Through Grandpa's Eyes

by Patricia MacLachlan, Deborah Kogan Ray (Illustrator)

John's Grandpa is blind. But Grandpa has his own way of seeing. And for John this makes a day spent with Grandpa an adventure -- of new sounds and smells and ways of doing everyday things.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Disability, Realistic Fiction, Literature, Fiction

40 pages, Library Binding

First published December 1, 1971

About the author

Patricia MacLachlan was born on the prairie, and always carried a small bag of prairie dirt with her wherever she went to remind her of what she knew first. She was the author of many well-loved novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal; its sequels, Skylark and Caleb's Story; and Three Names, illustrated by Mike Wimmer. She lived in western Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book describes how a boy experiences a day through they eyes of his blind grandfather. At first my five-year-old son wasn't interested—probably the lack of bright colors or cartoony characters. But by the end he loved it! Later in the day, he expressed some slight disappointment that his dad isn't blind, which made me smile.

This is definitely a great book for raising awareness of what it's like to be blind, and I highly recommend it.

Our library didn't have a copy, but we were able to read it on Open Library, which I also highly recommend.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a sweet and tender story about the relationship between a grandfather, who is blind, and his grandson. The illustrations are soft and washed out, and help to convey the idea of blindness. The grandfather is mostly seen with pure black and white lines, lacking the color of the rest of the scene. The story is simple and not very exciting, but it shows the warmth and love that the two share. We really enjoyed reading this story together.

This book was nominated for the June 2011 Persons Facing Physical Challenges discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books group here at Goodreads. It was not selected as one of the month's books, but it really piqued my interest and got some good reviews, so we thought we'd check it out. I'm so glad I did.

[Rll52013_andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy do I love Reading Rainbow books!

This wonderful picture book invites the reader to see things through a young boy's grandfather's blind eyes and, through this book, we do. We see how Grandpa senses his world and we take on his perspective. This book, like all of MacLachlan's writing, has a delicate, slow and soft sensitivity to it and the relationship between the grandfather and the grandson is the main feature of the story. The writng seems to share the same softness and blurry outlines as the illustrations do, all conveying very appropriately and respectfully, a sense of blindness and, in this way, the book works as a unified whole. This little em has one some awards and is excellent to use with themes of different perspectives.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

John learns how to see through the eyes of his blind grandpa. Grandpa sees through his fingers, ears, and nose. It is a special story that not only provides insight into the blind but showcases the bond between grandparent and child.

The soft colored pencil drawings supports the tone and feelings of seeing how Grandpa sees.

Great book for all.

[Kelly Healey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with my children and we all loved it. The kids had a lot of questions about being blind and this book really helped them "see" what it is like. Beautifully written - you can truly feel the bond between the grandfather and his grandson.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story about a Grandfather and Grandson's relationship. Grandpa teaches the boy to see the world around him for more than just face value.

[lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it because it was a sweet story and Grandpa was nice to the little boy and Nana and it was great that they were so nice together.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 4 out of 5]

RIP Patricia MacLachlan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3TRz...

[Gabby]

John loves his grandpa’s house because he sees it through Grandpa’s eyes. Grandpa is blind and has to feel his surroundings rather than see them. John likes to close his eyes so that he can “see” the world through Grandpa’s eyes. He gets to experience the world differently, smelling what’s for breakfast, playing cello by ear, hearing the birds’ identifying songs, and making out Grandpa’s face in a clay sculpture that Grandma makes. John sees the world in a whole new and exciting way, without actually seeing anything.

Patricia MacLachlan uses imagery filled text to show that John is feeling his experiences in Grandpa’s house rather than seeing them happen. He closes his eyes and feels the warmth of the sun shining through his window. He uses his nose to decipher what his grandma made for breakfast and what kind of flowers she put in the kitchen. He listens to the birds’ songs to figure out what kind they are. Through all of these experiences he keeps his eyes shut so that he can live like his grandpa which is endearing because he loves him and admires him for his ability to make the best of life.

