Who’s Looking? Hope Animals See the World

An interesting perspective on the animal non-fiction canon, Who’s Looking? How Animals See the World by Carol Matas and Cornelia Li takes readers on a walk through the community and teaches us all about animal eyesight.

When a little girl and her sister go for a walk, they encounter many animals that readers would see in their day to day. From ants and dragonflies to goats and rabbits, each animal is presented with a big two page spread and a little hint, through the illustrations, of what their perspective of the world would be.

Carol Matas is best known for her remarkable novels for middle grade and young adult readers. Who’s Looking? is her debut picture book. I really loved how the writing was kept short, simple and to the point. Although there are many animals to learn about throughout the story, readers can choose to learn about them all or just the ones that spark their interest on any given day making the book equally great for kindergarteners and middle graders.

What brings this book home is Cornelia Li’s illustrations. Without the beautiful two page spreads, the book just would not have the impact that it does. When we learn about each animal, not only do we get to see the animal in their natural habitat, we also get a perspective picture of what things look like from the animal’s vantage point. Are things in colour, blurry, in focus or grey scale?

 Who’s Looking? is another fantastic non fiction picture book.