Module 4 – Slob
Summary
Owen narrates the story from the perspective as an overweight genius who is often bullied in school. He and his twin sister, Caitlyn (Jeremy), go to live with Vera (Mom) after their parents are murdered nearly two years earlier. Vera is the dispatcher who stayed on the phone with Owen after the murders. Feeling an indescribable connection to them, she asks if she can adopt them since they don’t have any relatives that they can live with. He blames himself for not being able to stop the murders and quickly fills the empty holes in his heart with food. He spends all of his spare time in an effort to complete the construction of Nemesis, a satellite dish, receiver, and a television set that he has been working on for a year and a half. He believes that this will lead him back to the time when his parents were killed and reveal what happened and answer the mystery that lies on the only piece of evidence he has; a sandwich order, SLOB, that his parents wrote on just before it all happened. End the end, he finds the closure that he needs as he learns that whether it will work or not isn’t what is as important as it is for him to learn that what happened was in no way his fault. He eventually stops blaming himself, constructs a machine that helps his friend, Nima, sell more dumplings, and looses the weight that he had put on during that time. He also makes a new friend, Mason and he and his sister learn through a lesson that involved Oreo’s to love and respect themselves, and not to change for anyone.
My Impression
This book touched on so many issues that a young teen often deals with. The loss of a parent, a lifestyle change, moving to a new school, and trying to make new friends or just fit in are hard for anyone to learn how to deal with. Being young and not having the life experiences and wisdom makes it even harder for someone to cope with these things that can happen. Owen is much stronger than he knows and it was wonderful to read that through perseverance and strength that he begins to see how okay he really will be.
Library Setting
A neat idea to teach with this after reading it would be to have the students invent a contraption that would be useful to the economy. They could make a blueprint of the design or take it a step further and make it. They would also write about how they made it and about how it would be useful.
Reviews
Grades 4-7. Twelve-year-old Owen and his sister attend a progressive New York City school where there are no desks, “Just workstations. Which are basically desks.” Despite the school motto, “Compassion, Not Competition,” overweight Owen is victimized by his sadistic gym teacher as well as by many fellow students. In his spare time, he attempts to construct a video playback time machine in order to discover who murdered his parents two years earlier. Slowly, Owen realizes whom he can trust and what matters to him now. Self-aware and ironic, Owen makes a sympathetic narrator. Readers will also enjoy the portrayals of his younger sister Caitlin, who insists that her name is Jeremy now that she’s joined GWAB (Girls Who Are Boys), and transfer student/outcast Mason Rigg, who, rumor has it, carries a switchblade tucked into his sock. Loose ends that appear in the narrative early on are tied up a little too neatly by the end, but the vividly drawn characters offer plenty to enjoy along the way.
(2009, June 1). Booklist [Review of the book Slob]. Retrieved from
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Owen, nearly a genius and "fifty-seven percent fatter" than average, feels like an outcast at school--especially after someone starts stealing his cookies. Meanwhile, he's working on an invention to view two-year-old signals from a neighborhood deli's surveillance camera, the significance of which is explained late in the story. Owen, a likable kid with a fresh voice, ably navigates the tale's many subplots.
(2009, Fall). Horn Book [Review of the book Slob]. Retrieved from
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An intriguingly offbeat mystery concerning the theft of cookies from a boy's lunch, at turns humorous, suspenseful and poignant. Intelligent Owen is the fattest kid in his middle school, having packed on the pounds after a major upheaval in his life caused him to begin turning to food as a source of comfort. His younger sister, who has joined up with a group at school called Girls Who Are Boys (GWAB) and taken to insisting that others call her Jeremy, coped by growing tougher. Owen, on the other hand, has become an object of ridicule due to his weight. While the Oreo heist provides the main premise for Owen to engage with other kids at school, there are a number of secondary mysteries crafted alongside it, each of them raising unexpected questions that are neatly wrapped up by the novel's end. While some readers may balk at some of its more convenient coincidences, fans of Jerry Spinelli and others of his ilk may especially enjoy it and will be held rapt. (Mystery. 9-12)
(2009, April 15). Kirkus [Review of the book Slob]. Retrieved from
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Gr 6-8-Owen is the fattest-and smartest-seventh grader in his New York City school. When he's not ducking the school bully or trying to survive the world's most sadistic P.E. teacher, he invents things. Currently Owen has two projects-a TV that will show events in the past and a trap to catch the thief who keeps stealing the Oreos from his lunchbox. There's a lot of middle school banter and adolescent dialogue. However, what begins as a lighthearted adventure gradually takes on a darker tone. Owen calls his invention Nemesis and insists that it needs to reach exactly two years back. As the story evolves, readers learn that there are places in town where he feels distinctly uncomfortable, and that he treasures a note that says only "SLOB." Step by step, Owen reveals the tragedy behind his concerns. Two years earlier, he was hiding in the basement of the family store, listening as his parents were killed by an intruder. Adopted by the 911 operator who took his call after the murders, he dreams of identifying the perpetrator. Although Nemesis fails to solve the crime, Owen is finally able to find closure, with help from his sister, their friends, and, surprisingly, from the dreaded bully himself. A sensitive, touching, and sometimes heartbreakingly funny picture of middle school life.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL0 Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
(2009, July 1). School Library Journal [Review of the book Slob]. Retrieved from
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Module 4 – Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
Summary
Alvin Ho is a second grader who is afraid of almost everything. Ironically, he loves superheroes and things that can explode. He has an amazing imagination when he is playing with his brother and sister at home, but he is hopelessly shy once he is at school. He must learn to overcome his fears starting with not being so afraid to speak his mind. He will often clam up like a mute. His parents think that seeing a psychotherapist will help him but he is even more afraid of the idea that this therapist is really a crazy smart person trying to get inside his mind. Whenever spoke to, he seems to only be able to retort in Shakespearean style words.
