I know that fans of Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead will want this book as soon as they see those names on the cover. For those who are not fans yet (and they will be), let me tell you about this story. Livy is visiting her grandmother in Australia. She hasn't been there to the family farm since she was five, and she doesn't remember that trip. But her mother has brought Livy and her baby sister Beth Ann to visit Gran and all of Mom's friends. When she goes up to see her bedroom, Livy discovers Bob. Who and what is Bob? Good question. He is the friend that has been waiting in Livy's closet for her return - over 5 years! Bob believes he is a zombie, because that is what Livy called him when she found him during her last visit. But is he? Or is he something else, maybe an invisible friend?
As Livy and Bob become reacquainted (Bob knows that word because he had a dictionary in the closet and he taught himself to read), they each find out what the other has been doing while they were apart. They also try to piece together what Bob is and where he came from. In the background of their story, readers see the bigger landscape of farmland suffering from drought and a town slowly fading away. Even if Livy can help Bob find his way home, who will save Gran's farm and those of the neighbors?
Warm, touching, laugh-out-loud funny at times, and very easy to lose oneself in...this is a story that will probably grace bookshelves next to The Tale of Despereaux and Charlotte's Web.
208 pages 978-1250166623 Ages 8-12
Recommended by: Suzanne Costner, Library Specialist, Tennessee USA
See more of her recommendations: fveslibrary.blogspot
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t’s been five years since Livy and her family have visited Livy’s grandmother in Australia. Now that she’s back, Livy has the feeling she’s forgotten something really, really important about Gran’s house.
It turns out she’s right.
Bob, a short, greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, didn’t forget Livy, or her promise. He’s been waiting five years for her to come back, hiding in a closet like she told him to. He can’t remember who―or what―he is, where he came from, or if he even has a family. But five years ago Livy promised she would help him find his way back home. Now it’s time to keep that promise.
Clue by clue, Livy and Bob will unravel the mystery of where Bob comes from, and discover the kind of magic that lasts forever.
Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, two masterminds of classic, middle-grade fiction come together to craft this magical story about the enduring power of friendship.--from the publisher
This title has Common Core connections.
