(Reprint)
LENORE LOOK is the author of the popular Alvin Ho series; in a starred review Kirkus Reviews called Alvin "refreshingly original [and] endearing." Lenore is also the author of several acclaimed picture books, the most recent of which is Polka Dot Penguin Pottery. Her picture books Henry's First-Moon Birthday and Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding both received three starred reviews and were named ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Books.
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Everyone's favorite neurotic second grader is back, in the most touching Alvin Ho book to date. In this fourth book in the Alvin Ho series, Alvin is facing something truly scary: the idea that someone he loves might die. When Alvin's GungGung loses his best friend, Alvin (gulp) volunteers to go with him to the funeral. Lenore Look and LeUyen Pham touch on a more serious subject in this Alvin book, but it's still filled with the same humor and wild antics fans have come to expect from the series.
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2011:
"A fresh entry in what is overall an exceedingly enjoyable series; readers will cheer this latest."
Nervoussecond-grader Alvin Ho digs deep to find the bravery to attend a funeral in this playful andpoignantfourth offering in the series.
When Charlie, the best friend ofhisgrandfather, dies, Alvin is desperate to console his gung-gung, volunteering togo to accompany him to the last rites withoutrealizing he'll be in close proximity to a dead body. Once this occurs to him, however, he is terrified—his fear only compounded by his brother's concern that Charlie's death is a bad sign for their similarly aged grandfather. The formula that has worked so well in theearlier installments succeeds here again.Alvin's frenetic first-personvoiceas he puzzlesit all out is engaging and real, often laugh-out-loud funny, and his family lifeis touching—sweet and frazzled and filled with endearing details like his father's use of Shakespearean curses when he's frustrated. Historical details of the Concord, Mass., setting abound, often comically portrayed due to Alvin's tendency toward literalism.His eventual ability to contextualize and accept the death of someone he knew evolves naturally, and the madcap scenario that precedes it, exacerbated by Alvin's anxiety-related inability to talk in school, is at once hilarious and heart-rending.
Afresh entry inwhat is overall anexceedingly enjoyable series; readers will cheer this latest. (Fiction. 7-10)