Whale Eyes is a beautiful, engaging, and interactive memoir sharing James’s childhood as a kid with misaligned eyes. With interactive illustrations by Brian Rea, readers get to see how James sees; where books are held upside down, words jump across the page, strings are held up to eyes to look for an ‘X’. Whale Eyes was the 2026 Schneider Family Book Award Honor, and it is a wonderful read for both adults and children alike as it leads to better understanding and compassion for kids with disabilities and differences. It also encourages readers to find connection with people, a message that is evergreen.
OVERVIEW: We are immediately transported into James’s world with an image experiment that demonstrates how the eye-brain connection works and then describes how James’s connection works differently. James has strabismus, a medical condition where his brain does not sync the images each individual eye sees. This leads to a whole host of problems for him: difficulty reading, stares from classmates, striking out in tee ball where striking out is not a thing, and most of all, a disconnect with others as they don’t seek to understand him or even look him in the eye.
How is it possible to feel so looked at
and yet so unseen?
We are taken on James’s journey through childhood and school, where he makes friends with another “different” kid, a boy from Japan, where James decided he would choose indifference when others stared, where he visited various doctors and tried multiple therapies, where James’s mom’s took his learning into her own steadfast, determined hands, and where James’s love for making people care blossomed and collided with documentary filmmaking. Throughout it all, readers are right there with James, laughing at the awkward and endearing moments, and then aching through the difficult times and failed therapies.
You never get the sense that James feels sorry for himself. Instead, he dives into his passion for helping others, for getting people to share their stories, and for getting people to care about others. The book includes a brief intermission where readers are encouraged to check out James’s 12 minute documentary, Whale Eyes, on which his memoir is based. I highly suggest watching it. It’s wonderful to meet James on film as well as his incredible family.
This memoir helps build knowledge, understanding, compassion, and connection. I highly recommend it for all middle grade readers.
AGE RECOMMENDATION: I recommend this for readers ranging from 4th grade to 8th grade, or ages 9 to 14.
FAVORITE LINE: “I don’t have a problem with the way that I see. My only problem is with the way that I’m seen.”
THEMES: navigating disability, connection, compassion, resilience, importance of family support, identity, perception.
BONUS INFO:
- Memoir was prompted by James’s Documentary: appearing in the New York Times, James’s documentary Whale Eyes was received with high praise, prompting the writing of this memoir.
Have you read Whale Eyes? What are your thoughts on it?
Birdie's Bookshelf 