Common Sense Media Review
By JK Sooja
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Lovely picture book celebrates family identity, heritage.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In EYES THAT KISS IN THE CORNERS, a young Asian girl notices that her eyes don't look like many of her peers' eyes. Instead of round eyes, hers are shaped like "baubles of lychee in trees" and "sparkle like the stars." Her mother's eyes look like hers, as do her grandmother's eyes and little sister's eyes. Through imagery of family life, Chinese cultural history, and mythology, each page provides a new metaphor that describes the connection the girl and her family share. After all, their eyes are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.
Is It Any Good?
Author Joanna Ho packs this charming book with positivity, self-love, empowerment, and pride in your family heritage and culture. To help combat so many Asian children being made fun of at school for having "Chinese" eyes or looking "Chinese," Eyes That Kiss in the Corners works to establish its own narrative of the beauty of difference. Additionally, the artwork and illustrations here by Dung Ho are stunning, gorgeous, and even partly educational in terms of learning about Chinese traditions and mythology.
There are a couple caveats. While it may not bother some, there's no story to speak of here. It's just a series of family scenes that feature poetic metaphors for describing Asian eyes. Also, this may not be a book for alternative families or adoptive families, where kids might not share physical similarities with their family or parents. Eyes That Kiss in the Corners may unintentionally reinforce the idea that "naturally conceived" families are somehow forever more bonded, connected, genuine, or real. There are many children's books that focus on how the physical differences between child and parent don't matter at all. Rather, it is the ways in which we are the same inside (not the differences on the outside) that connect us.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Eyes That Kiss in the Corners handles difference. How does the girl's family help encourage her to see that her eyes are not only the same as theirs but just as beautiful as eyes that don't look like theirs? Why use Chinese mythology, history, and imagery to describe Asian eyes?
In what ways are your eyes similar to other members in your family? In what ways are they different?
How might kids who have eyes that look different from their parents' feel about this book that celebrates having the same eyes as your parents? What other ways beyond physical similarity might this book suggest beautifully connects us to our families?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Dung Ho
- Genre : Picture Book
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HarperCollins Children's Books
- Publication date : January 5, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : November 7, 2021
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