Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes
By: Jonathan Auxier
My Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS
Best for: 12 and up

A perfectly magical fairy tale!

I am SO digging Jonathan Auxier. His middle grade stories are exactly the right balance between challenging and accessible for his target audience. Most authors who try to write for the middle grades miss the mark—understandable because it’s such a hard age to write for. There is a significant disparity between 10-year-olds and 14-year-olds in reading ability, so writing a story that appeals to both ends of the spectrum is a trick. Jonathan Auxier has figured it out.

[Insert Applause Here.]

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes was Auxier’s debut novel, and he nailed it from the start. This book is an enchanting narrative packed with adventure, engaging characters, and essential life lessons, all right on target for that tricky middle grade audience. I LOVED IT!

Peter Nimble is a blind thief—and he’s REALLY good at being a thief. His eyes were pecked out by ravens as an infant, and having grown up without sight has made his other senses much more…everything. When he finds himself singled out for a magical adventure to save the day, he learns all the valuable lessons AND gets some answers about who he really is.

And we get answers on the whole ravens pecking his eyes out thing…

I found having a main character without sight was a powerful method of creating some fantastic visual imagery, and Peter’s beyond-realistic skills at sensing the world around him make his story the perfect blend of imagination stretching and reality affirming. I think kids are going to love it as much as I did.

The story seamlessly oscillates between doses of humor, instances of sorrow, moments of suspense, and mountains of mystery. Jonathan Auxier artfully builds plot momentum with unexpected twists and turns that kept this dad’s attention and interest throughout. It’s not simply an exciting adventure. It’s a thoughtfully layered tale with profound life lessons around friendship, bravery, and resilience.

Jonathan Auxier has earn himself a life-long fan. I vote you give Peter and His Fantastic Eyes a try yourself to see if your middle graders readers will enjoy it as much as I think they will!

Best for 12 and up.

Happy Reading!