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Slightly Invisible    by Lauren Child Amazon.com order for
Slightly Invisible
by Lauren Child
Order:  USA  Can
Candlewick, 2011 (2011)
Hardcover
* *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

Charlie's little sister Lola loves to tag along and do whatever he does. As he explains, 'Most of the time this is fine. But sometimes I just want to be by myself ON MY OWN with Marv.'

Marv is Charlie's best friend. But Lola insists on playing with them and she often messes up what they are doing. When Charlie and Marv invent an invisibility potion to help them find 'strange and tricky creatures' they discover that someone has taken it. Could it be Lola? What do you think?

Although she didn't drink the magic potion, Lola claims her friend, Soren Lorensen, did and now that strange creature is invisible. Can Charlie's sister be believed? To find out, Charlie and Marv will need to assemble a rabbit, a stroller, some tea and a couple of glasses of pink milk and then follow Lola's instructions.

As they track down this strange and tricky creature that may or may not really exist, you'll see that Lola is, once again, playing a key role in her brother's playtime. What a clever little girl!

This is a cute story for youngsters ages three and up, but although I like the illustrations and the concept, I do not care for the way the text is arranged. It flows in odd ways across the page. Different type faces are used and at times it can be a challenge to follow.

For a young child beginning to read, this could be a potential problem. Yes, I can read words upside down, but most children probably can't. Of course, they can keep turning the book various ways to read the text but, I fear, many readers may just move on to the next page. Dluow uoy daer sith weiver fi I etorw ti ekil siht? I thought not!

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