Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Who's Looking at You?
Nonfiction novelty book
For ages 3 to 5
Sterling Children's Books, 2012 ISBN: 978-1402779817
The expressions in people’s eyes tell us a lot about what they are feeling. Most of the time, people’s eyes are pretty much the same, though they vary when it comes eye color and the color of lashes and eyebrows. Animal eyes are another thing all together. The eyes of birds are very different from the eyes of mammals, and insects often have downright bizarre looking eyes.
In this novelty title we are going to look at twenty-four very different eyes. We are presented with a photo of each eye and we are told nothing about it. It is up to us to try to guess what kind of animal the eye belongs to. Once we have made our decision we can lift the photograph (which is a flap) and find out if we made the right guess. Under the flap we are provided with a photograph of the whole animal, its name, and some information about that animal. The information mostly focuses on the animal’s eyes and how they are perfectly adapted to suit that species.
For example, on the first page we see a picture of an eye that is surrounded by lightly wrinkled skin. The eye itself is golden in color. When we lift the flap we discover that the eye belongs to a gorilla and that these animals “use their eyes to show feelings such as happiness, fear, and curiosity – just like humans.”
Children are going to enjoy trying to figure out who the eyes in this book belong to. They might be able to figure out some quite easily, while others will be a little more challenging. Young readers will certainly enjoy looking at the photos and reading about the animals featured.
