Too weird for me.

I will read any book about dolls! Amy has a sailor doll that comes to life and then Amy becomes a doll herself. They sail the world with Mother Goose animal dolls come to life to find a golden treasure.

I didn't like this book as much as I thought I might have. Some parts were boring and slow, especially some nautical parts. It got better towards the end. Maybe I would have liked this better if I read this when I was younger.

My 4th grade teacher read this to my class. There are parts I remembered vividly. I remembered Amy’s eyes being lost in the bottle, I remembered Davy Duck - the difficulty of his conversion to being real and his treachery. But other parts, especially in the second half, such as the identity of the Golden Man, were long forgotten.

I tried to read it to my 2nd grader. I thought he’d enjoy a story about a beloved toy coming to life. He didn’t. Truthfully it’s a hard book to read out loud. The sentences are awkwardly constructed. And it’s too complicated/sophisticated/old-fashioned for a kid to read his/herself.

I didn’t love it as much as I hoped. It’s a hard read, and I lost focus at times, skimming more than actually reading. The ending is a little abrupt. But maybe when life is less complicated and I have an uninterrupted block of time, I’ll try reading this again.

EDIT: I think Kennedy's treatment of Skivvy and religion is worth of deep consideration.

Amy's Eyes is a book I remember reading over and over when I was younger. It's the story of a girl left at the door of an orphanage with only a sailor doll for company, and as she confides her life to that doll the doll comes to life..with a few consequences for Amy. It's magical storytelling without most of the traditional fantasy elements. There's also a bit of adventure, some sailing, and quite a lot of talking to dolls.

This is my absolute all time favorite book ever. And that's saying something, because I really really like a lot of books. But this is one of the few that I have read over and over and is falling apart.

I read this because a friend said it was her favorite book from childhood and my daughter is reading it too. You forget how magical children's literature is and how fun it can be to get swept up into a magical world. I enjoyed this and wish that I red it as a kid but am really enjoying sharing it with my daughter.

I can still recall the scene where Amy's Eyes are cut off by her now human doll and they use them to see what is going on in the sea. I read this book, had to have been when I was in elementary school and it was WAY over my reading level. But it was book that I truly enjoyed and often think about.

This was beautifully written, with such a classic sense to it. I really feel like this is something special… and yet the ending just leaves me feeling unsatisfied.

Spoiler

The Captain's death, the frog's death, just. None of it felt as if the journey was worth it. Sure, Amy has her father back, and Miss Eclair has revealed herself, but at what cost did everything come? The Captain's dead, and none of it feels right.

But, maybe that's the point-- that gold and the desire for adventure had led them all into death and despair.
-sigh-
Beautiful. Sad. And I wish things ended differently.

Oh, oh, oh, what a lovely, sad, wonderful little book. Except it is not really little at all. It's thick, a glorious 437 pages, full of adventure, fantasy, mystery, and Mother Goose.
C.S. Lewis once said, "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest."
Amy's Eyes proves this quote to be true. A children's book, yes, but one suitable and entertaining enough for any age.


Amy's Eyes by Richard Kennedy begins with a little baby girl, named Amy, being left on the steps of an orphange by her Father with only a sailor doll and a loaf of bread. He plans to return someday. Meanwhile, Amy begins to grow up and takes her sailor doll everywhere, eventually she talks to him so much he comes to life! And what ought a newly-made sailor do but take to the sea?
The rest of the story is filled with toys coming to life, Mothe Goose rhymes, pirates, button eyes, and a very Bad Sister. It is adorable and sad and quite sweet. If you ever imagined your dolls were really alive, this story is for you.

While the plot is a little bit ridiculous, it is also a fun burst of imagination. I think that is why I enjoyed it so much. It gets more serious near the end, but things are tied up just nicely enough to leave the rest to your imagination, and with a plot this crazy, your imagination can go any way it wants! I grew up on Reading Rainbow, Wishbone, and Toy Story. This book fits right in, not as a "blast from the past" but as comforting reminder that even admist research papers and shopping lists, there is room for creativity and imagination.

SPOILER/A CAUTION FOR PARENTS:
While this is an enchanting children's story, it does deal with some topics of a serious nature, like death, the end of the world, and evil. I would not reccomend it as a bed time story, but slightly older children might really enjoy it. Perhaps as a read-out-loud, or even a book for family discussion. It appeals to both boys and girls equally.