Edward's Eyes

Starred review from July 16, 2007
From the start, it is clear that Edward is very special. The day his delightfully eccentric parents bring him home from the hospital, his mother places him in the arms of older brother and narrator Jake, who is immediately smitten: “His eyes are the dark mud-blue of the night sky, but there are surprising little flecks of gold in them. They stare right into my eyes.... I want to say that I love him more than anything or anyone I know. But I am only three, and when I try to talk I can’t say all those words.” Yet Jake, as this resonant story unwinds, proves to be remarkably articulate. His recollections of Edward shape a memorable portrait of a boy who, as a toddler asks to have Goodnight Moon
read to him in French, insists on walking two steps ahead of his older siblings on his first day of kindergarten, never once strikes out while playing baseball and teaches himself how to throw an impossible-to-hit knuckleball. Edward’s vision extends far beyond the power of his striking eyes: he somehow knows, when his mother becomes pregnant, that this sixth baby will be a girl. “She’ll be Sabine. And we’ll have fireworks!” he announces confidently. Newbery Medalist MacLachlan brings her story to a conclusion that is both unbearably sad and uplifting, delivered, like the whole, in perfect pitch. Ages 8-12.

Starred review from September 10, 2007
Ventimiglia's soft voice and smooth delivery capture all the notes of fun, sadness and eventually, emergent hope that fill MacLachlan's novel about the powerful bonds of a family's love. Through the flashback memories of Jake, listeners meet Jake's younger brother, the strikingly blue-eyed Edward, a standout in their ever-expanding family for his baseball pitching prowess, his good humor and his ability to “see” signs that other people often miss. Listeners will discern early on that something must have happened to Edward, as Jake's reverent narration—which sometimes sounds wise beyond his years—creates a portrait of a boy who seems to be somewhere else. As the story unfurls, listeners learn Edward's heartbreaking fate and how his family copes. Having tissues on hand for some of the latter chapters may be a good idea, though the tale closes on an uplifting note. Ages 8-up.

Starred review from October 1, 2007
Gr 4-6-When three-year-old Jake, the fourth child in an extraordinary family, is presented with his new brother, he is mesmerized by the baby's gaze and overwhelmed with awe and love. Their special bond grows, and it becomes clear that Edward is an unusual, insightful child who sometimes senses things before they happen. When Edward is eight, their parents announce there will be another baby, and he knows that it will be a girl. They will call her Sabine, and he will sing "O Canada" to her and read her "Goodnight Moon" in French. Edward loves to play baseball and organizes games on the family's seaside lawn where he practices knuckleball pitches with the guidance of a 68-year-old neighbor and his 90-year-old father, a veteran of the Negro League. Jake's spare narration describes an idyll of family life in which parents dance around the house, children are free to explore their surroundings, and books are central. Tragedy is gently foreshadowed, and Edward's death in a biking accident shatters them all, but perhaps no one more than Jake, who lashes out at his parents' decision to donate Edward's organs and corneas. When he meets the cornea recipient, a young ballplayer, Jake can finally begin to accept that Edward does indeed live on. MacLachlan's simple, moving prose includes light touches of humor and weaves a spell that draws readers into an intimate family circle in which hope prevails and deep love promises to mitigate loss. A gem."Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2007
As always, MacLachlans simple words speak ofbig things. This time they talk about the death of a beloved sibling. Was is a word so small and so big as Jake, 11, remembers his younger brother from the day eight years ago when their mother broughtbaby Edwardhome from the hospital and put him in Jakes lap. Jakereads to Edward, teaches him how to use the bathroom, and in their daily summer baseball games in the yard, Edward learns to throw a perfect knuckleball that no one can hit.Edward can see the speeding ball with his wonderful eyes, and at eight, when he dies, he has never once struck out. The memories arevery idyllic; theres nota trace of jealousy oranger or argumentamong the parents, sisters and brothers, friends, or neighbors in the small town. But the surprise at the end of the story will take readers back to the beginning, and the beautiful words will makerereading a joy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)