THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE by Dave Eggers

5 stars

This warm, laughter-inspiring book is destined to be a children’s classic. Johannes, a good-natured young-orphaned dog, lives in a forest-like park with his close friends from all different species of animals. He narrates the story with a fluidity of human language but decidedly from the imagined perspective of a dog. And he has a keen sense of humor, including disparaging all ducks in the park as hopeless.

Johannes relies and serves on an animal watch committee to keep an eye on the goings on in the park that could impact the animals living there. Three wise old Bison who live in a fenced in area within the park rely on Johannes’ unbelievable speed to keep them updated on what’s going on outside their enclosure. They can then offer sage advice to protect the animals in the park.

Johannes finds himself on a series of both thrilling and comic adventures to both preserve his exuberant freedom as well as to try to gift that freedom to his bison friends. Along the way, he saves a young girl’s life from drowning only to then alert patrolling park rangers who want to lock him up. Johannes gets kidnapped by criminal parks visitors and his animal friends mount an hilarious attack to free him. Lastly, as Johannes works to free the bison, he unexpectedly finds a pathway to his own extended freedom.

Wise, warm and charming!

Thanks to Random House Children’s Books for a reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.