Module 7: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things

Summary: Alvin Ho can't talk at school which makes finding friends a bit of a chore. Luckily, Alvin is an expert on planning everything from escaping a fire in the school cafeteria to surviving show and tell so planning to find a friend should be easy. Between escapades such as bringing his father's prized Johnny Astro toy to school (which results in its inevitable destruction) to dealing with his supposedly evil piano teacher, Alvin discovers that his annoying, strange neighbor Flea is really the best friend he could ever need.

Citation:

Look, L., & Pham, L. (2008). Alvin Ho: Allergic to girls, school, and other scary things. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.

Impressions: My favorite part of this book is the way most of the characters in this book treat Alvin, who is obviously not neurotypical. It is interesting to see neurodiverse characters being treated respectfully and like any neurotypical child. Additionally, I loved the episodic nature of the story and the illustrations.

Reviews:
 Fearful second-grader Alvin Ho has never, not once, said a single word in school. His voice works at home, in the car, on the school bus. "But as soon as I get to school... I am as silent as a side of beef." Like the author's Ruby Lu chapter books (Ruby Lu, Brave and True; Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything, rev. 5/06), this one acknowledges kids' troubles while lightening them in a funny yet respectful way. For instance, Alvin plays cards with the psychotherapist he sees for his anxiety. When he realizes she's letting him win, he says his first words to her -- swear words he's learned from his dad. But they're Shakespearean swear words ('Sit thee on a spit, then eat my sneakers, thou droning beef-witted nut hook'), so she's impressed. There's no miracle cure for Alvin's missing voice, and the book nicely focuses more on his need for friends. At the end, he's still afraid of school, scary movies, etc., but he's made a friend -- and it's (yikes!) a girl. Generously illustrated short chapters include laugh-out-loud descriptions of Alvin's attempt to grow taller (his siblings leave him hanging from a tree branch where he remains forgotten until his mother spots his empty seat at dinner), his fateful decision to bring his dad's beloved childhood Johnny Astro toy for show-and-tell, and his brief membership in a not-so-tough neighborhood gang. Readers will hope Alvin has enough fears to fill yet another small but hugely amusing chapter book.


Brabander, J. M. (2008). [Alvin Ho]. Horn Book Magazine, 84(4), 453.

Library Use: I think this is a good discussion started for issues surrounding children who are neurodiverse like Alvin or eccentric like Flea.

Module 6: Doug Unplugged

Summary: Doug, the robot boy, is supposed to be downloading facts about the city but when he spies a pigeon outside his window, he unplugs himself and forgoes the virtual world for the real world of humans. Along the way, he rides the subway and discovers all the joys the city has to offer including a new human friend.

Citation:

Yaccarino, D. (2013). Doug unplugged. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Impressions: With all the talk about kids being plugged into electronics all day, I thought this book made a good point about unplugging and experiencing life first hand without being preachy. I adore the retro illustrations and bright colors.

Reviews:

A little robot boy goes on an urban adventure. Each morning, Doug's parents plug him in so that he can download lots of facts and become "the smartest robot ever." On the second spread, Doug sits atop a stool, plugged into a computer that looks like ENIAC, with the goal of learning all about the city. He waves goodbye to his parents as they walk off the verso, briefcases in hand, presumably headed off to work. The next page opening has the appearance of a circuit board or retro video game screen, with a tiny picture of plugged-in Doug in the upper-left corner. The spread is designed like a map through everything he is to learn that day, complete with a yellow line highlighting his planned path to various points, with facts about taxis, fountains, skyscrapers, pigeons and so on. When Doug sees a real pigeon on his windowsill, he decides to unplug and venture out to learn about the city in person. He encounters everything from the screen, but the best part of his adventure comes when he befriends a boy in the park. They play together until the boy realizes he doesn't know where his parents are, and then Doug helps reunite them--only to decide he wants to go home, following the classic home-away-home story arc. Yaccarino's retro palette and style suit this robot tale to a T. A lively, colorful celebration of unmediated living. (Picture book. 3-5)


Doug unplugged. (2013, January 15). Kirkus Reviews, 81(2), 47-47. Retrieved February 27, 2016, from Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson).

