What a great story about how important it is to help others, and not judge them. The power of friendship. I wish more was said about the invisible thread. So many kids have non traditional families and need to know family can be defined many ways.

Wow - what an amazing story!!! I came across the "Laura and Maurice" story while teaching 7th grade. Our new curriculum features "A Simple Act" which delves into their first meeting and beginning of their friendship, and "An Invisible Thread" which focuses more on how their friendship has evolved over the years. My students love both of these stories and always ask if they can "read the real thing" and "can Laura come to our school?" After I purchased and read An Invisible Thread, I found myself wishing and hoping that a Young Adult version of this book would be published, because there is so much more to Laura and Maurice's friendship that my students could connect and relate to. Maurice's life, and the struggles he faced on a daily basis can serve as an inspiration to my students, and show them the sky's the limit if they are willing to work hard and be a "straight arrow." I am grateful to Laura, Alex, and Maurice for coming out with this adapted version to hopefully reach and inspire more young readers! I have already asked my principal to order copies of this book for next year - with any luck, it'll be flying off the shelves in no time!! Well done!

A Slender Thread is a memoir about the relationship that develops when a working whitewoman invests time mentoring and befriending a young African-American boy who begs for money on the streets in 1986. Told in simple prose from Maurice’s point of view, the novel invites the reader to experience a world known to the poor on the streets of New York. It presents a harsh reality but is viewed through a little boy’s eyes who only knows his mother’s love and the lessons his family teaches him to prepare him for life on the streets. When Laura enters his life, she presents him with different life lessons and an alternative way to live. These lessons prove to be pivoting to young Maurice as he makes choices in his schooling, his finances, and his relationships. This would be a wonderful novel to explore the challenges of living in poverty.

I want to hug this book because people are amazing. Its message of kindness, trust, and friendship renews my faith in humanity in a BIG way. It’s a must-read, must-own, must-discuss true story. Laura first meets Maurice when he’s 11-years-old and begging on the street corner. First, she walks away. Then, she returns and says she’d like to buy him a meal at McDonald’s but has one condition– that she gets to eat with him. He is always hungry so he finds Laura again and she takes him to dinner again. We learn that there is never any food at his apartment, a lot of people living there including uncles and sisters, and a mother whose alcoholism means she’s not a reliable caretaker. Laura makes a commitment to Maurice and they eat dinner together every Monday. For YEARS. Laura also packs him lunches for school and buys him outfits because he only had owned one dirty pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. (Which was yet another reason not to go to school.) What I like so much is how Laura treats Marice with respect and friendship — never, ever pity. She makes their time together educational, too — cooking from a recipe, sharing a Christmas experience for the first time, and things like that. Marice is an adult now with his own family and is still close friends with Laura. WOW!

According to a Chinese proverb, "An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet..." The Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski is appropriately named because of this idea. Laura, a USA Today businesswoman meets Maurice, an 11 year old boy who is panhandling on the streets of NYC by chance. He is out begging for money, Laura walks past him, then something makes her stop. She brings Maurice to lunch at McDonalds and their unlikely friendship begins.

This book is an important book for many reasons. The Young Reader's Edition leaves some devastating details out that the original book published in 2011 describes. Young readers (5th grade and beyond) will connect with the readability of the text, but also will develop an empathy and understanding of how difficult life can be when living in poverty. Maurice represents so many American children who are fighting for survival with little or no help from caring adults. Maurice never knew when his next meal would be. When he started to meet Laura on Monday evenings, she would buy him a meal. Many times this would be the only one for Maurice for several days. Maurice moved over 20 times in his younger years. Home and shelter were not constants. When he did live under a roof, he oftentimes slept in a closet and awoke to count up to 12 people sleeping in a one room apartment.

Many of Maurice's family members turned to drugs and violence. Maurice continued to believe in and love his mother until her passing. He reconciled with his father after finding out he was dying of an incurable disease. All too common in families who live in poverty who have all the odds against them.

Maurice stayed in touch with Laura for years, visiting her family, celebrating holidays together. Maurice did lose touch with Laura around the time he turned 18 due to many circumstances. They reconnected and remain friends. At Laura's 50th birthday party, Maurice gave a touching toast to his guardian angel and thanked her for saving his life. Laura thought the same for Maurice. Throughout the book readers learn that Laura did not have a picturesque and loving upbringing. Her father often drank and lashed out violently at her mother, her younger brother Frank, and sometimes even to her. Laura's father and Maurice's mother both gave in to their "sicknesses" that turned them into totally different people. Both Laura and Maurice connected on this similarity and helped each other learn that you can have a successful future and overcome childhood trauma.

This book is important not only for readers who normally wouldn't connect to a life like Maurice's but especially for those readers that can. I will be recommending this book to my students.