The Eyes and the Impossible: (Newbery Medal Winner)
NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER • #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An enthralling novel for all ages by award-winning author Dave Eggers, told from the perspective of one uniquely endearing dog—featuring beautiful artwork from Caldecott honoree Shawn Harris.
“Johannes is a highly engaging narrator whose exuberance and good nature run like a bright thread through the novel’s pages.” —The New York Times
Johannes, a free dog, lives in an urban park by the sea. His job is to be the Eyes—to see everything that happens within the park and report back to the park’s elders, three ancient Bison. His friends—a seagull, a raccoon, a squirrel, and a pelican—work with him as the Assistant Eyes, observing the humans and other animals who share the park and making sure the Equilibrium is in balance.
But changes are afoot. More humans arrive in the park. A new building, containing mysterious and hypnotic rectangles, goes up. And then there are the goats—an actual boatload of goats—who appear, along with a shocking revelation that changes Johannes’s view of the world.
Lushly illustrated with old world paintings and new artwork from Caldecott honoree Shawn Harris, this story about friendship, beauty, liberation (and running very, very fast), will make readers of all ages see the world around them in a wholly new way.
An enthralling novel for all ages by award-winning author Dave Eggers, told from the perspective of one uniquely endearing dog—featuring beautiful artwork from Caldecott honoree Shawn Harris.
“Johannes is a highly engaging narrator whose exuberance and good nature run like a bright thread through the novel’s pages.” —The New York Times
Johannes, a free dog, lives in an urban park by the sea. His job is to be the Eyes—to see everything that happens within the park and report back to the park’s elders, three ancient Bison. His friends—a seagull, a raccoon, a squirrel, and a pelican—work with him as the Assistant Eyes, observing the humans and other animals who share the park and making sure the Equilibrium is in balance.
But changes are afoot. More humans arrive in the park. A new building, containing mysterious and hypnotic rectangles, goes up. And then there are the goats—an actual boatload of goats—who appear, along with a shocking revelation that changes Johannes’s view of the world.
Lushly illustrated with old world paintings and new artwork from Caldecott honoree Shawn Harris, this story about friendship, beauty, liberation (and running very, very fast), will make readers of all ages see the world around them in a wholly new way.
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Community Reviews
I read this book as part of a challenge to read all the Newbery Medal Winners. This book won in 2024.
What I liked: An adventure/survival story from the perspective of a philosophical wild dog. Loved the caper when a group of woodland creatures, birds, and a herd of goats distract the humans and free three bison from an enclosure within a big park.
What I disliked: The subplot about the dog’s interest in an art exhibit at the park’s new museum never reached closure. Why did the author take up the reader’s time with this?
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