This book is very powerful, especially for children who could be going through hard times; it allows all children to learn about how it is okay to feel alone but you never are truly alone. Helping others also defeats any form of loneliness of sadness because it makes you as a person feel better. Moving areas/dealing with ‘adult’ problems (i.e. the financial problems) are what Isabella, the main character, learns about. She is a young girl ging through many changes and for children to be exposed by this it means that children learn to not judge but also look out for their friends If they seem quiet or down.

Isobel and her family don't have much but, as long as they have each other, then they know they will be truly happy. This is tested, though, when one day they have to uproot and move to the other side of the town. Away from the place she called home for so long and that was full of so many happy memories, Isobel soon realises that in the eyes of the any others, she is invisible. This feeling will, I am sure, resonate with many readers - both old and young - and is the primary reason for there being such an emotional connection to this story. However, rather than letting her invisibility define her, Isobel soon finds a way to make herself shine again....and in doing so, changes the perception of her new neighbourhood, too. What was your favourite book when you were a child?Tim and Tobias is the first book in the ‘Flight Path to Reading’ reading scheme and was written by Sheila K. McCullagh. It was the first book that I remember loving and was (guess what) atmospheric, magical and slightly dark. With The Invisible, Tom Percival has created one of the most beautiful books I have read in recent years. Centred around Isabel, a young girl who lives with her family, we are treated to a story that teaches us the important lesson that everyone in the world has a right to belong.

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What book do you wish you had written?‘How I came up with the meaning of life – A true story’ by Tom Percival. Because then I’d have nothing to keep me up at night!

Tom Percival has based this story on his own lived experiences. There are too many still living this experience.

The turning point in Isabel’s fortunes comes when she notices an old lady planting flowers in empty paint pots and a homeless man feeding the birds. Isabel joins in, helping with their endeavours and this creates a ripple across the community as more and more people get involved. The ripple becomes a wave, the wave becomes a tsunami of positive community action. Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood.