Quiet! You're Invisible

by Margaret Meacham

With his mother expecting a baby and a bully living next door, fifth-grader Hoby Hobson has enough to worry about even before Zirc, a time-traveling boy who can sometimes be invisible, shows up in his backyard.

114 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Margaret Meacham is the award-winning author of fourteen novels for children and young adults, and a mystery novel set on the Chesapeake Bay. Her books include Oyster Moon which has recently been optioned for film by Green Films LLC, Secret of Heron Creek, Quiet! You’re Invisible, A Mid-Semester Night’s Dream, and A Fairy’s Guide to Understanding Humans. Her books are sold internationally, and two titles have been translated into French and German. She has written reviews, articles and short stories for numerous publications including Library Journal, Country Magazine, Successful Student Magazine, Maryland Magazine, Highlights for Children, Baltimore Magazine, and The Baltimore Sun. She is currently working on a mystery novel set on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This may appeal to struggling fifth graders as they relate to being bullied, and thinking how cool it would be to have an invisible friend. The reading level, short length and large font also will help make this accessible to youngsters.
Meacham wove in alien words, and neatly allows the reader to understand them. But it is interesting that not only can Zirc speak English but write it as well (what if he had landed during another time, say pre-Columbus?) In the future, will ten-year olds still be using pencil and paper?
I enjoyed Hoby’s dog, “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…” The story leaves us wondering if these things really did happen, or are we to side with his teachers and best friends, who think he’s just under a lot of stress, throw in a potential girlriend, and worry about being able to be a good big brother? I wonder about the event in the copy room. If the copier spewed out so many copies and she had to pick them up, wouldn’t the secretary notice that they were an answer sheet and be very suspicious?
I wonder why bullies are portrayed as big and ugly-looking, when in real life, they often do not stand out physically. Perhaps in the mind of the one being bullied, they are large and ugly.

[Pat Salvatini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifth grader Hoby Hobson is having problems – his mom is pregnant and he’s being tormented by the neighborhood bully. Now he’s helping Zirc Orflandu return to the 31st century. His parents, teachers, and friends are becoming worried about his increasingly odd behavior. Can he avoid getting clobbered by the bully while sending Zirc forward in time? The author uses well developed characters and Zirc’s colorful language help to propel the story along. The added Time Traveler’s Dictionary helps make this a good story for early science fiction fans.

[Tamra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first 25 pages before I checked out. I loved Meacham's Fairy book, but this one I couldn't get into. Maybe because the main character is a boy or because it's trying to be a really-dumbed-down sci-fi book or because I just didn't like the writing in this one? Whatever the case, I unfortunately wasn't impressed.

Which is a shame. I wanted to be Margaret Meacham's biggest fan!