My Impression
This is such a cute story about how a young child can worry so much as he takes everything so literally. He over thinks almost every situation and worries about the possible outcomes. It was great to see that through all of this, he could still learn to make a friend, which is what he needed most. He wasn’t excited about it being a girl at first, but they have so much in common that he has so much fun hanging out with her.
Library Setting
There are several different Alvin Ho books that share funny stories about Alvin and his fears. As a writing lesson, I would have the students work in pairs to create another story about Alvin and different things he is afraid of. Writing the story together, can encourage collaboration and peer editing.
Reviews
Grades 2-4. In the chapter-book universe of Judy Moody and Junie B. Jones it’s hard to know what’s more surprising about Alvin Ho: his Y chromosome, or his Chinese American heritage. In this book, Look, who has made a career of portraying Chinese American family life in picture books and chapter books, focuses less on cultural commonalities than on the idiosyncracies of Alvin’s family (a dad fond of Shakespearean insults, a grandfather who sews), filling in the Chinese American backdrop exclusively through a small amount of Cantonese vocabulary and some food references. The book’s lighthearted treatment of Alvin’s unusual problem (mutism that kicks in only at school) doesn’t seem entirely apt. Still, many children will sympathize with fearful Alvin, who hates his therapist and marvels at his descent from “farmer-warriors who haven’t had a scaredy bone in their bodies since 714 AD.” They’ll also hope that the book’s concluding, unexpected friendship will reap psychological benefits in a sequel. Pham’s thickly brushed artwork matches the quirky characterizations stroke for stroke.
(2008, July). Booklist [Review of the book Alvin Ho Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things]. Retrieved from
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Fearful second-grader Alvin Ho has never, not once, said a single word in school. His voice works at home, in the car, on the school bus. "But as soon as I get to school...I am as silent as a side of beef." Like the author's Ruby Lu chapter books (Ruby Lu, Brave and True; Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything, rev. 5/06), this one acknowledges kids' troubles while lightening them in a funny yet respectful way. For instance, Alvin plays cards with the psychotherapist he sees for his anxiety. When he realizes she's letting him win, he says his first words to her -- swear words he's learned from his dad. But they're Shakespearean swear words ("Sit thee on a spit, then eat my sneakers, thou droning beef-witted nut hook"), so she's impressed. There's no miracle cure for Alvin's missing voice, and the book nicely focuses more on his need for friends. At the end, he's still afraid of school, scary movies, etc., but he's made a friend -- and it's (yikes!) a girl. Generously illustrated short chapters include laugh-out-loud descriptions of Alvin's attempt to grow taller (his siblings leave him hanging from a tree branch where he remains forgotten until his mother spots his empty seat at dinner), his fateful decision to bring his dad's beloved childhood Johnny Astro toy for show-and-tell, and his brief membership in a not-so-tough neighborhood gang. Readers will hope Alvin has enough fears to fill yet another small but hugely amusing chapter book.
(2008, July/August). Horn Book [Review of the book Alvin Ho Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things]. Retrieved from
http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=c10961bcca5f05fde919419b6f86897a#anchor-
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Bright, energetic Alvin Ho is about to enter the second grade. The middle child in his close family, he idolizes his devoted, patient dad. He's a big superhero fan and he loves all things that explode. His enthusiasm, however, doesn't carry over to school--he's so petrified while there that he can't utter a single word: "But as soon as I get to school...I am as silent as a side of beef," he explains. In the vignettes that make up this exuberantly funny slice of Alvin's life, Look portrays the world as it would be viewed through the eyes of a wildly creative but undeniably neurotic kid. In his hometown of Concord, Mass., Alvin searches for friends, meets with a psychotherapist (who he supposes must be a "very smart crazy person" based on her job title) and gets himself into a variety of jams. A witty glossary and Pham's simple yet expressive line drawings perfectly complement this appealing story about the refreshingly original, endearing Alvin. (Fiction. 7-10)
(2008, June 15). Kirkus Review [Review of the book Alvin Ho Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things]. Retrieved from
http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=c10961bcca5f05fde919419b6f86897a#anchor-
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