Wunderland News

“God is the sun, Clouds are her messengers, rain is only rain.”- Johannes from The Eyes and the Impossible.

The Eyes and the Impossible written by David Eggers is narrated by Johannes, a wild and energetic dog. He is the freest dog you’ll ever meet, he takes a great amount of pride in being free. He even laughs at the dogs with leashes, because why would a dog ever want to wear a leash?

Johannes tells us about the different kinds of humans that roam the park. Like the bison keepers and the campers that mind their business, he doesn't mind those humans. He tells us about the trouble travelers, how they leave their trash and blast their loud music, and even how sometimes try to take a critter. Johannes doesn't like those kinds of humans very much.

He tells us about the bison who are the great advisers of the park. He tells them everything because that's his job, he is their eyes, and he watches the park, the humans, and the critters. He reports everything he sees back to the bison. He is not the only watcher though, his friends are also watchers like the one-eyed squirrel, a raccoon that can tell time, a boisterous owl, and a brave, proud seagull (Who happens to be Johannes' best friend).

But after he has a troubling encounter with a group of travelers, Johannes finds a new determination to free the three elder bison. With the help of his friends and a new herd of goats, he may just be able to do it.

Throughout this tale, Johannes' character shows that he is a hero. But while being a hero, he has to take the great risk of being captured by humans. Nevertheless, Johannes can't help but try to save the residents of the park. This speedy dog has a wide array of complex emotions ranging from happiness and excitement to curiosity and depression. These feelings cause him to battle the confusing and possibly threatening consequences of his heroism.

Johannes is the dog who watches. He watches very well and is able to give amazing descriptions of the park and the new and strange human structures. The author has a beautiful writing style that guides us to what the humans are creating/doing. Johannes is also a good example of an unreliable narrator, while he describes with great detail what he sees because he is a dog sometimes he doesn't fully understand what he is looking at, leaving it up to the reader to use context clues to help find out what he's referring to.

This book has a great ability to keep the reader on their toes with multiple suspenseful scenes that will make them wonder which direction the book is going. With a few unexpected plot twists and a satisfying ending, it's a guaranteed great read!

Target ages include 8 to 13 years old. Target grades are 3rd-7th. It's the perfect read for nature and dog lovers. An absolute recommendation for any classroom! The Eyes and the Impossible is 256 pages, a good lengthy read, with easy vocabulary and amazing imaginative descriptions, which is sure to fuel those tiny minds.

The Eyes and the Impossible was written by award-winning author David Eggers and illustrated by Shawn Harris. It was published on May 9th, 2023 by Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Kaila W is an avid book reader who enjoys sewing and creative writing. In her free time, she likes to read about world religion. She was a Cappies Critics (High School Play Critic) for two years before joining Wunderland Books as a book reviewer.