Celebrating Happiness Happens Day with... INVISIBLE ISABEL by Sally J. Pla, Illustrated by Tania de Regil - REVIEW!

It's National Happiness Happens Day and we're celebrating it bookish style with a new Children's Fiction title available now from Quill Tree Books. It's a story that explores themes of friendship, growing up, embracing our differences, active listening, family, and, ultimately, HAPPINESS. So, ladies and gents, readers young and young at heart, please join me as we get between the pages of...

Invisible Isabel

by

Sally J. Pla

Illustrated by

Tania de Regil

9780063268852

Quill Tree Books

About the books...

Isabel Beane is a shy girl who lives in a home full of havoc and hubbub and hullabaloo. With five siblings, there is always too much too much-ness.

At school, there’s a new girl who is immediately popular, but she’s also not very nice to one person—Isabel.

Isabel has never felt more invisible. She begins to get bombarded by fears, like being abandoned by her classmates and taking the upcoming Extremely Important standardized test. Her fears feel like worry-moths that flutter in her belly. With every passing day, they seem to get stronger and stronger. How can Invisible Isabel make people listen? 

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Growing up can be hard to do, but it gets THAT much harder when the comfort and support you're used to having just isn't there.  Our gal Isabel isn't having much luck at the moment.  Her house is chaotic, and she's really not a fan.  At school, there's a new girl in town, and for some reason, she's decided she doesn't like Isabel.  On her own, she likes the quiet, but her body and mind won't let her be.  She's become invisible to those around her, but not in the literal sense.  This sort of invisibility can hurt very much because while we don't need to be the center of everything, we all deserve to be seen.  When you take that away, it can make you second guess everything, including what your body is trying to tell you, which leads Isabel down a slippery slope.

I really felt for Isabel.  While I understand the extremes of her condition, we've all experienced some level of her feelings at one point or another in our lives.  It makes us insecure, withdrawn, and simply move to getting through the day instead of actually living it.  It's not enough to just survive.  We want to make connections, but on our terms, and for some, that requires a little extra thought, or the planning of the actual moment to make it more comfortable for BOTH parties.  When the girls left Isabel out, my heart was breaking for her.  When her family life was so overwhelming, I wanted to provide that room of silence for a moment's peace.  When her feelings were being looked over instead of looked at, I was dismayed, and hoping for a happy ending.  Don't worry, one comes, but not without a wake up call to all involved.

All in all, we get to see what it's like being neuro-divergent from the inside out, and how we can help those with this condition by simply giving them the grace they need to be themselves.  It's a great big wonderful world out there, but the differences between everyone are what help make it wonderful.  We need those different colors, those different feelings, those different ways of being in order to make the world go round.  There's no wrong way to be, unless it's you as anything other than yourself.  YOU DO YOU...and allow others that same chance.  You'll be amazed by the ripple effect it can have in the world around you, just like Isabel.

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About the author...
Sally J. Pla is the ALA Schneider Award-winning author of THE FIRE, THE WATER, AND MAUDIE McGINN, as well as the Dolly Gray Award-winning THE SOMEDAY BIRDS and several other popular novels and picture books. Her books have starred reviews and appear on many state awards lists and “best books” roundups. Sally, who is neurodivergent, has appeared on television and radio as an author and autism advocate. She also runs the website resource A Novel Mind (anovelmind.com). Sally believes in kindness, respect, and the beauty of different brains. We are all stars shining with different lights! Visit her at www.sallyjpla.com.



About the illustrator...
Tania de Regil is an author and illustrator from Mexico City. She is the creator of the ALA Notable Children’s Book A New Home as well as Something About Grandma, and she is the illustrator of Welcome to the Big Kids Club, written by Chelsea Clinton. She studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design in New York City and finished her studies in her home country of Mexico. She lives in Mexico City with her filmmaker husband, her son, and her two cats. For more information, visit: taniaderegil.com.

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Special thanks to the dream team at Blue Slip Media for the chance to bring this title to you and to the publisher for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, illustrator, or publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!