{"product_id":"alvin-ho-allergic-to-birthday-parties-science-projects-and-other-manmade-catastrophes-isbn-9780375873690","title":"Alvin Ho: Allergic to Birthday Parties, Science Projects, and Other Man-made Catastrophes","description":"\u003cb\u003eThere's nothing scarier than a birthday party in the third book in a hilarious chapter book series that tackles anxiety in a fun, kid-friendly way. Perfect for both beginning and reluctant readers, and fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid!\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlvin Ho, an Asian American second grader, is afraid of everything. For example, what could possibly be so scary about a birthday party? Let Alvin explain:\u003cbr\u003e• You might be dressed for bowling . . . but everyone else is dressed for swimming.\u003cbr\u003e• You could get mistaken for the piñata.\u003cbr\u003e• You could eat too much cake.\u003cbr\u003e• You could throw up.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo when Alvin receives an invitation to a party—a girl’s party—how will he ever survive?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA humorous and touching series about facing your fears and embracing new experiences—with a truly unforgettable character—from author Lenore Look and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling and Caldecott Honor winning illustrator LeUyen Pham.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Alvin’s a winner.” —\u003ci\u003eNew York Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eSeries Praise\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A witty glossary and Pham’s simple yet expressive line drawings perfectly complement this appealing story about the refreshingly original, endearing Alvin.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Look's . . . intuitive grasp of children's emotions is rivaled only by her flair for comic exaggeration.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Publishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Shares with Diary of a Wimpy Kid the humor that stems from trying to manipulate the world.” \u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003eLenore Look is the author of the popular Alvin Ho series, as well as the Ruby Lu series. She has also written several acclaimed picture books, including \u003ci\u003eHenry’s First-Moon Birthday, Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBrush of the Gods.\u003c\/i\u003e Lenore lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeUyen Pham is the award-winning and critically acclaimed illustrator of more than one hundred books for children. Her picture books include \u003ci\u003eBear Came Along \u003c\/i\u003eby Richard T. Morris, named a Caldecott Honor Book, as well as \u003ci\u003eGrace for President \u003c\/i\u003eby Kelly DiPucchio and\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ethe\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eVampirina Ballerina series by Anne Marie Pace. She is also the illustrator of Princess in Black, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e-bestselling middle grade series by Shannon and Dean Hale, and the co-creator, along with Shannon Hale, of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e-bestselling graphic memoirs \u003ci\u003eReal Friends\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBest Friends\u003c\/i\u003e. Her most recent author-illustrator book, \u003ci\u003eOutside, Inside\u003c\/i\u003e, is a recollection of our year in lockdown.CHAPTER ONE\u003cbr\u003eOne Foot in the Grave\u003cbr\u003emy name is Alvin Ho. I was born scared, and I am still scared. I never thought I’d live to see myself in another book, on account I could’ve very well died camping in that last one. The good news is that I had the secret powers of my Batman ring and my rolls of toilet paper with me. They saved my life.\u003cbr\u003eThe bad news is, there’s still a lot of other things that could kill me, just like that:\u003cbr\u003eGiant octopus.\u003cbr\u003eGiant trees.\u003cbr\u003eGiant anything.\u003cbr\u003eMonsters.\u003cbr\u003eRecess.\u003cbr\u003eField trips.\u003cbr\u003eKarate chops.\u003cbr\u003ePork chops (if they’re not well-done).\u003cbr\u003eChopsticks (if you fall on them).\u003cbr\u003eThe kiss of death.\u003cbr\u003eThe safest place for me to be is home, if you don’t count the fact that my home is in Concord, Massachusetts, which is hard to spell. It’s where the American Revolutionary War began, with lots of explosions and bad language and dead bodies all over the place. There aren’t any dead bodies out there anymore, but there sure are a lot of creepy dead authors who still live inside their homes, giving tours, instead of lying around at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where they belong. Normally, this isn’t a big problem, like setting fire to the woods, it’s just an average problem, like having the match.\u003cbr\u003eBut today was not normal.\u003cbr\u003eWhen I got to school this morning—surprise, surprise—we hopped right back on the bus after A\u0026amp;A (attendance and announcements).\u003cbr\u003e“Hey, it’s time for handwriting class!” I screamed as the bus rolled down the street, away from school. I love hand- writing class.\u003cbr\u003e“Hooray, no handwriting today!” yelled Pinky, whose handwriting looks like hair floating in the ocean. “Yippie!”\u003cbr\u003e“Did you forget?” asked Flea, who was sitting next to me. “It’s our field trip day.” Flea’s a girl. Otherwise, she’s okay. She wears a patch over a genuine pirate eye, and one of her legs is longer than the other, like a real peg leg. But she’s still a girl.\u003cbr\u003eField trip? What field trip?\u003cbr\u003e“I’ve been looking forward to this all week!” shrieked Esha.\u003cbr\u003e“Me too!” said Sara Jane.\u003cbr\u003eI love field trips. I’m just not good at remembering them.\u003cbr\u003eThe wheels on the bus went round and round.\u003cbr\u003eScooter and Jules’s thumbs went up and down in a thumb-wrestling match.\u003cbr\u003eThen their fists went left-hook, right-hook in a boxing match.\u003cbr\u003eThen Nhia, who is a ninja from Cambodia, slipped a head-hold on Pinky, who has the biggest head in the class on account of he’s the biggest boy, and Pinky screamed into Nhia’s armpit, which made Hobson whack Eli on the head, which made Sam karate-chop Scooter with a loud “Aiyah!”, which made our teacher, Miss P, who was sitting at the front of the bus, turn around and yell, “SIMMER DOWN, BOYS, OR YOU’LL GET A NOTE SENT HOME!” How she knew who was doing what, all the way from the front of the bus and facing the other way, I’ll never know. But she’s very smart and smells like fresh laundry every day. Maybe she has eyes in the back of her head, just like my mom.\u003cbr\u003eThe noise on the bus simmered down.\u003cbr\u003eWhen mouths close, something else is supposed to open, it’s one of the rules of school.\u003cbr\u003eIn this case, it was Scooter’s lunch box. Scooter’s dad is a cook in a restaurant and Scooter gets restaurant leftovers for lunch. And when Scooter opens his lunch box, people sniff.\u003cbr\u003eIt smelled like cold fried chicken. It was cold fried chicken!\u003cbr\u003eHeads turned.\u003cbr\u003eMouths watered.\u003cbr\u003eScooter’s teeth sank into the chicken.\u003cbr\u003eJuice dribbled down his chin.\u003cbr\u003eThis made Hobson, who’s a little roly-poly, yelp that he was hungry too, and rip open his lunch bag—just as the bus went around Monument Square, which isn’t a square at all, it’s a circle—and something went flying. I think it was raisins. Yes, it was raining raisins!\u003cbr\u003eThen it rained sea- weed crackers! Then potato chips! Then my favorite—Goldfish crackers! Oh, I love field trips!","brand":"Yearling","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301060202725,"sku":"NP9780375873690","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780375873690.jpg?v=1767721354","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/alvin-ho-allergic-to-birthday-parties-science-projects-and-other-manmade-catastrophes-isbn-9780375873690","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}