Susanne Gervay (text), Marjorie Crosby-Fairall (illustration), The Boy in the Big Blue Glasses, EK Books, July 2019, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN
9781925335996
Sam doesn’t want to wear his glasses. No one recognises him anymore, except George his friend. When George is away from school one day, the other children in Sam’s class tease him about his glasses so he takes them off. Suddenly, the teasing children are transformed into funny, blurry sea creatures. When Sam imitates them, the whole class laughs with him – and they can see Sam again.
With a media release promoting full eye examination for primary and secondary school students, this book highlights the challenges for students who have undiagnosed vision difficulties. The real thread of this book, though, is showing how Sam feels about being different. The well-meaning adults in his life exacerbate his problem, so there’s a message in here about the affect words can have on a child’s perception of their self-image. An empathetic book, with great characterisation.
Reviewed by Pam Harvey
