Alvin Ho: Allergic to Babies, Burglars, and Other Bumps in the Night by Lenore Look (review)

Fans of Alvin Ho (from Alvin Ho: Allergic to Dead Bodies, Funerals, and Other Fatal Circumstances, BCCB 1/12, etc.) know that he’s more than a little neurotic and that relatively ordinary problems send him into extraordinary panic. In this volume, he’s stressed about a rash of burglaries in the area, but that’s nothing compared to the bomb his mother drops on him: she’s pregnant, and though she and Alvin’s father sat the family down and explained the situation months ago, Alvin somehow missed its implications. As soon as he realizes the truth, he develops symptoms of a “simply pathetic pregnancy,” which sends nearly all of the boys in his second-grade class into sympathetic pregnancies of their own. Luckily, Alvin has support: his best friend, Flea, makes him a Pregnancy Disaster Kit, and his big brother Calvin designs a Rube Goldberg machine to catch the burglar, and as usual, Alvin responds with his own version of over-reactive mayhem. Look has developed a canny balance between repetition and novelty in this series that offers support for developing readers while spurring growth in their comprehension of sophisticated concepts. As with previous books, she deploys a few central elements that track through the episodic plot while breaking it up into appealing chunks. Readers may be disappointed that the burglar is never actually caught, but they can nonetheless follow that thread to anticipate its humorous conclusion. These literacy-supporting elements, along with antic humor, energetic illustrations, and a strong but subtle message about how friends and family continue to wisely and patiently love this crazy little kid, make this another solid entry in a winning series for early readers.