Eye to Eye: How Animals See The World

by Steve Jenkins, Steve Jenkins (Illustrator)

Overview

From Caldecott Honor–winning author-illustrator Steve Jenkins comes a series of animals with unusual eyes in this eye-catching picture book!

In his eye-popping work of picture book nonfiction, Jenkins explains how for most animals, eyes are the most important source of information about the world in a biological sense.

The simplest eyes—clusters of light-sensitive cells—appeared more than one billion years ago, and provided a big survival advantage to the first creatures that had them. Since then, animals have evolved an amazing variety of eyes, along with often surprising ways to use them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547959078
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	292,153
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 11.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	NC1040L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Steve Jenkins wrote and illustrated many nonfiction picture books for young readers, including the Caldecott Honor Book What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? His books have been called stunning, eye-popping, inventive, gorgeous, masterful, extraordinary, playful, irresistible, compelling, engaging, accessible, glorious, and informative.

Steve Jenkins wrote and illustrated many nonfiction picture books for young readers, including the Caldecott Honor Book What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? His books have been called stunning, eye-popping, inventive, gorgeous, masterful, extraordinary, playful, irresistible, compelling, engaging, accessible, glorious, and informative.

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/21/2014
Jenkins zeroes in on animal eyes in his latest merging of science and artistry. Subjects include the colossal squid (each of its eyes are “the size of a basketball—the largest of any animal”), the panther chameleon (“it can look in two directions at once”), and the tarsier, which has eyeballs larger than its brain. As usual, Jenkins carefully crafts his animals from torn and cut paper, creating an array of textures and a striking sense of detail, whether an animal is furry, feathery, or scaly. The eye, with its intricate structure and symbolic resonance, is an ideal focus for Jenkins’s inquisitive, informative narrative and multidimensional art. Ages 6–9. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"The evolution of the eye and the surprising ways animals see the world are displayed in a thoughtfully designed and engagingly illustrated album." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Large, colorful pictures of more than 20 animal eyes are accompanied by a small illustration of the entire creature and a brief paragraph of intriguing information ...Animal facts, a bibliography, and a glossary round out this slim volume that will captivate readers of all ages." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"The eye, with its intricate structure and symbolic resonance, is an ideal focus for Jenkins' inquisitive, informative narrative and multidimensional art." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The eyes themselves [are] prominently featured in well-designed layouts that serve both as study guide and display for the beautifully rendered and reproduced cut-paper artwork" — Horn Book Magazine

"This attractive, large-format volume introduces eyes in the animal kingdom...Browsers will enjoy the illustrations, while teachers might find this a useful visual resource." — Booklist

From the Publisher

★ 03/01/2014
Gr 3–6—The ability to perceive light and dark first developed in simple animals approximately 600 million years ago. Since that time, multiple variations of eyes have evolved from four main types: eyespot, pinhole, compound, and camera. Toward the end of the book, Jenkins devotes a page to describing the "evolution of the eye," enabling readers to easily follow the changes. Jenkins's outstanding torn- and cut-paper illustrations offer a fascinating look at these important organs, which range in size from the tiniest holes (starfish) to basketballs (colossal squid). Eyes not only allow animals to find food and avoid predators but can also assist in swallowing food and aid in attracting a mate. Large, colorful pictures of more than 20 animal eyes are accompanied by a small illustration of the entire creature and a brief paragraph of intriguing information (for example, as a halibut ages, one eye moves until both end up on the same side of its head, the panther chameleon can operate both eyes separately, and the hippopotamus has a clear membrane that enables it to see while underwater). Animal facts, a bibliography, and a glossary round out this slim volume that will captivate readers of all ages.—Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

School Library Journal

★ 2014-01-29
The evolution of the eye and the surprising ways animals see the world are displayed in a thoughtfully designed and engagingly illustrated album. The look of a Jenkins book is unmistakable: realistic cut-and-torn–paper images set on a stark white background; short informational paragraphs; a helpful section of concluding facts with a pictorial index. But the content is always an interesting surprise. Here, he considers vision, the way animals link to their world using light-sensitive cells. Beginning with a description of the earliest, most simple eyes, he goes on to catalog four kinds, giving a representative example of each: eyespots (starfish), pinholes (giant clams), compound eyes (dragonflies) and camera eyes (birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, even octopuses). Then he offers 22 more—from sea slugs to Eurasian buzzards—each presented on a full page or spread across two. Each example includes a full-color thumbnail silhouette and a much larger close-up of the head and eye. Some of the papers are textured or varied in color. A surprising number of animals have hairy or bristly bits around their eyes, often depicted in individual tiny bits and pieces, suggesting incredible finesse on the part of the artist. A concluding section summarizes eye evolution, again from eyespots to camera eyes. A bibliography of suggestions for further reading and a glossary round out this intriguing introduction. Another impressive presentation from a master craftsman. (Informational picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews