They haven’t quite made up their minds yet.” “Some of the other kids sneak looks at Justin trying to figure out if he’s cool enough to be their friend.
Having grown up as ‘the new kid’ switching schools often, the notion that it only takes one outstretched handresonated strongly.īrian, a quiet, artistic boy, (“invisible” in the peer pack of school cliques and tribes) befriends new student, Justin amidst the twittering of classmates’ judgmental whispers which casts an uneasy, queasy realness reminiscent enough to put a lump in your throat in ‘will they or won’t they’ acceptance patterns that Trudy Ludwig captures well, The initial appeal of The Invisible Boy was very personal to me. It’s a “big picture” story in a little book with pictures. I can’t think of a better “positive pick” to open up mindfulness and “Start Empathy” as it gently nudges toward solid “aha” moments by guiding without shoving. The Invisible Boy actually served up a sidewinder to me from an adult perspective, as it represents a much wider, over-arching dialogue about “invisibility” in our culture and its impact on self-worth, social structures and the core human need to “matter” in our world.Īt its basic core, The Invisible Boy is a sweet anti-bullying parable for social emotional learning that’s proactive and preventive with a ‘get ‘em while they’re young’ simplicity that seeds empathy early on. It’s particularly timely since May is mental health awareness month, and new research is connecting the dots between bullying behaviors, social shunning and PTSD in children and teens.And the World Health Organization has even called for a stronger focus on adolescent health, with depression the predominant cause of illnessbetween the ages of 10-19 among BOTH genders.Ĭlearly “feeling invisible” resonates as a recurring theme that reverberates at virtually every age and stage, far beyond schoolyard angst and relational aggression, so today I’m focusing on The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig, a children’s “kidlit” version of this whopper of a conversation.
Subtle silent rejection and social shunning has been making the rounds in media a lot recently, from the “Louis” TV episode about fat phobic dating dodges to the acclaimed new documentary Being Ginger.Įverywhere people are opening up highly visible conversations about invisibility.
From social shunning and ostracism within families,to homeless and disenfranchised groups, the holidays bring out a lot of invisibility…keep an eye out with random acts of kindness… 24, 2015 We’re about to volunteer at a children’s homeless shelter doing activities with kids and it reminded me about this post and how I’ve ‘seen so much invisibility’ over the holiday season particularly.
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