful or brave, kids will smile at Alvin's scrapes and empathize with his concerns. Aspects of his Chinese-American background are seamlessly integrated into the story and add richness. The book is chock-full of well-placed illustrations.

Brautigam, F. (2009). Alvin Ho:  Allergic to girls, school, and other scary things [Review of the book Alvin Ho:  Allergic to girls, school, and other scary things by Lenore Look]. School Library Journal.

Use in Library Setting:  This book can be incorporated into a lesson on writing with voice.  Alvin is always expressing his fears is hilarious descriptive ways that is surely to inspire a young writer.

There’s a Boy in the Girls Bathroom by Lois Sachar

Summary:  Bradley Chalkers is trouble!  He picks fights, lies and is the biggest bully in fifth grade.  A new boy in school tries to befriend him, but Bradley is very hard to like, so he remains alone.  Then they school gets a new counselor Ms. Carla Davis.  She becomes his mentor and helps Bradley become a new boy that was always in him.  

Citation: Henkes, K. (1987). There’s a boy in the girls bathroom. New York: Dell Yearling.

Impressions:  This book is touching because the counselor is able to connect with a disturbed student.  This is a great example of who to break the chain of bullying.

Reviews:  School Library Journal

Grade 4-7 An unlikely protagonist, Bradley Chalkers is a friendless, lying, insecure bully who is the oldest boy in his fifth-grade class. In this humorous novel that tells of Bradley's learning to like himself and to make friends, Sachar ably captures both middle-grade angst and joy. Bradley's triumph comes through the friendship of a new boy at school and the help of the new school counselor. Readers, like the astute counselor, can see the strengths that Bradley has, and will cheer at his minor victories and cringe at his setbacks along the way. The story is unusual, witty, and satisfying, if not always believable: a few incidents just do not work. For instance, even though Bradley has not been doing his homework, his complete ignorance of it is unlikely (``He hadn't realized. . .he would need to bring his book home''), and his total unfamiliarity with birthday parties is too extreme for a ten year old, even one who hadn't been to a party in three years. Yet Bradley's need for acceptance even as he holds back from classmates who might mock or hurt him is genuine, and his eventual success will gratify readers.

Gale, D. (1987). There’s a boy in the girl’s bathroom [Review of the book There’s a boy in the girls bathroom, by Lois Sachar]. School Library Journal.

Use in Library Setting:  This book could be read to students during anti-bully week.  It could also be in a display with other helpful books about bullying and friendship.

Module 3: Number the Stars & Monster

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Summary:  Two girls, Annemarie and Ellen, are best friends living in Denmark during the time of the Holocaust War.  To avoid relocation, Ellen moves in with Annemarie’s family and pretends to be a part of it.  Annemarie is delighted at first to have her best friend home, but the happiness fades in the face of danger.

Citation: Lowry, L. (1989). Number the stars. New York: Sandpiper.

Impressions:  I enjoyed how well an adult subject was presented to young readers.

Reviews:  Publishers Weekly

Set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, this 1990 Newbery winner tells of a 10-year-old girl who undertakes a dangerous mission to save her best friend. Ages 10-14.

(1997). Number the stars [Review of the book Number the stars by Lois Lowry]. Publishers Weekly.

Use in Library Setting:  This book is a great recommendation to a teacher wanting to let her students view the world outside their safe havens.  It is a great history introduction to the Holocaust.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Summary: Sixteen year old Steve Harmon is involved in a store robbery.  During the robbery Mr. Nisbitt is killed.  Steve is incarcerated and could face the death penalty.  The book is written in a movie script format.

Citation: Myers, W. D.  (1999).  Monster.  New York:  Amistad.

Impressions:  I was impressed with the way this book is written.  Steve writes this book as a movie script and the vocabulary used is unique to a script.  Needless to say I learned a bit about movie scripts.

Reviews:  School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells about his case and his incarceration. Many elements of this story are familiar, but Myers keeps it fresh and alive by telling it from an unusual perspective. Steve, an amateur filmmaker, recounts his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. His striking scene-by-scene narrative of how his life has dramatically changed is riveting. Interspersed within the script are diary entries in which the teen vividly describes the nightmarish conditions of his confinement. Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not the "monster" the prosecutor presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral awareness that he had lost. Christopher Myers's superfluous black-and-white drawings are less successful. Their grainy, unfocused look complements the cinematic quality of the text, but they do little to enhance the story. Monster will challenge readers with difficult questions, to which there are no definitive answers. In some respects, the novel is reminiscent of Virginia Walter's Making Up Megaboy (DK Ink, 1998), another book enriched by its ambiguity. Like it, Monster lends itself well to classroom or group discussion. It's an emotionally charged story that readers will find compelling and disturbing.

Sullivan, E. (1999). Monster [Review of the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers]. School Library Journal.

Use in Library Setting:  This book would be an excellent book to use in a book talk.  Steve makes a wrong choice and ends up with terrible consequences.  This book can make a strong impression on young teenagers tempted with peer pressure. 

