Coming from a large family myself, i could go back to my childhood and relive the experiences in Edward’s Eyes that related to bringing siblings home from the hospital and introducing them into the family.
The story revolves around young Edward who is introduced right from birth. He is number four in the birth order. The children, already born, vary in ages from 9 on down to age 3; welcome Edward in various ways. The oldest is unimpressed…she has been through this before.
The second in line, Will, knows the score….messy diapers and all. Young Wren is only 5 and reaches out and gently touches the young Edward. Then there is three year old Jake. He is so enthralled when the young baby is put in his arms all he can say is “His Eyes”. Once, Edward looked at him…they were bonded for life.
This family bonds around baseball. It is one of the ties between siblings and the adults in their lives. Young Edward grows independently. As time goes on….the parents discover another sibling is on the way.
Edward declares that the new life will be a girl and that her name will be Sabine. He announces this with total conviction as if he has a mystical knowledge that they will be as he and Jake are….connected in a spiritual way.
As Sabine is born and young Edward becomes her big brother….he takes on the role that Jake took on for him. When he suddenly rides off on his broken bike to do a secret errand he has an accident and dies.
The premature death of Edward temporarily sucks the life out of the family…he was such a strong force. When the family donates his organs and his eyes….the family finds a way to once again find the joy in life that Edward always held dear. This is a wonderful story of the connects in a family and a community.
Because of the subject matter of death, I would recommend this book for older children say from ages 8-13. This book was written by Patricia MacLachlan who lives in Massachusetts. The publisher is Atheneum Books for Young Readers,
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