Whale Eyes

A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen

By: James Robinson

Narrated by: James Robinson

★ 5 STARRED REVIEWS ★

★ “Lively, interactive...truly eye-opening." —Booklist
★ “A sincere reflection on childhood...growing up in a world not built with him in mind." —Publishers Weekly
★ “A superb middle grade memoir that champions empathy and understanding on every level.” —BookPage
★ “Game-changing curriculum add for any teacher” —The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books
★ “A moving memoir…this is an important book for all readers.” —School Library Journal

AN AUDIOFILE MAGAZINE AND BOOKLIST EDITOR'S CHOICE BEST AUDIOBOOK OF 2025

A 2026 Orbis Pictus Recommended Book

A CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY AND SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK THE YEAR

From Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker James Robinson comes a breathtaking illustrated memoir for middle-grade readers (and adults, too)—inspired by the viral, Emmy-nominated short film Whale Eyes.

Told through an experimental mix of intimate anecdotes and interactive visuals, this book immerses readers in James’s point of view, allowing them to see the world through his disabling eye conditions.

Readers will get lost as they chase words. They’ll stare into this book while taking a vision test. They’ll hold it upside down as they practice “pretend-reading”…and they’ll follow an unlikely trail toward discovering the power of words.

With poignant illustrations by Eisner Award–nominated artist Brian Rea, James’s story equips readers of all ages with the tools to confront their discomfort with disability and turn confused, blank stares into powerful connections.

* Whale Eyes is meant to be twisted, turned, and experienced. This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF with illustrations, experiments, photos, and interactive visual components. The PDF helps the listener experience the visual effects while they listen to author James Robinson read from a copy of the text.

Critic reviews

"Exceptionally well-done...Robinson’s prose is conversational and seemingly light, yet it will leave readers with plenty of substance to ponder...A superb middle grade memoir that champions empathy and understanding on every level."—BookPage, starred review

"An accessible and immersive account of growing up with strabismus, a condition of eye misalignment...Robinson presents a sincere reflection on childhood experiences of growing up in a world not built with him in mind."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This lively, interactive...heartfelt memoir is truly eye-opening and will encourage readers to seek out his other works."—Booklist, starred review

"A game-changing curriculum add for any teacher looking to motivate creatives in their classroom."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"With Rea’s affecting and mesmerizing line drawings, this is an important book for all readers." —School Library Journal, starred review

“Robinson’s caring outlook and advice on society, specifically the disability community, is, unsurprisingly, visionary.”—AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner

"A beautiful, important, creative, and insightful look at overcoming adversity, finding one's path, and ultimately creating better—genuine—human connections. I absolutely loved it."—Rob Harrell, author of Wink

"Affirming visually disabled people and enabling nondisabled people to better understand Robinson—and themselves. Robinson...candidly explores numerous topics, including disability tropes, privilege, and ways to turn 'out-trigue'—the discomfort we feel with the unfamiliar—into empathetic connections...Frank, unusual, and insightful."—Kirkus

The narration- the voice of the author was powerful!

Loved the audio with the explanation of the graphics from the author’s voice. Excellent audiobook!