The Invisible Boy

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A.
KNOPF
Text copyright © 2013 by Trudy Ludwig
Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright © 2013 by Patrice Barton
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books,
a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ludwig, Trudy.
The invisible boy / by Trudy Ludwig.
p. cm.
Summary: Brian has always felt invisible at school, but when a new student, Justin, arrives, everything changes.
ISBN 978-1-58246-450-3 (trade) — ISBN 978-1-58246-451-0 (lib. bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-449-81820-6 (Ebook)
[1. Popularity—Fiction. 2. Friendship—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.L9763Inv 2013
[E]—dc23
2012042631
The illustrations in this book were created using pencil sketches painted digitally.
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
v3.1
Thank you, Brad, for always including me in your world. —T.J.L.
For Jerry —P.B.
Title Page
Copyright
First Page
Can you see Brian, the invisible boy? Even Mrs. Carlotti has trouble
noticing him in her classroom. She’s too busy dealing with Nathan and
Sophie.
Nathan has problems with what Mrs. Carlotti calls “volume control.” He
uses his outside voice inside too much.
Sophie whines and complains when she doesn’t get her way.
Nathan and Sophie take up a lot of space. Brian doesn’t.
When the bell rings for recess, Micah and J.T. take turns choosing kids
for their kickball teams.
The best players get picked first.
Then the best friends of the best players.
Then the friends of the best friends.
Only Brian is left, still waiting and hoping.
J.T. glances in Brian’s direction and, just as quickly, looks away. “We’ve
got enough players for each team,” he tells the others. “Let’s play ball!”
In the cafeteria, Madison and her friends talk about her birthday party.
“The rope swing over the pool was awesome!” says J.T.
“Yeah, so was the waterslide,” adds Fiona. “That was the best pool party
ever!”
“I’m so glad you guys had fun!” says Madison. Everybody did except
Brian. He wasn’t invited.
At Choosing Time, while the other kids play board games and read, Brian
sits at his table, doing what he loves to do best:
He draws fire-breathing dragons scaling tall buildings . . .
. . . space aliens locked in
intergalactic battles . . .
. . . greedy pirates
digging for treasure . . .
. . . and superheroes with
the power to make friends
wherever they go.
On Monday morning, Mrs. Carlotti introduces Justin, a new student, to
the class. Brian smiles shyly at him. Some of the other kids sneak looks at
Justin, trying to figure out if he’s cool enough to be their friend. They
haven’t quite made up their minds yet.
At lunch, Madison and J.T. watch Justin eat with chopsticks. “What’s
that?” asks Madison as she points at Justin’s food.
And the kids laugh. All of them, that is, except Brian. He sits there
wondering which is worse—being laughed at or feeling invisible.
The next day, when Justin goes to his cubby to put away his backpack, he
notices a piece of paper with his name on it.
At morning recess, Brian finds a piece of chalk on the ground and starts
drawing away.
“Hey, Justin,” Emilio calls out from the tetherball court, “you’re up
next.”
“Sorry, I gotta go,” says Justin. “By the way, that’s a really cool
drawing,” he adds before taking off.
Back in class, Mrs. Carlotti asks the kids to team up in twos or threes for
a special project. The kids scurry around the room to pair off. Brian heads
toward Justin.
“I’m already with Justin,” says Emilio. “Find someone else.”
Brian looks at the floor, wishing he could draw a hole right there to
swallow him up.
Mrs. Carlotti gives the class directions for the project. “Your assignment
is to work together to write a story about what you see in that photograph.”
“Whoa . . . cool!” says Emilio. “What kind of people do you think would
live in houses like that?”
“I don’t know, but I bet Brian could draw them to go with our story,”
says Justin.
Brian smiles as he takes out his lucky pen.
It’s lunchtime again—Brian’s least favorite part of the day. Another
twenty l-o-n-g minutes of kids talking and laughing with everyone else . . .
but him.
“Brian!” he hears someone shout. “Hey, Brian—over here!”
Brian turns and sees Justin waving him over. Emilio nods at Brian as he
makes room for him at the table.
Maybe, just maybe, Brian’s not so invisible after all.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
When the bell rings for recess, Micah and J.T. take turns choosing
kids for their kickball teams.
• How did Micah and J.T. choose players for their teams? Was it a
fair way to select players? Why or why not?
• Have you ever tried to join a group, game, or activity and other
kids wouldn’t let you? If yes, how did that make you feel?
• Have you ever intentionally excluded other kids from joining your
group, game, or activity? If yes, why?
“I’m so glad you guys had fun!” says Madison. Everybody did
except Brian. He wasn’t invited
• When Madison and her friends talked about her birthday party in
front of Brian, do you think they were just being thoughtless or
were they being mean to Brian on purpose? Explain.
• Was there a better way for Madison to handle the situation when
she and her friends started to talk about her party in front of those
kids who weren’t invited?
• Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation as Brian, with
kids talking about the fun things they’ve done with each other in
front of you and you weren’t included or invited? If yes, how did
that make you feel?
He sits there wondering which is worse—being laughed at or
feeling invisible.
• How many examples in this story can you find that show Brian’s
invisibility?
• Which do you think is worse—being laughed at or feeling
invisible? Explain.
• What did Brian do to help Justin feel better after J.T. and the other
kids made fun of the food he was eating?
Maybe, just maybe, Brian’s not so invisible after all.
• How many kids did it take in this story to help Brian begin to feel
less invisible?
• What specifically did Justin do to make Brian feel less invisible?
• Are there kids in your class, grade, or school who you see being
treated as if they are invisible? If yes, what could you do to make
them feel more valued and appreciated?
RECOMMENDED READING FOR ADULTS
Borba, Michele, EdD. Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me: The Top
25 Friendship Problems and How to Solve Them. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 2005.
Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop
Talking. New York: Crown, 2012.
Elman, Natalie Madorsky, PhD, and Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD. The

