 
|
What Calvin reads, he remembers, and that knowledge is what helps him in times of trouble. In this second story starring the young starling, Calvin discovers he needs glasses for his farsightedness (hyperopia) while trying to read books in the library. “Oops—that says ‘wagons’ not ‘dragons!’”
Insightful Mrs. Readalot, the Mother Goose-ish looking librarian, says, “How many feather am I holding up?” When he answers, “Four?...Six?...Eight?” he heads to the stacks to do some research on his eyes.
After a visit with Dr. Seewell, the owl optometrist, Calvin takes a walk through the woods with his new glasses. While he’s admiring the details and beauty around him, he walks into a tangle of twigs and gets stuck. Calvin doesn’t give up, though. He remembers a bit of history he read about Archimedes, and he uses his glasses to send out an SOS message.
When his cousins who were making fun of him fly to his rescue, they realize how cool glasses can be—and because farsightedness runs in families, they all visit the eye doctor together.
Calvin may have bad eyes, but he is able to see the positive even when he’s feeling down. When he’s being called names like “geeky” and “bug eyes,” Calvin reminds himself he’s in “excellent company” because Ben Franklin, Gandhi, and John Lennon wore glasses, too.
Keith Bendis (illustrator of Casey at the Bat) makes libraries look interesting and welcoming. Treeville is a small, active community that includes the Bug and Worm restaurant, a nest supply store, and a yoga studio. Starling behaviour such as murmurations (when the starlings fly together in fluid formations) and sociability when roosting are depicted in the artwork on numerous pages.
|
|
Calvin, Look Out!: A Bookworm Birdie Gets Glasses