Deborah Ray uses semi-detailed, black and white sketches to make the reader feel as though he or she is experiencing the book through Grandpa’s eyes with John. On a few pictures there is a splash of light orange or blue because the book is told from John’s perspective and he can still see. John also keeps his eyes closed for the majority of the book, learning to live like Grandpa.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first thing that I noticed about this book were the illustrations. They were simple yet very meaningful to the text. They seemed to be drawn lightly and had very light colors that were used, almost to kind of get you to picture what it would be like to not be able to see, but just make up the shapes as you go. I thought the story was very meaningful as well. A little boy gets to try to experience how his grandpa sees in the world since he is blind. This would be great to use for a child that is blind and frustrated because of it, or if someone in a child's family is blind, it could also help them understand it better. It also shows kids that they need to use all of their senses when describing something instead of just what they see.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

John goes to visit his grandparent’s house—he loves their house more than anyone else. While he is there, he learns to see things a different way from his Grandfather. His Grandfather is blind, so he doesn’t see things like John does, he senses sight it other ways. The illustrations go along very well with the idea of blindness, and it adds an emotion to the book. Definitely a book that can be discussed as a memoir. I would use this book more so for Author’s craft, description, and imagining what John’s grandfather feels.

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, a story of a boy learning to live through his blind grandfather's "eyes" which are really his nose, skin, hands, ears, hair, and other ways his grandfather sees his environment.

[Anne Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

John learns to "see" the way his grandpa who is blind sees. Disability awareness book. Use for inferring.

[Buxmont Uu]

WAMWAO Session 25
WOOW 23

[Katie Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading with my little 4 year old brother. <3

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

12.7.1995 Alissa played nearby while I read the story. It took us 2 days to finish.

1.23.1997

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is part of our Open Court anthology of stories.

[Kimberley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet story of a boy who talks about living with his grandfather who is blind and learning to see the way his grandfather sees.

[Benedict Randhawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its about John and his his grandfather. His grand father is blind he love to spend time with his grandpa. They spend a lot of his time with his grandpa and have a new way to see the world..

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Through Grandpa's Eyes (1980) by Patricia MacLachlan (Sarah Plain and Tall) and pictures by Deborah Kogan Ray is a quiet and calm book in tone about a boy named John who's staying with his grandparents. His grandfather is blind and it's his grandfather's way of seeing and living in the world that fascinates John to the point where John closes his eyes and tries relying on his other senses to navigate the world around him. It's a fascinating book about how other people live, even if they do it in other ways. Very sweet and sentimental look at relationships and understanding. my rating - 3/5

[Chelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet book! I loved the story. My only complaint was that I didn’t like the illustrations, but that may have to do with the age of the book.

John’s grandpa became blind at some point of his life. The story describes John trying to see the world through his grandpa’s eyes over the course of a day. He realized how much he didn’t pick up on when he closed his eyes and really listened to what was happening around him.

[Andrew Tabar · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a lot more going on here than a little kid learning about how to "see" through "grandpa's eyes." If you're a child reading this book, it gives you a new way to perceive the world. But as an adult, if you read it as an adult - it subtly carries some interesting philosophy about accepting things (how grandpa accepts his blindness, how he's grateful for having been able to see) and the joys he gets from his every day life. I won't call it "deep," but as an adult, it's not shallow.

[Wasif · Rating 5 out of 5]

John was seeing many things through grandpa's eyes.He would look for things not by his eyes buy with sight. The skill was taught by Grandpa.

A beautiful story about grandson's loves for his grand father

[Rodney Haydon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picture book is a delight, and I think the ALA Booklist review on the back cover captured it perfectly when they wrote:

"The story stands as a warm picture of old-young bonding and simple family sharing "

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book so many times and always the story seem so new. Amazing story about a grandfather who can't see the world, the way we see it . The way he sees is different!!

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grandson loves seeing life through his grandpa's view.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much a MacLachlan story. A bit too sweet & poignant for me, tbh. But the theme is closely akin to my favorite, "Another Point of View," and so I'm giving it the fourth star.

[Leiera Monae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children's Reading Adventures Book Club, Summer 2014

*D.E.A.R. Time -- Read with 8 & 9 year olds*

06.03.2014