Invisible Inkling (Invisible Inkling, #1)

by Emily Jenkins

Other authorsHarry Bliss (Illustrator)
Hardcover, 2011

Status

Available

Call number

J3E.Jen

Publication

Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins) (First Edition)

Pages

154

Description

"When Hank Wolowitz runs into trouble in the form a of lunch-stealing bully, he finds an unlikely ally in an invisible refugee pumpkin-loving bandapat named Inkling"-- Provided by publisher.

Description

The thing about Hank's new friend Inkling is, he's invisible.No, not imaginary. Inkling is an invisible bandapat, a creature native to the Peruvian Woods of Mystery. (Or maybe it is the Ukrainian glaciers. Inkling hardly ever gets his stories straight.)

Now Inkling has found his way into Hank's apartment on his quest for squash, a bandapat favorite. But Hank has bigger problems than helping Inkling fend off maniac doggies and searching for pumpkins: Bruno Gillicut is a lunch-stealing, dirtbug caveperson and he's got to be stopped. And who better to help stand up to a bully than an invisible friend?

Collection

Barcode

3809

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

154 p.; 8.1 inches

ISBN

0061802204 / 9780061802201

Lexile

520L

User reviews

LibraryThing member smmorris
Hank Wolowitz, please call him Wolowitz, lives with his sister and parents in an apartment above their Brooklyn ice cream shop called the “Big Round Pumpkin: Ice Cream for a Happy World.” His best friend Wainscotting has moved to Iowa City leaving Wolowitz feeling alone. It doesn’t help that
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Wolowitz is being bullied at school by Gillicut who is taking his sprinkles at lunch each day Even worse – upon complaining to his teacher, Ms. Cherry, Wolowitz is given lame advice and later is accused of being the bully.

One day, while at the ice cream shop, Wolowitz drops sprinkles on the floor. When he reaches under the sink to get the fleeing sprinkles he feels something soft but sees nothing there. Later, he watches as a waffle cone walks itself to the edge of the counter and disappears. In the hallway of his apartment, with a neighbor’s dog on a leash, the dog goes crazy wild at an empty corner. Wolowitz swipes his hand through the area to show the canine that nothing is there and feels the furry object again, this time it is shaking in his would-be shoes. Wolowitz has found a lone bandapet.

Bandapets, an endangered species, need lots of Vitamin A, so they feed mainly on squash, which is getting scare in their own land. So this bandapet, named Inkling, has come to Brooklyn looking for squash, hoping he has hit the jackpot at the Big Round Pumpkin. Now that Wolowitz has saved Inkling from the dog Inkling is bound by the bandapet code of honor which requires the bandapet stay with the one who saved his life until he is the savior. Inkling and Hank, oops, Wolowitz spend afternoons playing games and eating, simply enjoying their friendship. Soon, Inkling realizes squash is not as plentiful as he thought in Brooklyn and must head north and Wolowitz must face his tormentor and get his sprinkles back. Together they work out a plan that may solve their problems.

Invisible Inkling is a fast read and a fun read. Hank Wolowitz is a lovable character and a typical 10 year old boy. Inkling comes along at the best time for Hank, right after his best friend moves away, leaving him without a close companion. With Inkling, Hank has both a new friend and a truly invisible friend. What kid wouldn’t love that! Hank’s father is still stuck in the 1960’s, talking like a hippie and extremely mellow with a sense of idealized peace. Not much help for a boy being bullied. Inkling is a chronic fibber, changing his background story enough to confuse even himself. Still this only endears Inkling more to Hank and the reader. This book won’t help anyone deal with bullies or learn where bandapets originally came from, but it is a funny read most kids will enjoy.

note: received from Netgalley, courtesy of the publishe
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LibraryThing member DragonLibrary8
My thoughts:
This was a fun, creative story about what it means to be a friend and to have a friend.

It would work well as a read-aloud for elementary students. The theme is friendship, and of course there is a bully! The reader is shown that sometimes there is more to a bully than just the desire to
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be mean. The author doesn't excuse the bully behavior, but sheds some light on what could be going on "behind the scenes" emotionally for the bully as well as for the bullied.
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LibraryThing member lindap69
If being a nerd with an over-active imagination was not enough of a problem, Hank's best fried moves away just before the start of 4th grade. Fortunately Inkling, a squash-loving invisible creature shows up and helps Hand through a series of problems especially the one with Gillicut the school
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bully. Very funny would make a good classroom read-aloud.
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LibraryThing member cay250
The thing about Hank's new friend Inkling is, he's invisible. No, "not" imaginary. Inkling is an invisible bandapat, a creature native to the Peruvian Woods of Mystery. (Or maybe it is the Ukrainian glaciers. Inkling hardly ever gets his stories straight.) Now Inkling has found his way into Hank's
Show More
apartment on his quest for squash, a bandapat favorite. But Hank has bigger problems than helping Inkling fend off maniac doggies and searching for pumpkins: Bruno Gillicut is a lunch-stealing, dirtbug caveperson and he's got to be stopped. And who better to help stand up to a bully than an invisible friend?
Show Less

Rating

½ (13 ratings; 3.8)

Awards

Call number

J3E.Jen
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