8-Year-Old Boy Books of the Week: Alvin Ho, Just Disgusting, The Storyteller's Secrets

Here are Tintin's favorites from the past week:

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters
Author/illustrator:Lenore Look/LeUyen Pham
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (June 2009)
Source: Elementary school library

In Alvin Ho's second book (see our review of the first one), Alvin's dad is convinced Alvin will come to like camping and hiking. But Alvin is scared of almost everything and is worried he won't come back alive. He gets help from his brother, who uses their dad's credit card to buy survival gear, and from his uncle, who teaches him how to trap (Alvin actually does a good job with his first trap, but his victim isn't too impressed). As with the first Alvin Ho book, there's a glossary of the things he's afraid of as well as some of his favorite things. Tintin is looking forward to reading the third Alvin Ho book, Allergic to Birthday Parties, Science Projects, and Other Man-Made Catastrophes.

Tintin's note: I like when he's scared of bears because it's funny. The bears look just like the one in the Greek myths graphic novel [Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders].

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Just Disgusting
Author/illustrator: Andy Griffiths
Publisher: Scholastic (February 2005)
Source: Public library

Just Disgusting is just that: disgusting. The first chapter is a list of 101 disgusting things, the first of which is brussels sprouts (and then it's all downhill from there). The rest of the chapters are short stories, all disgusting, of course, and all having to do with young Andy. There's a choose-your-own adventure story about making a cake, a comic about two brown blobs in a bathtub, a play whose cast consists of nothing but dead flies, and more. This book is so disgusting that it's perfect for boys 8 years old and up. And now I'm getting requests for more of Andy Griffiths' Just books (including Just Annoying, Just Joking, and Just Stupid).

Tintin's note: They have a lot of disgusting things in the book. I like when the two brown blobs are getting closer to the rubber ducky and the kid.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

The Storyteller's Secrets
Author/illustrator: Tony Mitton/Peter Bailey
Publisher: David Fickling Books (June 2010)
Source: Public library

Twins Toby and Tess share their lunch with an old stranger one day, and to thank them he tells them a story in rhyme. He comes back several more times to tell them his stories and each time he gives them a little treasure to remind them of the tales he's told. He begins with "The Woodcutter's Daughter" and goes on to tell them "St. Brigid's Cloak," "The Seal Hunter," "The Pedlar of Swaffham," and "Tam Lin." The book ends with "The Map of Marvels," in which the storyteller gives Toby and Tess a mysterious map, reveals a secret, and then disappears. I've started reading a book to the boys during breakfast each morning, and this was one of them. I read a story each morning until we were done, and Tintin always wanted "just one more story."

Tintin's note: I like all the treasures that Teller gave Toby and Tess. I like when Tam Lin turned into all those freaky animals.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound