Parents' Night Fright (Invisible Inc #6) (Hello Reader! Level 4) [Paperback]

Elizabeth Levy (Author), Denise Brunkus (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up

Charlene's story is voted best in the class, but when she goes to read it at Parent's Night, it has vanished from her folder.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-This fast-paced contemporary story grabs readers' attention much like a prime-time sitcom. Together, Chip, an invisible boy; Justin, who is hearing impaired and a lip reader; and Charlene, a bold, dramatic leader, solve mysteries under the banner of Invisible Inc. This series entry concerns the disappearance of Charlene's prize-winning short story that she is supposed to read at Parents' Night. The trio follows a trail of suspects and clues before apprehending the culprit. The colorful cartoon illustrations are visually appealing and help readers follow the story. However, unless youngsters are familiar with the previous books, they may experience difficulty keeping the various characters straight. Beginning readers looking for engaging contemporary stories might turn to titles in Bill Cosby's "Little Bill" series (Scholastic), which unfold at a slower pace and feature bright, dynamic illustrations.
Pam Hopper Webb, Sandpoint Community Christian School, ID
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2^-4. When Charlene's story is chosen to be read at parents' night, she's ecstatic. Finally, she'll get her parents to focus on her instead of on her older brother. Unfortunately, when her turn comes to read, her story has disappeared. It's a perfect case for Invisible, Inc., the investigative trio comprising Charlene; Justin, whose deafness has caused him to become an outstanding lip reader; and Chip, who happens to be invisible. The mystery is very slight, but the interactions between the characters have solid appeal, and the meaty text, with plenty of quotes and descriptive passages, gives children a good opportunity to practice their reading skills. The high-quality illustrations in this Hello Reader! book are a wonderful bonus. Stephanie Zvirin

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Cartwheel Books (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590603248
• ISBN-13: 978-0590603249
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,072,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Parents' Night Fright (Invisible Inc #6) (Hello Reader! Level 4), September 16, 2011

By 

Anna M. Ligtenberg "AnnaLovesBooks" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Parents' Night Fright (Invisible Inc #6) (Hello Reader! Level 4) (Paperback)

ISBN 0590603248 - Printed in the U.S.A. Marked for ages 7 to 9. Paperback, 44 pages. Part of the Invisible Inc. series; part of the Hello Reader! series. By Elizabeth Levy, illustrated by Denise Brunkus.

The members of Invisible Inc. have their work cut out for them when the story that Charlene wrote, and is expected to read aloud on Parents' Night, disappears. After a couple of false starts, they find the culprit and save the night.

I'm not really a fan of this story, mostly because it's SO "fast paced" that it seems to skip some of the niceties, so to speak, of good writing. Two children who are new students at Charlene's school are introduced in an almost passing fashion. Both then become suspects in the theft of Charlene's paper. This feels surprisingly mean-spirited, especially when no apology is offered, not even to the one who was actually confronted as a suspect. The amount of namecalling, mostly between Charlene and her brothers, feels authentic but is bound to bother some parents. Author Elizabeth Levy failed to impress, but illustrator Denise Brunkus did an excellent job. The target age group for this book is just about done with illustrated stories, but Brunkus's work has the appearance of Archie-comics style drawings, colorful and fun but still realistic - even with Chip, the invisible boy. I'd read more of the series, out of curiosity, and certainly recommend it to fans of the series, but wouldn't suggest it to anyone else.

- AnnaLovesBooks