Alvin Ho: Allergic to the Great Wall, the Forbidden Palace, and Other Tourist Attractions

Alvin Ho faces previously unknown fears when his family travels to China to introduce his baby sister to relatives; the hilarity (for readers) begins at airport security. This series entry's heartwarming moment involves Alvin's idea to grant Christmas wishes to orphans, including someone's wish for a friend. Pham's many illustrations capture the fun being had in Look's action-packed story.

Alvin Ho, who's afraid even when safe at home, faces previously unknown fears when his family travels to China to introduce his new baby sister to relatives. Forget fear of flying ("small enclosed spaces filled with strangers, hurtling across the sky at 600 miles per hour"); Alvin's afraid of his own passport photo -- in which he looks like he "robbed a bank and got run over by the getaway car." The hilarity (for readers, that is) begins at airport security, when Alvin's ever-present Personal Disaster Kit is found to contain, among other things, forks and knives (he's "allergic to chopsticks") and a rope ("for climbing the Great Wall"). As usual, Pham's many illustrations capture the "fun" being had in Look's action-packed story, this time most especially by Alvin's long-suffering dad -- all while wearing a crying infant strapped to his chest. First, Dad's hauled away by federal air marshals (Alvin's panicked and repeated use of the call button), then he accompanies his son up and down thirty-two flights of stairs (no elevators for Alvin), and then he must hurl himself onto a toboggan when Alvin instantaneously decides that riding down the Speed Chute is less scary than standing around on the Great Wall. This series entry's heartwarming moment involves Alvin's idea to grant some Christmas wishes to a group of orphans, including someone's wish for a friend. Alvin may be full of fear, but he's also got loads of empathy. jennifer m. brabander