Lauren Child does it again with her style in this fun book, capturing the real, yet playful, side of the situation. I loved that while reading this book I could feel it coming alive, as if I were experiencing it freshly again. It's been a while since I was little, but I still can relate so much to both the older sibling and the younger, seeing as I'm a miiddle-child. Lauren's illustrations help to emphasize her theme here, and I was still able to pick up on the little quirks like always (such as the entrance quote, the words popping on the pages, the pictures telling some unspoken things, etc.). ( )

Charlie loves his sister Lola but she is always getting in the way and constantly wants to hang out with him and his friends. When Charlie and his friend Marv try to catch creepy creature, Lola keeps interrupting so they decide to make an invisible potion. Lola and her friend Soren Lorensen drink the potion and something crazy happens. Lola stays visible but her friend drank much more than her and he is completely invisible. Because of this Soren Lorensen uses invisibility to his advantage and he catches the creepiest, scariest and nastiest creature in the whole universe. I really liked this book, it shows the great imagination that these characters have. The only thing that I do not like is the style of the text. A lot of pages have the sentences zig-zagging through out page and it is very frustrating trying to follow. I do not think it would be practical to read this to students unless you really practiced because I got lost trying to read this book so many times. I noticed Lauren Child does this a lot in her books but for this one it was too much and I could not follow the text. ( )

Charlie and his best friend Marv make an invisible potion to stop Lola from interrupting them while they search for strange and tricky creatures. As soon as Marv and Charlie realize the potion they were keeping in the fridge was missing, they hear a voice. Lola is visible, but she claims that her friend Soren Lorensen has drank more potion than she has. Soren is invisible and so is his voice. Lola tricks Marv and Charlie into letting Soren and Lola help them search for the creatures.
Again, Lauren Child’s placement of the words on the pages is playful, but sometimes frustrating to read. Children will like looking for Soren whose character is actually invisible in the book. Soren’s character is drawn in clear film that has texture so the children will be able to “see” and feel the invisible Soren. ( )

This book is about Charlie needing some space from Lola so he can play with his friend without his little sister interrupting. Lola then makes up her own invisible friend. Lola says her friend can do all kinds of things, which intrigues Charlie and his friend. In the end, thanks to Lola's creative imagination, she and Charlie end up playing together.

Lauren Child's illustrations in this book were fantastic because you can see the invisible friend throughout the book. The story represents what it can be like when a little sister wants to play with her older brother, but the older brother does not feel the same way. It shows what a real-life sibling relationship can sometimes be like. This is a great story for younger children. I would probably stop this book at third grade. ( )

A cute book about siblings needed their own space and the classic memory of invisible friends. A really enjoyable series with unique illustrations. ( )