SLIGHTLY INVISIBLE

Author and Illustrator: Lauren Child
BUY – Slightly Invisible (Charlie and Lola)

This story brilliantly plays with what happens when an older child has a friend over to play and does not want the very attached younger sibling around.

Charlie has a little sister called Lola. He likes her loads but she always want to know what he’s up to, wants to do what he’s doing and NEVER wants to be anywhere without him.

Sometimes he just wants his own time with his friend Marv. The boys love looking for strange and tricky creatures, Lola does not like this game and prefers tea parties.

Full of imagination and wonderful pictures this book will make you chuckle each time Lola interrupts the boys games and in the end gets the better of them with her own clever game.

There is no malice, nor angry faces or tantrums!

The story is told from the point of view of whoever is speaking in the age appropriate language of that child.

One day Charlie says, “Today Lola, just for once. I want to play with Marv by myself on my own.”

But little Lola can’t stop herself from asking questions and soon Charlie says, “LOLA!” I say, will you stop bothering us and interrupting!”.

Sitting under the table with her rabbit and tea set Lola respectfully replies, “I will NOT do bothering and I will NOT do interrupting . You won’t even know I am here.”

The boys make their invisibility potion and put it in the fridge while they sail twice around the world.

Finding not one tricky creature they decide to stop and have a snack, but there in the kitchen is a terrifically tricky creature…there is no escape! Reaching for the invisibility potion Charlie finds someone has drunk it!

Cheeky Lola makes up a marvellous story about her own (now invisible) friend who drank the potion and leads the boys on in a merry frolic of her own.

Marv says “WHAT? Your friend Soren Lorensen ate all the biscuits?” Lola says, ” Oh yes, I am afraid Soren Lorensen is quite greedy.”

In a world of half make believe and half truth the children play along together in a new game which involves an the invisible voice of Soren Lorensen, three glasses of pink milk, a little cart and a rabbit!

Suddenly there he is the most strange and terrifyingly tricky creature in the universe!
“Show him the rabbit!” says Lola.

And they have caught him just like that…lured by the immanent tea party he has been defeated!

Oh and ” Soren Lorensen would like to drink his pink milk all by himself, with just me on his own.”

This is a masterpiece of children’s play and fantasy. The pictures are graphic and exciting with the text twisting in bursts across the page. It is easy to read.

The eyes of the children are large and strangely elongated, divisively using the pupils to draw attention to the children’s thoughts.
Slightly Invisible is a delightful story which children and grown-ups will enjoy discovering themselves in.