>Great children’s book. If you liked the “Harry Potter” franchise, “Alice in Wonderland” or “Peter Pan”, then Adam Gopnik’s book will delight you. There are elements from each but it doesn’t read like a rehash of every children’s book you remember.
Oliver Parker is a shy, somewhat backward boy that gets involved with ghost-like beings that appear in mirrors and reflective surfaces, is put upon a quest, discovers friends and acquaintances are involved as well. He finds an elderly friend who is familiar (way familiar) with the quest that he is put upon, he solves riddles and comes to find himself in the process.
The Characters are someone bigger-than-life, but afterall, it is a children’s book. Kids will enjoy the caricatures of kids, teachers, parents, friends, ghosts and the like. The tale is a simple one: a quest. It takes young Oliver into other realms of existence, deals with child-appropriate themes, has silly venues (exploding bubbles for example) and relies on other childhood books that will encourage kids to pick up other books that this alludes.
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Brick ONeil 