Library Use:  This would be a great way to kickoff an electronics free event at a school or library. I can envision using it for a storytime with an emphasis on creative ways to avoid electronic overload.

Module 5: One Crazy Summer

Summary:  Delphine, Vonetta and Fern are being forced to spend the summer with their estranged mother Cecile in Oakland, California. It's a summer of unrest in Oakland and Cecile's friendship with members of the Black Panthers puts her and her children in jeopardy. While attending a Black Panther summer camp, Delphine and her sisters begin to learn the reason behind the unrest and begin for form an uneasy bond with their mother. Slowly, Delphine discovers why her mother abandoned them and finds a voice to her anger.

Citation:

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York: Amistad.

Impressions: I found myself draw into this story from the beginning and even though I knew a little about the Black Panthers, I found seeing them through the eyes of a child to be quite enlightening. Delphine's innocence contrasted with her mother's world weariness in a way that left both characters changed for the better. 

Reviews:
Gr 4-7-It is 1968, and three black sisters from Brooklyn have been put on a California-bound plane by their father to spend a month with their mother, a poet who ran off years before and is living in Oakland. It's the summer after Black Panther founder Huey Newton was jailed and member Bobby Hutton was gunned down trying to surrender to the Oakland police, and there are men in berets shouting "Black Power" on the news. Delphine, 11, remembers her mother, but after years of separation she's more apt to believe what her grandmother has said about her, that Cecile is a selfish, crazy woman who sleeps on the street. At least Cecile lives in a real house, but she reacts to her daughters' arrival without warmth or even curiosity. Instead, she sends the girls to eat breakfast at a center run by the Black Panther Party and tells them to stay out as long as they can so that she can work on her poetry. Over the course of the next four weeks, Delphine and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, spend a lot of time learning about revolution and staying out of their mother's way. Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility. With memorable characters (all three girls have engaging, strong voices) and a powerful story, this is a book well worth reading and rereading.

Markson, T. (2010, March). [One Crazy Summer]. School Library Journal, 56(3), 170-170. Retrieved February 19, 2016, from Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson). 

Library Use: This would be a perfect book to use for African American History Month. The Black Panthers were an important part of history that is often ignored in children's books because they were so controversial. With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, I think this book would be a perfect way to bring the history of the black power movement to life in a library program. 

Module 5: The First Last Part

Summary: Bobby is a teenage single parent trapped between the past and the future. When his girlfriend Nia becomes pregnant, they debate whether to put the baby up for adoption or keep it. Then tragedy strikes and Nia falls into a coma. Bobby decides that he can't let their baby, Feather, go and plans on raising her himself.

Citation:

Johnson, A. (2003). The first part last. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Impressions: I think this is one of the few books that I read in one sitting. It was raw and compelling but also sweet and gentle. Bobby's love for Feather and Nia is so beautiful and even though he knows this won't be an easy job, he want to be a good parent to Feather. There are so few stories told from the point of view of a teenage single father and I found this one to be very honest. I liked the way the story moved between the past and the present so you slowly discovered how Bobby became a single father.

Reviews:

Gr 7 Up-- Angela Johnson's Printz Award-winning novel (S & S, 2003) is perfectly suited to the audiobook medium, and Khalipa Oldjohn narrates this first person tale with poignant authenticity of tone and pacing. At 16, Bobby struggles to be a father to his newborn daughter while keeping up with school, maintaining his boyhood friendships, and trying to live up to his parents' expectations. Told in alternating passages of "Now" and "Then," the back-story that has brought Bobby to this point falls steadily but deliberately into place, with the revelation of why Bobby is a single father arriving only near the very end. In spite of its brevity, the story is complex and satisfying. Bobby is both boy and man, responsible and overwhelmed, near panic and able to plan an intelligent and loving future for Feather, the daughter he adores and nurtures. In audio format, this story can readily be shared in just a class period or two and will grab listeners immediately, making it an ideal subject for class discussion. It will also be instantly popular for leisure reading outside of school.


