Allergic to Babies, Burglars, and Other Bumps in the Night

March 1, 2013
Alvin Ho's lovable, quirky family is due to increase by one in this fifth installment of the warmly funny series, which again features vibrant, playful black-and-white illustrations by Pham. Though his mom assures a dubious Alvin that she told him months ago about her pregnancy, his new sibling's imminent arrival introduces a whole new set of worries for nerve-wracked Alvin. Paramount among them is his misunderstanding that the "simply pathetic" (read: sympathetic) pregnancy his mother suggests he's experiencing will result in him actually giving birth. Described in short, dialogue-driven chapters and in keeping with the enjoyably over-the-top tone that has come to define the ongoing story, Alvin's anxiety (which includes an inability to speak at school) creates a host of situational comedies that the adults in his life must help him resolve. Alvin's father's absence due to a business trip is notable in this latest, and it results in Alvin's leaning more heavily on his older brother, Calvin, whose current interest in Rube Goldberg devices makes for some predictably hilarious solutions to problems. The ending glossary, also a fixture of the series, offers creative definitions of terms as diverse as dim sum and nor'easter. Alvin's excitable, first-person narration, replete with his realistic attempts to make sense of what he doesn't understand, will again infect readers with its goofiness. (Fiction. 7-10)

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April 15, 2013
Grades 2-4 In the previous installment (Alvin Ho: Allergic to Dead Bodies, Funerals, and Other Fatal Circumstances, 2011), Alvin conquered death. This time he must contend with new life. Mrs. Ho is expecting and Alvin is caught off guard. What's worse, he seems to be suffering a sympathic pregnancy: he eats all the time, his Firecracker Man costume fits snuggly across his belly, he is often low on energy, and it appears the condition is contagious to other boys in his class. To be fair, they only binge eat ice cream, because eating frequently is the best way to have a well nourished baby. In addition to baby drama, Alvin must also help protect the family from a rash of burglaries in Concord (his beloved but scary hometown) while his father is away on business, take hockey lessons, and help earthquake victims in Haiti. Look and Pham again provide a lively reading experience, depicting Alvin and his continued anxiety issues in a relatable, sympathetic, and humorous way.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)