#Review:(The) Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig / Illustrated by Patrice Barton #atozchallenge #bullying

Summary:
Meet Brian, the invisible boy. Nobody ever seems to notice him or think to include him in their group, game, or birthday party . . . until that is, a new kid comes to class.

When Justin, the new boy, arrives, Brian is the first to make him feel welcome. And when Brian and Justin team up to work on a class project together, Brian finds a way to shine.

My review:
When I was younger, I knew at times what it felt like to be invisible. I got picked last for games, last to be invited, last to be on the inside joke (if at all) and last to feel like the special one.  It happened a lot when I was a kid to not only me but others too, sometimes worse for the others. Today, we would call it bullying.

This is essentially what the premise of the book is about, how one boy is never on the receiving end. As the book begins, the boy is invisible in color to everyone around him, including his teacher. He feels small and is in his own world. 

A new boy enters the picture about mid-way through the book and even though "invisible" the boy welcomes this newcomer and in turns becomes a friend and eventually noticed. As the book progresses, the coloring of the boy becomes clearer.

I like the way the book was illustrated and overall, the book shows what the disenfranchised can feel like. However, I would not go so far as saying this would be the best book for the topic of bullying, but still one to read that gets, at least, half the point across. This book was written primarily for first graders and I think they would get it.

Overall, I can safely give this book a four-star review.

Disclosure: I obtained this book from my local library. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Naila Moon

Where to find the author:

Amazon
Goodreads

This post is linked up to Monday's Musings book post.