Bob

Author: Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead
Illustrator: Nicholas Gannon

© Date: 2018
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 203
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, a few well placed illustrations are included
Publisher Recommended Age: 7-10 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: No

Summary from Book: It’s been five years since Livy and her family have visited Livy’s grandmother in Australia. Now that Livy’s back, she has the feeling she’s forgotten something really, really important about Gran’s house.

It turns out she’s right.

Bob, a short greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, didn’t forget Livy or her promise. He’s been waiting five years for her to come back, hiding in a closet like she told him to. He can’t remember who-or what-he is, where he came from, or if he even has a family. But five years ago Livy promised she would help him find his way back home. Now it’s time to keep that promise.

Clue by clue, Livy and Bob will unravel the mystery of where Bob comes from and discover the kind of magic that lasts forever.

Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, two masterminds of classic middle-grade fiction, come together to craft an enduring tale about the magic of friendship and the power of childhood.

Note: This review is done from memory. I originally read this awhile ago.

Page Pig Thoughts: This is a sweet story of a girl finding her confidence to stay true to herself while being a good friend. The story slowly reveals details, which keep the mystery going and the pages turning. We giggled through several parts, particularly Bob and his chicken walk.

I liked this one the first time that I read it on my own, but also on my second read through with Page Pup. While I already knew the ending, I still enjoyed seeing how everything wove together. The illustrations are a bit magical themselves. The simple sepia tone color scheme seems to bring out the beauty.

The mention of books that Livy’s mother read when she was younger were fun because they are books that can actually be read. Although I was disappointed that my brief research into well dweller stories only produced some fairy tales with the flair for the creepy, but not really anything that resembled the characters in this story.

Page Pup gives this one a thumb up. I will likely go looking for other books by these authors.

Family Unit: Olivia (Livy) (10 years old) visits her Gran Nicholas, her mother and infant sister are there for a night, her father is back home

Conflict/Social Issues:

Livy tries to keep Bob a secret while she helps him find his way back home.
Bob doesn’t really like being left behind in the closet while Livy goes out to do other things.
Gran Nicholas and the people of her town are struggling to keep their homes because the long drought has made it difficult to keep their livestock.

Positive Items:

Livy finds her confidence to sleep on her own while her mother is no longer in the same house.
Livy gains enough confidence to do the things that she enjoys doing, regardless of her age. Her friend, Sarah, is self confident enough to stay true to herself.
The story highlights the little bit of mystery in life that even is we don’t understand everything, we can make a difference if we try.

Items of Interest:

Livy lives in Massachusetts, her grandmother lives in Australia. Livy’s mother moved to the US from Australia at some point.
Livy last visited Australia when she was 5. Livy does not remember much about it.
Bob does not remember where he came from or who is family is.
Everything around Gran Nicholas’s house is brown and dry. That region of Australia hasn’t had rain for years. The people are struggling to make ends meet.
When Livy was 5, she told Bob that he was a zombie because he is green. When Livy is 10, she tells Bob that she is pretty sure that he is not a zombie, but that she does not know wha the is.
Livy is trying to act/feel like an older/mature child. She tells Sarah, the neighbor friend, that she doesn’t play with dolls anymore. Sarah asks if Livy doesn’t play with dolls because she doesn’t want to or because she is too cool. Livy admits that dolls are sort of fun.
After her little sister was born, Livy does not do well sleeping away from her mother. Livy is a little nervous about her mother leaving her with Gran Nicholas wheel her mother goes to visit her friends.
Gran Nicholas has been getting letters from the bank that upset her. Gran Nicholas does not want to live anywhere else.
Sarah’s younger brother, Danny, has a tendency to explore and not return home when he is supposed to. Search parties are periodically formed to find him.
After Danny has wandered off and Livy is the one that find him, Danny is annoyed and says that he knows his way home.
Livy realizes that she must have fell down the well when she was 5 and that Bob had rescued her.
Bob always says that Livy saved him because all he remembers is she scary cat that she saved him from.
References are made to a fairy tale, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, where Sylvester wishes to be turned into a rock to save himself from a lion. But he couldn’t wish himself back and his parents looked everywhere for him.
Bob discovers that he is a well dweller. When he and Livy are by the well, his mother comes out and hugs him. When he gets wet, he remembers who he is and the important role that he plays. His family watches over wells and helps bring the rain.
After Bob is reunited with his mother, the rain returns to the area and everyone celebrates.
Livy is sad that she didn’t get to say goodbye to Bob. Since his magic is that people don’t notice him and/or forget about him, Bob realizes that since Livy was his friend and helped him find home again, she deserves to remember him. Bob secretly takes the magical chess pawn that helps Livy remember him from his mother’s hiding place, then he sneaks off to place it somewhere that Livy may or may not find it.