Smiling Eyes

Using rhythmic, rhyming couplets—“Brown eyes/ green eyes/ hazel or blue// You can see me/ and/ I can see you!”—this upbeat narrative by Park (My Book and Me) follows an East Asian–cued protagonist from awakening to bedtime. As language expounds on the concept of perception, the child observes others’ expressions (“Smiling eyes/ bright eyes”), notes various ways of sensing the world (including using glasses and braille), and employs their “mind’s eye.” Many encounters result in opportunities to initiate connection: the child helps an elder with “worried eyes” navigate stairs, and comforts a toddler with “sad eyes” who’s lost an ice cream cone. Wen (Wolfgang in the Meadow) builds an emotionally textured world around the spare narrative—richly painted in gouache and detailed in colored pencil, luminous light-soaked images evoke a child’s appreciation of a day of noticing and attuning. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown Ltd. Illustrator’s agent: Christy Ewers, CAT Agency. (Feb.)