The Great Outdoors Can Be a Scary Place for a Kid Who's Scared of Everything

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look

Hello, Readers!

This week 2nd and 3rd grade book club members are reading Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters, the second book in the Alvin Ho series written by Lenore Look and illustrated by LeUyen Pham.

Alvin Ho does not think the great outdoors is great. It is super-duper scary. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Flash floods.
2. Meteorites.
3. Lots of creepy trees.
4. Pit toilets!

Luckily, when his dad suggests - GULP! - a camping trip, Alvin is prepared. He has:

1. A portable generator.
2. Night-vision goggles.
3. Toilet paper.
4. More toilet paper!

So grab your mosquito netting and your heavy-duty flashlight and experience the great outdoors with the one and only Alvin Ho.

Possible Discussion Questions:

1. What types of fears does Alvin have? How do his fears affect him at home and school?
2. Why do you think Alvin is scared to go camping and hiking?
3. Alvin believes his Uncle Dennis's Batman ring will be a secret weapon that gives him powers. Do you think the Batman ring did or did not give Alvin secret powers? Why or why not?
4. What types of secret tips did Uncle Dennis give to Alvin and Anibelly?
5. How did Uncle Dennis's secret tips backfire on Alvin and Anibelly and their dad?
6. How does Alvin end up making a friend while he is camping? How did Alvin and his friend end up being superheroes?
7. What do you think Alvin liked most about camping and hiking?
8. Alvin likes to pretend he is the superhero Firecracker Man. If you could make up a superhero character, who would you be? What would your costume look like?
9. Are you afraid of some things? What would you put in your PDK - Personal Disaster Kit - to help you survive the things that scare you?

Curriculum Connections:

• Life Skills (problem solving, courage, phobias)
• Science (nature)

What 2nd and 3rd Grade Book Club Members Thought:

• Our rating: 4.2 out of 5
• "One question I wondered was why is he scared of so many things?" --Joliz
• "My favorite part was when Alvin met that alien." --Jake
• "One question I wondered was is he not scared anymore?" --Valeria
• "My favorite part was when he was in the box." --Nathan
• "My favorite part was Gungung." --Sanika
• "One question I wondered was why is there a Batman ring?" --Nathan
• "My favorite part was when he made a snare trap." --Joliz
• "My favorite part was on page 34 when Alvin was naked." --Rivian

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What Would It Take for an Intelligent Robot Survive in the Wilderness?

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Hello, Readers!

This week, 5th grade book club members are discussing The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. Through his words and his illustrations, Brown has created a winning story. His combination of a robot with wild animals in nature don't necessarily guarantee easily made friendships, but readers will come away with the idea that kindness wins in the end.

The Wild Robot is the story of Rozzum unit 7134, a robot who wakes up for the very first time to find that she’s alone on a remote, wild island. Roz doesn’t know how she got there, or where she came from: she only knows that she wants to stay alive. And by robotically studying her environment she learns everything she needs to know. She learns how to move through the wilderness, how to avoid danger, she even learns how to communicate with the animals. But the most important lesson Roz learns is that kindness can be a survival skill. And she uses kindness to develop friends and a family and a peaceful life for herself. Until her mysterious past catches up with her.


Source: http://www.peterbrownstudio.com/uncategorized/the-wild-robot/

Possible Discussion Questions:

1. What happened in The Wild Robot that surprised you? Why were you surprised?
2. What did this story make you wonder?
3. How has the story changed (or confirmed) the way you think or act?
4. How did Roz come to be at the island?  What did she have to do to get herself acquainted with her new surroundings?
5. What do you think was Roz’s best survival skill?
6. Toward the beginning of her time on the island, the animals saw Roz as a monster.  What changed their attitude towards her?  
7. How would you expect wild animals (like the bears) to react to Roz? What other animal behaviors in the story were expected from a “wild” island habitat, and which behaviors weren’t normal reactions?  
8. Brightbill and Roz ended up as an unlikely family. How did they act much like a traditional family?  How were they untraditional?  What tragedy brought them together? What message can we take away?
9. Peter Brown made a point to tell readers that Roz could not feel emotion.  Do you think she eventually learned how to feel and developed emotion, or was she simply adapting to her experiences as her programming wished her to do? Do you think it is possible that robots might have the ability to learn, develop, and have emotions?
10. Why did the RECOs see Roz as defective? Why were the RECOs so insistent that Roz could not stay at the island?  Did the Makers really need every single robot back?  Why or why not?
11. Roz learned from the island, but how did the “island” learn from Roz?
12. What do you think happens to Roz once she returns with the ship? Do you think she will eventually be able to find her way back to the island?
13. How much are you looking forward to reading The Wild Robot Escapes when it is published on March 13, 2018?

Curriculum Connections:

• Science and Technology (robots, climate change, survival and needs, camouflage)
• Character Development (friendship, problem solving, kindness, teamwork)
• Visit author/illustrator Peter Brown's web site to learn more about his work.

What 5th Grade Book Club Members Thought:

• Our rating: 4.3 out of 5
• "Why did the Makers need every Rozzum bot back?" --Alex
• "I wondered why the dead robots were still there." --Alexa
• "I want to talk about when Brightbill shut Roz down." --Jordyn
• "I was always wondering what [would] happen next." --Sophie
• "Why was Roz the only robot that survived?" --Katie
• "I predict in the next book she escapes." --Aditi
• "I wondered how Roz got to the ship when she was just a torso and a head." --Kenzie 

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