(874) Things not seen by Andrew Clements

It is a book left at my door by a neighbour. This author wrote Frindle, which won the 1997 Christopher Award. "Things not seen" was published by Scholastic Inc. It was distributed through the school market.

Elizabeth read it and told me it was good. It is almost like a science fiction. Fifteen year old Bobby became invisible one morning. His life turned upside down. Coupled with the fact that his parents became injured in an automobile accident, he had a difficult time.

He met a blind girl and built a warm friendship through the mutual problem of visibility. The girl could not see others. Bobby could not be seen by others. Together they are a sound team. Bobby can be her eyes and she can be Bobby's body.

To solve his problem, Bobby stole some information from a retail giant with the girl's help. Based on findings from the girl's father and the girl's hunch, Bobby experimented and turned visible. The most touching part is the fact that Bobby wanted to remain friends but his friend started to have misgivings. While Bobby wants to become visible again, the person he found (another lady living in a different state) opted to remain invisible.

Should I have found this book ten years ago, I would have used it to teach my children
1. the basis of different types of friendships
2. a Chinese proverb that states that after a few days of being a beggar, even an ex-emperor may not want to return to his palace.