What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible by Ross Welford

📘📘📘 out of 5  

Age Range: KS2

Themes: Friendship, funny, early-teen life, bullying, family...

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2017

ISBN Number: 978-0-00-815635-0

Break Down: 405 pages of story. Broken down into 3 main parts, followed by 'Three Weeks Later', 'One Week Later' and 'Two More Weeks Later'. The book has 96 chapters - I know that sounds a lot and therefore super scary, but I promise they are very short chapters - the shortest being half a page and the longest about 5 pages in length. 

  

Blurb: Twelve-year-old Ethel only meant to cure her spots, not turn herself invisible.
It's terrifying at first - and exciting - but the effect fails to wear off and Ethel is thrown into a heart-stopping adventure as she struggles to conceal her invisibility while uncovering the biggest secret of all: who she really is.

My thoughts: I had a slight lull in my reading enthusiasm over the half term break - which is a shame as I had seen it as the perfect chance to get some serious reading and blogging done. I suspect however that the break probably did me good. Prior to half term I spent two weeks working with an awesome year 5 class who for the most part were positive about reading. Over the course of the 2 weeks we engaged in snippets of book talk here and there. In this short time momentum gained for some individuals and soon they were happily recommending books to each other and to me. This was one of those such books. I grabbed a copy of this and a couple others the next time I was in a book shop and here we are. 

I very much enjoyed the humour throughout this book. It is written in first person which I found tricky at first having read some much written from outside perspectives however I very much liked the way it is written. I also love the short chapters, as a reader this is something that really helps me sometimes. When a book has short chapters, I am always trying to squeeze one more in before x or y task and rarely stop mid chapter unless the cat is coughing up a fur ball or the potatoes are boiling over.  

I only realised when I was half way through this that I have a copy of 'Time Travelling with a Hamster' also by Ross Welford in my to read pile

Brief synopsis (for those teachers/parents who don't have time to read it - SPOILERS!):

This book has some sensitive themes within which I am more than happy to share with children but bare in mind when choosing a book, I wouldn't use a book as a class novel where a pupils experience/family life is too closely reflected. The themes I would be cautious of here are that the main character lives with her gran as her mum died when she was young and her dad persuaded his career. There are different explanations of her mothers death from cancer, due to a drug overdose, before Ethel learns she actually had a heart attack due to her past lifestyle. She also learns her mum was a famous singer and that she was given a completely different name at birth but renamed by her grandmother to hide her identity and shelter her from the media. Her friend Boyd, is often bullied by the other children and it is only near the end of the book we learn his dad has been imprisoned and his mum is struggling with her mental health. Boyd therefore often has to take on more responsibility. 

I would definitely say this is not a book to shy away from because all of the issues tackled are handled very well, for me it is just about knowing your class.

• Ethel isn't especially popular at school, in fact she is struggling with friends. She is also battling a serious bout of acne. 
• Boyd is also vastly unpopular amongst his peers and also subject to regular bullying. However at the beginning of the book Ethel isn't taken by the idea of Boyd's company. 
• A coincidental set of events lead to Ethel becoming invisible and at that moment Boyd is the only person she can tell. The pair tackle the dilemma together with various ups and downs. Thankfully Ethel's invisibility is temporary, however this isn't the last time Ethel becomes invisible.
• Ethel and Boyd decide to stand up to their tormentors when they try to reveal Ethel's secret of invisibility to the world. 
• Just as the pair think they are winning the battle against the bullies, it all goes a bit pear shaped, as Ethel fears she may have become permanently invisible. 
• Meanwhile her gran has been secretive and her Great gran has been trying to pass secret messages to Ethel. Ethel finally works out that her dad has come back to find her and in her moment of panic phones for his help. Their first meeting is one in which Ethel is invisible and wearing a mask and glittery wig to hide this fact. She reveals all and he proves to be the dad she hoped, sticking by and supporting her. 
• However when it comes to telling her Gran and Great-Gran Ethel loses her cool and vents all the anger that has been building, she runs off. 
• I hate to spoil the ending - so I won't. All you need to know is it all comes together in the end.

Teaching ideas: 
I haven't as yet used this book in the classroom and am keen to get this blog post ASAP so won't hoover on the teaching ideas aspect, if any come to mind I will come back and add them. If you have any ideas please comment to share them with others.