Unwritten Rules of Friendship: Simple Strategies to Help Your Child
Make Friends. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2003.
Rubin, Kenneth H., PhD, and Andrea Thompson. The Friendship Factor:
Helping Our Children Navigate Their Social World—and Why It
Matters for Their Success and Happiness. New York: Viking, 2002.
Thompson, Michael, PhD, Catherine O’Neill Grace, and Lawrence J.

Cohen, PhD. Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social
Lives of Children. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002.
RECOMMENDED READING FOR KIDS
Button, Lana. Willow’s Whispers. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press Ltd.,
2010.
Cave, Kathryn. Something Else. New York: Mondo Publishing, 1998.
Cooper, Scott. Speak Up and Get Along!: Learn the Mighty Might,
Thought Chop, and More Tools to Make Friends, Stop Teasing, and
Feel Good About Yourself. Minneapolis: Free Spirit, 2005.
Lovell, Patty. Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon. New York: G.P. Putnam’s
Sons, 2001.
Moss, Peggy. One of Us. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House, 2010.
Otoshi, Kathryn. Zero. San Rafael, CA: KO Kids Books, 2010.
Romain, Trevor. Cliques, Phonies & Other Baloney. Minneapolis: Free

Spirit, 1998.
Trudy Ludwig is a nationally acclaimed author whose work
focuses on helping children cope with and thrive in their social world. An
active member of the International Bullying Prevention Association, she is
a sought-after speaker who collaborates frequently with character-education
experts and organizations around the country.
Trudy’s books have received Mom’s Choice Gold Awards and a
Cooperative Children’s Book Center Best Book of the Year citation and
have been recognized as NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books
for Young People. Trudy lives with her family in Portland, Oregon. For
more information, visit trudyludwig.com.
Patrice Barton earned a BFA in studio art from the University of

Texas in Austin. Her books, which have received multiple starred reviews,
include Sweet Moon Baby by Karen Henry Clark, Rosie Sprout’s Time to
Shine by Allison Wortche, I Like Old Clothes by Mary Ann Hoberman, and
Mine! by Shutta Crum.
Patrice Barton lives in Texas with her husband and son.

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THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A.

Elman, Natalie Madorsky, PhD, and Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD. The

Thompson, Michael, PhD, Catherine O’Neill Grace, and Lawrence J.

Cave, Kathryn. Something Else. New York: Mondo Publishing, 1998.

Moss, Peggy. One of Us. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House, 2010.

Otoshi, Kathryn. Zero. San Rafael, CA: KO Kids Books, 2010.

Romain, Trevor. Cliques, Phonies & Other Baloney. Minneapolis: Free

Patrice Barton earned a BFA in studio art from the University of

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