Animal Eyes

August 15, 2014
With simple text and revealing close-up photographs, nature photographer Holland demonstrates how an animal's eyes can tell us something about their owner. Predators' eyes, located on the fronts of their heads, work together to help them judge the distance to their prey. Prey animals, on the other hand, have eyes on either side of their heads that allow them to detect threats from many directions. These and other facts about the eyes of animals ranging from owls and dragonflies to turtles and human children are likely to fascinate readers drawn in by the illustrations. Besides predator-prey distinctions, the author also points out the large eyes of nocturnal animals, the eight eyes of spiders and the third eyelid of some swimming animals (the phrase "nictitating membrane" is explained in the backmatter). Finally, she points out that eyes can reveal age or sex. Eyes matter! The large-font text includes challenges to readers: "Do you think this black bear cub is very young or older?" Four pages of backmatter provide further facts, definitions and matching games. The animals shown are clearly identified in the text; a repeated list on the colophon includes the slug on the title page. Less complex than other titles on the subject, this would be a good starting point for curious children just starting to read. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 5-8)

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