Whale Eyes by James Robinson

Whale Eyes is an innovative memoir by a young filmmaker documenting his struggles with reading and physical difference.

Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen by James Robinson, illustrated by Brian Rea. Penguin Workshop, 2025. 288 pages.

• Reading Level: Teens, ages 12-15
• Recommended For: Ages 12 and up

There are few things worse/ than getting in trouble./ One of those/ things is reading.

Though James seemed like a normal, laughing, roly-poly baby, “something critical was occurring with my brain. Through my eyes, I saw a world that was multiplying and doubling and hard to comprehend.” His eyes, which appeared normal through his early years, were not cooperating with each other, a situation that became more obvious with time and wreaked havoc with his ability to make words stand still on a page. His classmates and teachers stuck a term on it: “lazy eye.” The correct term is strabismus, a condition that can often be surgically corrected.

But not for James. One of his eyes may look straight at you (watch the video) but the other is looking somewhere else. He sees people approach him and suddenly veer away, confused by his appearance. He would never have got through elementary school had his mother not devoted hours to helping him concentrate on one word at a time.

To the casual reader this may seem like a minor disability turned to good use, but students who struggle with reading disorders like dyslexia (and their parents) will understand. For the rest of us, James uses visual aids and unusual print techniques, such as weird spacing and upside-down pages, to communicate how the world looks to him. His purpose is helping readers see beyond obvious differences that can sometimes be turned into strengths—as in his own budding career as a documentary filmmaker, exploring brain disconnections like stuttering and prosopagnosia (i.e, “face blindness,” or the inability to remember faces).

One of the most moving aspects of this memoir is the support of James’ family: his mom and dad and two brothers. The final chapter, “Flying Weather” is about his mother’s insistence that she can fly (and has, several times), while encouraging her boys to try it themselves. Whether she’s to be taken seriously or not, flying is a metaphor for surrendering to life in all its challenges and unexpected delights—letting go of total control, stepping out of one’s comfort zone. We all have our abilities and disabilities; we just need to open doors and let others in.

Considerations: none

Bottom Line: A thought-provoking and inventive look at how “disability” can feel on the inside.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Reviews: Other writers movingly recount their own experiences with disability in Ugly, Not So Different, and How to Talk to an Autistic Kid.
• Review: Eyes are fascinating organs. Eye: How It Works by David Macaulay explores the eye for young readers.
• Resource: Don’t neglect the memoir genre! Find a list of some of our favorites under Happy “We Love Memoirs” Day.

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