Bob

Bob
Wendy Mass & Rebecca Stead
Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, May, 2018
199 pages
Grades 3-6
Fantasy

Ten-year-old Livy travels back to the Australian Outback to visit her grandmother for the first time in five years. She can remember very little about that long ago visit, much to the disappointment of her grandmother, and feels like there is something very important she has forgotten. The strange feeling leads her upstairs to her old room, where she opens the closet door to find a little green creature in a chicken suit waiting for her. The creature is relieved that Livy is back and has been patiently waiting for her all of these long five years. His name is Bob and both he and Livy aren't sure exactly what kind of creature he is (zombie? imaginary friend?) or where he comes from. Livy and Bob quickly become reacquainted and she is determined to help him find his identity and home. Remembering Bob seems to be linked to a chess piece and gradually, as Livy rolls the black pawn in her hand, the details and adventures of her prior visit begin to return. When a neighbor boy disappears, Livy and Gran join the search and, of course, Bob follows behind. What they find becomes so much more than simply the lost boy. They stumble upon the key to Bob’s lineage and Livy at last has a chance to set things right.

Two powerhouse children's book authors have teamed up to write a creative and fresh new story. Stead wrote the Livy chapters and Mass wrote the Bob chapters, yet you would never know that two different authors penned the different voices. Alternating chapters and narrators reveal the story and readers are always clear whose eyes we are seeing through, yet the transitions feel seamless. As I read this story I was not sure what Bob would turn out to be. My money was on an imaginary friend. I was surprised at the outcome and pleased with the satisfying integration with another plot-point. Readers of all abilities and genders will enjoy this book. The finished product will have illustrations contributed by Nicholas Gannon, which should be great judging from the cover art. As someone who forgets everything, let alone events from five years previous, I appreciate the conveyance of a magical chess piece and envy Livy the gift of her memories returning. Readers will enjoy discovering more of Bob's story right along with Livy and draw their own conclusions along the way. The two protagonists are likable characters, loyal friends, and fun playmates. Livy learn to grow up as the story progresses and recognizes the differences between herself now and the five-year-old Livy, helping her to accept the responsibility of becoming a big sister and sharing her beloved mother. A little gem of a book.