Invisible Inkling

by Emily Jenkins, Harry Bliss (Illustrator)

Overview

From award-winning author Emily Jenkins and New York Times bestselling illustrator Harry Bliss comes the first book in a sweet, quirky chapter book series about a boy and his invisible friend, Inkling. Perfect for fans of Clementine and Ivy and Bean. This series is a great choice for emerging readers who are ready for chapter books.

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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062084514
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Series:	Invisible Inkling , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	165
Lexile:	570L (what's this?)
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	1 - 12 Years

About the Author

Emily Jenkins is the author of two previous books about Hank and Inkling. She also wrote the chapter books Toys Go Out, Toy Dance Party, and Toys Come Home, plus a lot of picture books, including Lemonade in Winter, That New Animal, and Skunkdog. She bakes excellent pumpkin bread and, when swimming, wears a purple swim cap and blue goggles.

New York Times bestselling artist Harry Bliss is a cartoonist and cover artist for the New Yorker magazine. He is the author and illustrator of Bailey and Luke on the Loose and the illustrator of A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech, Which Would You Rather Be? by William Steig, Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin, and Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo. His self-titled single panel gag cartoon Bliss appears in newspapers internationally. He lives in New Hampshire. You can visit him online at harrybliss.com.

What People are Saying About This

Paul O. Zelinsky

“I love INVISIBLE INKLING, so funny and satisfying and yet poised for the next installment.”

Sara Pennypacker

INVISIBLE INKLING is charming, fresh, and funny. Now I want an invisible friend of my own!

Editorial Reviews

Hank Wolowitz isn't sure he can face fourth grade now that his best friend has moved away. But in Jenkins's (Toy Dance Party) thoughtfully grounded, gently kooky chapter book, Hank finds surprising new allies that help him deal with the pain of his loss and with a school bully. An ordinary day at Hank's family's Brooklyn ice cream shop becomes an unforgettable one when Hank reaches for a long-lost Lego propeller under the kitchen sink and discovers something soft, furry—and invisible. Turns out the creature is an invisible "bandapat" named Inkling from "the Peruvian Woods of Mystery." Or maybe Ukraine. When Hank saves Inkling from the neighbor's dog, the critter vows to repay the favor. Inkling's presence, along with his large appetite and hankering for squash, puts Hank in some humorous tight spots. Jenkins colors her mostly realistic tale with enough bits of mystery and silliness to hold readers' attention. Even those who don't know what to make of Inkling can appreciate that Hank's sentiments and actions always ring true. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 7–10. (May)

Publishers Weekly

INVISIBLE INKLING is charming, fresh, and funny. Now I want an invisible friend of my own! — Sara Pennypacker, author of the New York Times bestselling Clementine series

“Gently humorous and nicely realistic (with the obvious exception of the invisible Peruvian Bandapat). Anyone who has ever had an imaginary friend will appreciate sassy Inkling (who’s invisible-not imaginary).” — Kirkus Reviews

“Thoughtfully grounded, gently kooky chapter book. Jenkins colors her mostly realistic tale with enough bits of mystery and silliness to hold readers’ attention” — Publishers Weekly

“A mix of wild humor, fantasy, and sadness, this series starter offers a moving story about defeating bullies. The story will grab readers with its comedy and captivating sidekick.” — Booklist

“I love INVISIBLE INKLING, so funny and satisfying and yet poised for the next installment.” — Paul O. Zelinsky

From the Publisher

A mix of wild humor, fantasy, and sadness, this series starter offers a moving story about defeating bullies. The story will grab readers with its comedy and captivating sidekick.

Booklist

INVISIBLE INKLING is charming, fresh, and funny. Now I want an invisible friend of my own!

Sara Pennypacker

I love INVISIBLE INKLING, so funny and satisfying and yet poised for the next installment.

Paul O. Zelinsky

A mix of wild humor, fantasy, and sadness, this series starter offers a moving story about defeating bullies. The story will grab readers with its comedy and captivating sidekick.

Booklist

Gr 2–4—Hank is about to start school without his best friend, who has moved from Brooklyn to Iowa. While reaching for a lost Lego piece under a sink in his parents' ice-cream store, the fourth grader discovers something furry, warm, and invisible. The creature introduces himself as Inkling, an invisible bandapat native to the Peruvian Woods of Mystery. The only one of his kind left, he has come in search of squash, the food he needs to survive, having noticed a newspaper ad for Hank's family's shop, the Big Round Pumpkin. Inkling often tells lies, so Hank is not sure what to believe. Feeling uneasy about facing school without his buddy, he invites Inkling along, and the bandapat helps him to deal with a bully who steals the best parts of his lunch. Bliss's humorous cartoon illustrations help move the story along. Young chapter-book readers will relate to Hank's predicament, enjoy his wild imagination, and wonder whether Inkling is real until the very end.—Kris Hickey, Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH

School Library Journal

Nine-year-old Hank Wolowitz fears the prospect of fourth grade at New York's PS 166 without friends—his best friend Alexander just moved away (against his will). Sasha Chin from downstairs doesn't really count as a friend, because she has three good girl friends she hangs out with half the time. When Hank reaches for a Lego piece under the sink of his family's ice-cream shop, Big Round Pumpkin, and feels fur where it shouldn't be and days later sees a waffle cone disappear bite by bite, he knows something is fishy. After Rootbeer, the neighbor's dog, goes bananas barking at nothing in the hallway, Hank discovers he has accidentally saved an invisible, furry Bandapat named Inkling. Inkling, who loves squash and can be a stranger to the truth, feels he owes Hank a debt and must stick around until he can save Hank's life. An opportunity for that just might arise, since bully Bruno Gillicut has decided that Hank annoys him and must pay by forking over his dessert at lunch every day. Jenkins' possible series starter (given the hints at the close) is a gently humorous and nicely realistic (with the obvious exception of the invisible Peruvian Bandapat) tale about coping with the loss of a lifelong best friend. (The book will feature Bliss' signature black-and-white illustrations, but no art was available at the time of review.) Anyone who who has ever had an imaginary friend will appreciate sassy Inkling (who's invisible—not imaginary). (Fantasy. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews