Eyes That Kiss in the Corners

I was hugely disappointed that this book was written by an Asian American professor. I think the intention was good but the delivery of the message still reinforces white centric view of the world. The white girl is featured first, as round eyes and long lashes being beautiful. Then the main character compares her eyes to the white girl and tells herself she's beautiful too despite not having those features. Sadly, she's validating herself from the gaze of what's beautiful in white standards. If she is truly beautiful on her own merit, why is she talking about the white girl? She then goes onto describing her grandma, mom and sister's eyes that glow like warm tea and shaped like crescent moon, reinforcing the stereotypes of Asians being "foreign" or "exotic". Also, how is that they all have the same eye shape as if Asians all have the same monolithic looking face. Even sharing the same DNA, there has to be some deviation. But they were described in the exactly the same manner all across generation. Again, it's disappointing that this is what the Asian Americans are selling to White folks with all the good intentions to educate their children and at the same time continuing to feed some level of inferiority complex within Asian American community. I am writing to the author as I strongly believe Asian Americans need to be better than this. It is a shame that Asian Americans have been socialized to view themselves with a white centric view of beauty and continue to pass that down.

I had to get this book when I first saw it. We don’t see many books with Asian representation. I want my kids to know that their eyes are just as beautiful as others. The illustrations are also beautiful. My kids definitely enjoyed the book. We can always use more books like these for our children.

Beautiful illustrations!! The book reads like a poem and is very well-written. I’m glad there’s a book that talks about this topic among the few Asian-American kids books out there. What a wonderful addition to our book collection.

This is an absolutely gorgeous “own voices” book about learning to love yourself, just as you are. A little girl notices how her eyes are different than her peers’. She reflects on how her eyes look just like those of the other women in her family, “eyes that kiss in the corners, glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.” The lyrical text is just as magical as the illustrations. Perfect for a home, classroom, or school library!

I truly contemplated the 3 star review and still feel uneasy about it. First, it is a beautifully illustrated book that celebrates the little girl’s beautiful Asian eyes. We need many more books celebrating beauty in all shapes and forms. I was very excited about this book and preordered it. My girls couldn’t wait to read it, however when it arrived and I started to read it and within the first couple pages saw the celebration of her eyes came from the fact she shares them with her mom, grandma, sister... We have a transracial family through adoption and my girls’ eyes do not look like mine but equally beautifully. Another review said it much better than I did, but it certainly would be a very triggering book for my girls. They grieve their loss and dream of what could have been while having too many unanswered questions. This book is not one they are ready to read. I included a few pictures to show the imagery of her family. The words are just as impactful as the pictures. For families that do share the same eyes, this book is lovely.