Bob

Bob has been waiting for five long years, in the closet, playing with Legos and reading the big dictionary after teaching himself to read, waiting for Livy to return. And she is finally back, but she doesn’t seem to remember who Bob is. And a small green boy, one would think, would be hard to forget. Livy, ten and a half, almost, is visiting her grandmother in Australia after a five-year absence. The land is suffering a terrible drought, and Livy’s grandmother and her neighbors are having great difficulties. But Livy and Bob have important work to do. They need to find Bob’s people so he can go home. It’s been such a long time.

Authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass have created a bit of magic middle-grade readers and more will gobble up. The characters are perfectly enchanting, and the story, which draws on folklore to bring a very special twist, will satisfy every reader. The writing is beautiful, the characters are well-rounded and completely engaging, and the story is richly complex. This is a welcome addition to the middle-grade canon and will likely become a classic. Bob deserves readership beyond middle grade.