Little Parachutes

Picture books that help children

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Little Parachutes Gold Star Winner
Categories: Being Different & Being Yourself, Confidence & Self-esteem, Disabilities, Wearing Glasses / Eye patch

My Special Eye

A vibrant, positive picture book narrated by Bruno, an active little boy who has a prosthetic eye. Any child could learn a good deal from this picture book about why people have prostheses, how the eye is cared for, and what it means for the wearer. 'My Special Eye' gives a much-needed voice to monocular children.
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My Special Eye


Author: Maria Gomez-Lozano
Illustrator: Maria Gomez-Lozano
Publisher: Independently published

Prosthetic eyes are something that can feel shrouded in mystery; many people are curious about them, but may feel nervous about asking questions. This picture book uncovers the answers in an engaging and simple way, using a narrative that is well-pitched for young children. A child who is facing the possibility of losing an eye will feel reassured by Bruno’s pragmatism, honesty and positivity.

The book opens with no mention of Bruno’s eye, but focuses instead on introducing his passions and talents  (like soccer, painting and being a great big brother). Bruno’s left eye ‘got sick’ when he was little and lost all vision. He describes it as a ‘superhero eye’, as it prevented the spread of the infection to the rest of his body. Bruno now has a Special Eye, which needs to be cleaned and looked after properly, at home and during visits to his ocuralist. All Bruno’s descriptions and explanations of what his Special Eye is and what he must do to look after and protect it are honest, positive and simple.

Like all good Parachute Books, ‘My Special Eye’ is both sensitively and thoughtfully written and visually engaging.  Maria Gomez-Lozano has cleverly combined black and white photographs of the (very smiley) 6-year-old Bruno with richly-coloured watercolour details. We loved the depiction of him with his toy elephant, who also has a special eye.

My Special EyeThis appealing picture book would be helpful and reassuring for a child who is faced with the prospect of having a prosthesis fitted, and is a useful source of information for anyone curious to know more about what it’s like to live with an artificial eye.

The messages we found in this book:

Acknowledgement:

  • Children have many things that make them unique – Bruno is a great big brother, a keen artist, aspiring vet and an enthusiastic soccer player – his disability is just one aspect of him, and it does not and should not define him above everything else.
  • Medical appointments can sometimes be boring and annoying for children. Bruno doesn’t enjoy waiting while his Special Eye is removed, checked and replaced multiple times, but he knows it is necessary.
  • Prosthetic eyes are not frightening. Bruno and his brother are comfortable playing with the special eye and having fun with it. Removing the prosthesis does not hurt, but can feel strange.

Guidance:

  • Special Eyes have many different names: artificial eye, prosthetic eye, fake eye, pretend eye, false eye, glass eye.
  • People can need prostheses after an illness or injury.
  • The person that makes and fits special eyes is called an ocularist.
  • Special Eyes are not spherical/marble-shaped as many people assume, but are shaped like a large contact lens.
  • Prosthetic eyes need to be removed sometimes for cleaning, maintenance or fitting.
  • Children need to have larger prostheses made as they grow.
  • It is important to look after your eyesight. Bruno knows he must wear his glasses to protect his sighted eye.

Hope & Inspiration:

  • Wearing glasses can be fun: Bruno has many different ‘cool’ styles he can choose from.
  • The book focuses on the positive aspects of Bruno’s situation. His Special Eye is a ‘superhero eye’ – it prevented the disease that Bruno contracted from spreading to the rest of his body.
  • The book demonstrates clearly that having a Special Eye does not prevent you from playing, being active and having fun (Bruno does many things, including playing soccer and painting)
Worth noting:

From the Author:

“My Special Eye was created a few years after my son lost vision in his left eye when he was 2 years old. One year later he had surgery to replace his eye with a prosthetic eye. It is an understatement to say that this affected our family deeply. Apart from the shock and pain for the suffering of our child and the anxiety for his future, we found ourselves dealing with something completely unexpected that we knew nothing about. Ocular prosthesis, scleral shell, hydroxyapatite implant, uveitis, phthisis bulbi, band keratopathy, evisceration, enucleation… suddenly all these terms became part of our day-to-day vocabulary.

My Special Eye is the children’s book we would have liked to have at that time, particularly those with vision in one eye, a prosthetic eye or a scleral shell.

Explaining to a child that he or she needs an ocular prosthesis is not easy. However when the time came we found that our son and his sibling were way ahead of us in terms of acceptance, resilience and positivity. Also we soon realised that losing vision in one eye didn’t limit our child in any way. For him his prosthesis meant that now he had a special eye that could be taken in and out. Nothing more and nothing less.”

Review by: Claire Ward-Dutton