Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy

June 1, 2004
Readers return to Bloor's Academy in the paper-over-board Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy by Jenny Nimmo. This third installment in the series finds Charlie and friends helping a boy who was turned invisible by a magic snake, as punishment for snooping. An ancient, hypnotic shape-shifter arrives and attempts to thwart their efforts, a formidable foe for the magically endowed students. .

August 1, 2004
Gr 4-7-In this third installment in the series, another semester at Bloor Academy is about to begin, and, as usual, chaos ensues. At home, Charlie's Uncle Paton disappears, then returns ill and powerless. Charlie's friend Benjamin heads off to Hong Kong, and his grandmother Maisie leaves to take care of her sick sister. At the same time, a new and sinister student named Belle arrives and quickly establishes herself as a force to be reckoned with. A new art teacher has joined the staff to find his younger brother, Ollie Sparks, turned invisible by a blue boa (snake, though there are feathers involved) controlled by the evil Ezekiel Bloor. Charlie and his friends try to come up with ways to help Ollie and Billy Raven, the poor orphan being manipulated and tormented by the Bloor clan. One of the strengths of this story (and the whole series) is the way both regular people and those who are magically endowed work toward common goals. A weakness is the lack of progress toward identifying and rescuing Charlie's father, who is barely mentioned in this outing. Still, it's a wild roller-coaster ride of a story, and will more than satisfy not only fans of this series, but those who are exhibiting symptoms of Harry Potter withdrawal.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2004
Gr. 5-7. The series continues with Charlie Bone and his friends at Bloor Academy, where, this time, they must save Ollie Sparks, who has become invisible following an encounter with a magical blue boa constrictor. Charlie has other problems, too: his nasty aunts are definitely up to something mean. When Charlie's uncle Paton disappears and a new girl with eyes that constantly change color shows up at his house, the adventure is on! Characters are introduced quickly at the beginning, but it isn't necessary to have read the first two books to enjoy this one. Readers will quickly sort out the personalities and settle into the story of magically talented friends--from Billy who speaks to animals to Tancred who can call down the weather--coming together to solve a mystery. The novel's length may be initially daunting for some young readers, but the type is large and generously spaced. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2005
Back at Bloor's Academy for magically endowed children, Charlie Bone finds a classmate turned invisible by a magic snake, his uncle is hexed by his aunts, and the friendly art teacher is kidnapped. Although the setting isn't thoroughly inhabited and the focus sometimes strays from the constant danger to, say, the school play, this Harry Potter wannabe is getting into its stride.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)