Goldsmith, F., & Mandell, P. L. (2005). The First Part Last. In School Library Journal (Vol. 51, p. 77). Media Source. Retrieved February 17, 2016, from Academic Search Complete.

Library Use: Teenage pregnancy is a touchy topic and I think this book is a good way to create a discussion about the issue especially about the obligations of teenage fathers.

Module 4: The Trumpeter of Krakow

Summary: Joseph Charnetski is bound to protect the Great Tarnov Crystal at all costs. When his family's house is destroyed by fire, his father Andrew takes the family to Krakow to give the crystal to the King of Poland. Unfortunately, the king is not in Krakow so the family must hide from the murderous Tartar's to protect the crystal and their lives. Joseph goes to live near the alchemist Kreutz and takes a job as the trumpeter of Krakow keeping watch on the city. During a scuffle with Tartars who are trying to steal the crystal, Kreutz find it and begins to use it in his experiments. During one of his trances, Kreutz's apprentice Tring conjures up some explosives that set the city of fire. Joseph warns the city while Kreutz wanders around with the crystal. The crystal is finally returned to the king who throws it in the river.

Citation: 

Kelly, E. P.,  & Domanska, J. (1992). The trumpeter of Krakow. New York, NY: Aladin Paperbacks.

Impressions: I tried to like this book. I really did but it was excruciating to read and even more excruciating to summarize. The writing is full of purple prose which may have gone over in the 1920's but seems dated and boring today.

Reviews:

Everyone seems to love The Trumpeter of Krakow, by Eric P. Kelly. Amazon.com has mostly four and five star reviews, and the few one and two star reviews on goodreads.com say non-specific things like "I couldn't finish it" or "really boring" - things that I think kids say about a lot of assigned books that they have no real interest in reading.

So I expected that I would like The Trumpeter of Krakow. I was looking forward to reading about medieval (or mid-evil, as one kid wrote in his review) Poland, as I like historical fiction, and have especially liked most of the other Newbery winners set in the Middle Ages.

Sadly, I really didn't enjoy The Trumpeter much. Maybe I'm becoming curmudgeonly, because the only medalist I've really liked out of the fourteen I've read in the last year is Criss Cross. Or maybe I picked all the best ones first, and now that I'm near the end of all of the Newbery winners, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. But I thought I was going like The Trumpeter of Krakow!

My problem with the story started right away in the first chapter - "The Man Who Wouldn't Sell His Pumpkins". The first sentence of the chapter states that "It was in late July of the year 1461 that the sun rose one morning red and fiery as if ushering in the midsummer's hottest day" (p. 7). Some interesting descriptions of wagons and people on the road to Krakow follow, and we meet the villain, whom you can tell is really bad because he's so ugly:

"It was the face, however, that betrayed the soul beneath. It was a dark, oval, wicked face - the eyes were greenish and narrow and the eyebrow line above them ran straight across the bridge of the nose, giving the effect of a monkey rather than a man. One cheek was marked with a buttonlike scar, the scar of the button plague that is so common in the lands east of the Volga, or even the Dnieper, and marks the bearer as a Tartar or a Cossack or a Mongol. The ears were low set and ugly. The mouth looked like the slit that boys make in the pumpkins they carry on the eve of Allhallows" (p. 12).

Now hold it right there. In 1461, boys in Poland did not make jack-o-lanterns out of pumpkins. Squash and pumpkins were domesticated by the American Indians in prehistoric North America, and before 1492, there wasn't much of chance for Europeans to grow pumpkins (or tomatoes, chili peppers, kidney/pinto/Lima beans, tobacco, maize, potatoes, zinnias or petunias, either). Well, maybe this wasn't widely known in 1928, and anyway, it's only a descriptive passage.

