Blink!

by Doe Boyle, Adèle Leyris (Illustrator)

Large eyes, small eyes, eyes that see 360 degrees, eyes that work together, eyes that swivel separately from each other, and eyes that see like telescopes. Strong graphic art and lyrical text to capture imaginations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2020

Reviews

[Jenny Lussier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Heartbeat, another of the books in the Imagine This series, the combination of facts & poetry about eyes in Doe Boyle’s Blink keeps you turning the pages. The vocabulary used will spark lots of conversations with readers too. The illustrations are perfect for the essential skill of questioning with super close-ups of all those eyes! Thank you Doe Boyle, for sharing the review copy with me.

[Lori Haskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the heart itself, this book serves a practical purpose while also inspiring the imagination. It's packed with fascinating facts and written in a lovely, lyrical style. I can't wait for the next installment in the series.

[Kristin Guay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is poetic, artistic, and educational all rolled into one! Children and adults alike will be enthralled with Blink! On the surface, this book appears to be about the eyesight of various creatures around the world, but it is actually so much more. Several animals are featured in this story including eastern bay scallop, kingfisher, dragonfly, whirligig beetle, American bullfrog, cheetah, Union Island gecko, jumping spiders, owl, squid, chameleon, and humans. Each animal is given a few pages of information and illustrations about their unique ability to see, how this is used to help them survive, how their sight has adapted to their environment, and also some other interesting facts about each animal. The text is written with occasional end rhymes which creates a flow to the animal facts and makes it all feel a little less technical and almost more of a story. Some interesting facts -- the eastern bay scallop has over 60 eyes, a whirligig beetle has a set of eyes both on top and below its body so it can see things above and below the surface of the water, and a cheetah’s “tear lines” that appear to be running from its eyes are actually black hairs used to reduce the glare of sunlight. This book is loaded with interesting facts, not just about eyesight, but different animals in general. The last few pages of the book provide additional information about the human eye, illustrations, and suggestions for additional reading on this topic.
The colored illustrations (appears to be water colors) for each animal are oversized and focusing primarily on the eye. Silhouettes of each animal (full body) are also featured on each page and these contain additional facts about the animal. These illustrations are very eye-catching (no pun intended!) and really add a special bonus to this book. Because the images of the eye are oversized, the reader can see exactly what is presented in the text, but the size of the images also seems to support the important message of each animal’s unique eyesight for survival.

[Julie Hedlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the unique premise of this book - how eyes move and function differently in various species. I would have given it a higher rating if the writing had been a bit more consistent. There is some lovely, poetic language, but some of the paragraphs rhymed and some didn't. The ones that did rhyme didn't have the same meter from one to another. That, coupled with the sidebar facts, just made it more distracting to read and follow than I would have liked. But it is a solid narrative nonfiction book for kids who love science and animals.

[Jane Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blink!, the second of Boyle’s titles in the “Imagine This” series, is a fun non-fiction book with a focus on animal eyesight! It presents animals from the unique perspective of their eyes, exploring different shapes, sizes and features. Each spread focuses on one animal and pairs lyrical text with interesting, sound-bite facts. Gorgeously illustrated, this is a book that nature loving, curious kids will return to again and again.

[Aimée Bissonette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful book combines two of my favorite things – poetry and nonfiction about the natural world. Doe Boyle’s layered text (poetic descriptions plus well researched fact boxes) will please a wide range of readers, young and old. Stunning illustrations, too! Don’t pass this up – you’ll never “see” another like it!

[Alexandra Alessandri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doe Boyle's BLINK! is a fascinating and educational book about the function of eyes in different species. With lyrical text, intriguing facts, and beautiful illustrations, BLINK! is a wonderful resource for hooking kids into science and fostering curiosity about animals. It's a perfect addition to any library--at home or at school!

[Maryann Macdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do we see? How do other creatures see? Doe Boyle explores these questions in elegant prose, highlighting the unique characteristics of the vision of such diverse creatures as the dragonfly, the owl, the squid and the chameleon. Both children and adults will be drawn into this beautiful non-fiction offering, which makes up part of Albert Whitman's new "Imagine This" series.

[Glenda Armand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have been a better science student if I had had a text like BLINK. Full of fascinating facts (a bullfrog eats with its eyeballs!), BLINK is beautiful and lyrical. Quite a feat for a science book!

[Erin Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover drew me in, the fun content made me stay. This was jam packed with facts. This is definitely for upper elem kids who love animals. High vocabulary and lots of more complex sentence structure. Lower elem with higher reading levels will enjoy too!

[Faith Elizabeth Hough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just beautiful--and super interesting!