Module 2: May I Bring a Friend? & Julius, the Baby of the World

May I Bring a Friend? By Beatrice S. De Regniers

Summary:  A young boy is invited by the King and Queen to accompany them on various occasions.  Before he attends, the boy always asks of he can bring a friend.  They always agree.  At the end of the story, the boy invites the King and Queen to the zoo where all his friends live.

Citation:  De Regniers, B. S.  (1989).  May I bring a friend.  New York:  Aladdin Paperbacks.

Impressions:  At first, I was not impressed with the illustrations of this book because I felt that it dated the book and children would not be interested in it.  As I read it, I enjoyed the story and was excited to see what friend the boy wanted to bring next and if the King and Queen would allow it.   

Reviews:  WAC Reviews Children’s Literature

May I Bring A Friend is a short fairy-tale type story about a young child who receives an invitation from the King and Queen to attend a tea party at their house one day. The child asks to bring a friend to the tea party and the King and Queen allow it. The friend happens to be a giraffe. The King and Queen continue to invite this child to their castle for lunches and dinners, and more special animal guests are brought along, all the while the King and Queen are encouraging their guest to bring more and more friends.

Shafle, M.  (2011).  May I bring a friend? [Review of the book May I bring a friend? by Beatrice S. De Regniers].  Retrieved from http://edu354spring2011.blogspot.com/2011/04/may-i-bring-friend.html

Use in Library Setting:  Since there are many friends the boy invites, I would use this story as a sequence of events introduction to young children.  After reading the story, I would have the children play different animals and work together on organizing each other just as they appeared in the story.

 

Julius, The Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes

Summary:  Lilly is terribly jealous of her new baby brother Julius.  It is apparent that Lilly cannot stand Julius when her parents admire him and she just thinks he is disgusting.  All of that changes when Lilly’s cousin tries to say that Julius is revolting.  Lilly defends her brother and realizes how beautiful he is.

Citation:  Henkes, K.  (1990).  Julius, the baby of the world.  New York:  HarperCollins Publishers.

Impressions:  The book is told well with abundant humor.  Anyone that has siblings can relate to it.

Reviews:  School Library Journal

It's the old familiar story of the displaced only child, freshly told and humorously illustrated. Lilly (of Chester's Way Greenwillow, 1988) is a very new, very unhappy big sister. Her parents dote on disgusting little Julius, ``the baby of the world,'' and cannot admire him enough. Lilly, however, annoys them by asking continually when he'll be going away so she can have her room back , and spends more and more time in the ``uncooperative chair.'' When she tries the baby tricks her parents so adore in Julius, they simply remind her to mind her manners. Plainly, there is no longer any justice in the world. Affairs are pretty bleak, until at a large family celebration, a cousin criticizes Julius. Like a tiger, Lilly springs to his defense. Magically, Henkes conveys a world of expressions and a wide range of complex emotions with a mere line or two upon the engaging mousey faces of Lilly and her family. A reassuring, funny book for all young children who suffer from new-sibling syndrome.

McGarth, J.  (2010).  Julius, baby of the world [Review of the book Julius, the baby of the world, by Kevin Henkes].  School Library Journal.

Use in Library Setting:  This book could serve as a read aloud.  The book is humorous and entertaining.  Readers that have siblings will definitely understand Lilly.

Module 1: Freight Trains & Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Freight Train by Donald Crews

Summary:  A colorful train travels through trestles, tunnels, cities, lightness and darkness.  The pictures are explained with simple text.

Citation:  Crews, D.  (1978).  Freight train.  New York:  HarperCollins Inc.

Impressions:  The simplicity of this book makes it beautiful.  The colors incorporated in the illustrations are bold and are contrasted with white backgrounds (with exception of the last pages).  The simple text make this a great book for young readers.

Reviews:  Publishers Weekly

Presented in blocks of brilliant colors, the multihued train in this Caldecott Honor book undertakes a dazzling journey before disappearing from the final page. Ages 2-up. (Sept.)

Use in Library Setting:  This book would be a great read-a-loud for young patrons.  The colors are bold and bright for an audience to enjoy from a distance and the simple text will satisfy young readers.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Summary:  Alexander has the worst day ever!  His brothers get a window seat and he doesn’t.  His cereal does not have a toy like his brothers’ either!  Even worse, they’re out of the shoes he wants at the shoe store.  Those are only a few of the terrible things that happen to Alexander.  In the end, his mother reminds him that everyone has bad days, even people in Australia.

Citation:  Viorst, J.  (1972).  Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  New York:  Aladdin Paperbacks.

Impressions:  This book is one that anyone can connect with because everyone has had a bad day.  The most enjoyable part of this book is the text because they are narrated by Alexander a young boy.  Young readers will definitely connect with him.

Reviews:  Horn Book

This new edition of the classic story about a boy encountering injustice and just plain rotten luck all day long includes a preface by the author and the illustrator. In addition, the pictures have been selectively colorized: on every page, reddish-haired Alexander is brightly clad while everything around him remains in original black-and-white. It doesn't ruin the story, nor does it add much.

Use in Library Setting:  This book could serve as a resource when trying to reach a young reluctant reader because anyone can identify themselves with Alexander and his terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.