But wait a minute. A few pages later, we learn that a man, a woman, and their son have a huge yellow pumpkin in their wagon - and the man (Pan Andrew, or Mr. Andrew) refuses to sell it to the villain, even for its weight in gold. Well, that's where the name of the chapter comes from, obviously, but this late-season pumpkin from the steppes just bothered me. It made me suspicious of all of the other historical descriptions in the book.

I never really felt close to any of the main characters - Joseph (Andrew's son), his mother, Andrew the trumpeter, the alchemist Kreutz, or Kreutz's niece, Elzbietka. The mystery and the suspense that others applaud felt mechanical and forced to me. Although I enjoyed the rather lengthy descriptions of medieval Krakow, with its pillories, university students, cloth traders, night watchmen, and priests, I suspect my 12 year old son wouldn't find it as interesting as I did, especially in the absence of more engaging characters.

I guess I'm glad that so many other people still enjoy this story, but (as with Shen of the Sea), I'm at a loss as to why I don't like it more when so many others do. The whole alchemy and hypnotism story line didn't do much for me, either. But maybe I would have liked it a lot more if not for the pumpkins.

D, S. (2009, September 27). The trumpeter of Krakow. Retrieved from http://newberryproject.blogspot.com/2009/09/trumpeter-of-krakow.html

Library Use: I really can't think of a good way to use this book except as an example of the way standards for good books change throughout the ages. Maybe some day eighty years from now, a teen will think The Hunger Games is overwrought and full of purple prose. Just thinking about this book makes me drowsy. It might make a good way to steady a shaky library table.

Module 4: The One and Only Ivan

Summary: Ivan, the gorilla, is the king of a concrete jungle. Trapped inside the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he performs for customers while hoping for something more. Something he can't even express but he knows exists. When his friend, Stella the elderly elephant, passes away from neglect and abuse, Ivan decides that the new baby elephant, Ruby, deserves a better life than the one they have been leading. Through his art, he begins to achieve new fame and attract the attention of animal rights workers. With the help of Julia, the janitor's daughter and Bob, the stray dog, Ivan and Ruby finally find a new life at the zoo where they can live with animals like themselves.

Citation:

Applegate, K. (2012). The one and only Ivan. New York: Harper.

Impressions: This was another book that had my crying by the end. I love the fact that the book is told from Ivan's point of view. Since Ivan has a childlike naivete like the target audience for this book, you experience his awakening and realization that there is life beyond his concrete prison.

Reviews:

How Ivan confronts his harrowing past yet stays true to his nature exemplifies everything youngsters need to know about courage.

Living in a "domain" of glass, metal and cement at the Big Top Mall, Ivan sometimes forgets whether to act like a gorilla or a human--except Ivan does not think much of humans. He describes their behavior as frantic, whereas he is a peaceful artist. Fittingly, Ivan narrates his tale in short, image-rich sentences and acute, sometimes humorous, observations that are all the more heartbreaking for their simple delivery His sorrow is palpable, but he stoically endures the cruelty of humans until Ruby the baby elephant is abused. In a pivotal scene, Ivan finally admits his domain is a cage, and rather than let Ruby live and die in grim circumstances, he promises to save her. In order to express his plea in a painting, Ivan must bravely face buried memories of the lush jungle, his family and their brutal murder, which is recounted in a brief, powerful chapter sure to arouse readers' passions. In a compelling ending, the more challenging question Applegate poses is whether or not Ivan will remember what it was like to be a gorilla. Spot art captures poignant moments throughout.

Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author's note identifying the real Ivan, will inspire a new generation of advocates, (author's note) (Fiction. 8-12)

The one and only Ivan. (2012, November 16). Kirkus Reviews, 45-46. Retrieved February 13, 2016, from Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson). 

Library Use: This would definitely generate discussions about animal rights and would be appropriate for everything from a book group to a science class. The more we learn about animal intelligence, the more we feel the need to correct the way we have treated animals in the past. This book is a perfect springboard for that type of discussion.

