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.