“The thing is, when you start to explain your eyes, you become a sort of museum specimen. Like a piece of modern art that someone looks at with confusion and disapproval and says, “Is this really art? It comes with an eye contact that stops abruptly at the surface of your face. They’re looking at you. But not into you.”

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker James Robinson, in collaboration with illustrator Brian Rea, has crafted a uniquely visual memoir chronicling his experience living with what he has dubbed “whale eyes,” but what the many doctors of his childhood call strabismus, a misalignment of the eyes. Short chapters and frequent interactive visual interjections that help the reader understand what it’s like to see through James’s eyes make this a surprisingly quick read, but the insights into James’s specific condition and what it’s like to grow up and live with a disability will stick with readers long after they turn the last page. The serious subject matter is well balanced by frequent second-person narration which draws the reader in, witty turns of phrase, and humorous details that make this memoir just as enjoyable as it is enlightening.

Recommended for ages 10 & up.