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

Lenore Look's Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things is a funny, warm story for 6 year olds about a boy who's scared of almost everything.

What happens

Alvin Ho lives in Concord, Massachusetts, and he'd like you to know a few things straight away. He's afraid of lifts, tunnels, thunder, substitute teachers, heights and the dark. Most of all, he's afraid of school.

At home he's loud. At school he can't say a single word, however hard he tries. His voice works in the car and on the bus, then vanishes the moment he gets to class.

So he comes prepared. He carries a Personal Disaster Kit with a whistle, garlic, dental floss and a scary mask (for keeping girls away, obviously). His big brother Calvin gives him some rules for making friends, which don't help much when you can't say hello.

Then there's Flea. She's his desk buddy again this year, whether he likes it or not, and she's written a whole book about what his different eyes mean. Alvin is NOT grateful. By the end of that afternoon he's sitting on the pavement after an uppercut.

Reading it is like having Alvin chattering in your ear. His lists are very funny, his logic makes perfect sense to him, and he keeps quoting the rules of being a gentleman before admitting he can't remember them. There's a plan to catch chicken pox on purpose, and a treasured toy of Dad's that goes to school without anyone quite asking.

What's lovely is how kind it is about his fears. Nobody fixes Alvin. His dad tells him he'll be okay, his mum climbs a tree to rescue him, and he gets through each day in his own way. He sees a therapist, and the book mentions it as plainly as it mentions his dog.

It's an American story, so your reader will meet recess and second grade along the way.

If you've got a child who worries about things other children seem to find easy, Alvin might feel like a very good friend. And if they don't worry about anything at all, they'll still laugh at a boy who's desperate to catch the pox.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, Alvin's back in Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters, where the great outdoors gets added to his list.