Module 3: The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

Summary: Beekle is an imaginary friend without a child to befriend him. After waiting a long time, he ventures into the real world to find his friend. Instead, he finds a cold world without any joy until he discovers a playground full of children. When he thinks all is lost, a young girl spots him up in a tree. Alice recognizes him and they become fast friends.

Citation:

Santat, D. (2014). The adventures of Beekle: The unimaginary friend. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Impressions: I love how Santat's work in this books likes retro and modern at the same time. The depth of emotion his characters convey makes the story more touching and immediate. You feel for Beekle and rejoice when he finds Alice. The story itself is very simply but when combined with the expressive artwork, it creates a powerful story.

Reviews:
PreS-Gr 2— How long would you wait and how far a journey would you make to find your truest friend? Born on an island for imaginary friends, Beekle waits to be "imagined by a real child." He waits and he waits, but his turn never comes. Filled with impetuous courage, Beekle does the unimaginable and heads out across deep waters until he reaches the real world. He finds that life there is so harried that no one notices him. Eventually, as he waits at the top of a star-leafed tree, a small girl with a friendly face calls out to him with a picture in her hand. They learn to be friends, share adventures and snacks, joke, "and together they did the unimaginable." Santat's attention to detail in the mixed-media illustrations shares a child's eye for laughter and movement on full-bleed spreads with strategically placed text. Gazes of wonderment, broad smiles, and changes in perspective ensure an easy transition from page to page. Beekle's round white visage and taped orange paper crown are immediately identifiable in each scene, a sharp contrast to his surroundings against variations of dark neutrals on a city street or the brightly colored dragons of a child's imagination. Like Beekle's new friend, there's something here that feels just right as an "unimaginary" friendship creates a joyous, recognizable bond. A terrific addition to any library.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

Elam, M. (2014, April). Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. School Library Journal, 60(4), 134-134. Retrieved February 7, 2016, from Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson). 

Library Use: Inspired by the drawings in the front and back of kids with their imaginary friends, I would do an art program where kids could design their own imaginary friend using a variety of media ranging from paint and paper to 3-D sock friends.

Module 3:Locomotive

Summary: Follow a family heading west as they travel by train from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California. Experience the sites and sounds of train travel in 1869 from boarding the train and having your ticket punched to having lunch at a railroad restaurant. See famous sites and treacherous territory.

Citation:

Floca, B. (2013). Locomotive. S.l.: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Impressions: This is one of the most lavishly illustrated picture books that I have ever seen. The research and detail that has gone into this book is truly amazing. To make things even better, the text is written in free verse. It's a perfect melding of text and illustrations.

Reviews:

Leave it to the author/illustrator who has three times been awarded the Robert F. Sibert Honor Award (Lightship, Moonshot, Ballet for Martha) to bring readers an epic, yet also intimate, 64-page picture book about America's first transcontinental railroad and the "iron horses" that rode them-the great trains of 1869 that took Americans on the "new road of rails" made for crossing the country Brian Floca's Locomotive will surely go down as one of 2013's best picture books, an intricately detailed and exhaustively researched look at the Union Pacific, the Central Pacific and the spike made of gold that once joined them. In vivid and precise free verse, Floca frames the story with a family traveling to California, and it is with them that readers take the exhilarating ride. Floca's research--which was conducted over several years and included driving the transcontinental route himself, which he describes as an "invaluable" part of his studies-makes for an engaging, highly accessible piece of nonfiction. "So much of all (that time period) comes down to us in posed, sometimes stiff, always still, black-and-white pictures," Floca says, "but the period and its inventions would amaze any age with their color, motion and vitality Getting a feel for that, and getting to write and paint about it--it was a great experience!" A remarkable achievement, Locomotive is a must-see for readers of all ages. All aboard!


Danielson, J. (2013, May 31). Brian Floca's Locomotive: A vivid free-verse ride across America. Kirkus Reviews, 42-42. Retrieved February 7, 2016, from Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson).

Library Use: I would do a program around this book and invite members of the local toy train group to set up a display related to this book. Since kids love trains, this would be a perfect way to tie the book into a large scale exhibit or event.