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People have personified animals in literature for generations, but this Newbery winner may be the first to give them the same thoughts and emotions as their human counterparts. "The Eyes & The Impossible by Dave Eggers is a must-read for elementary students. Dogs have spoken before in literature, but this is the first to imagine them as full-thinking beings and narrators who examine human behavior.

Our hero dog, Johannes, serves as "The Eyes" in his park. Other animals rely on him to tell them the goings-on. The dogs, buffalo, and birds all work together. The animals try to help humans but find that animal …more control easily mistakes aid for burden. We have not heard of Harambe for years, but we see echoes.

The dog wears sweaters and tries to outrun Animal Control, taking on different roles as plot devices designed to keep Johannes as the watchdog in the urban park. The personification makes the animals sympathetic creatures running from detection. The writer subtly gives the canine thought and rationalization abilities with regular limitations, like the concept of time.

The author does a bang-up job of laying out the hierarchy of animals. We do not expect the goats to feel subservient to dogs, but that is the law of the land. We find the animals in precarious situations, and they have to remind us that this middle-grade book will allow minimal harm to come to the mortal characters.

Middle-grade books rank among the most difficult to write. Animal protagonists require a bit of silliness but enough introspection to keep some of them as sympathetic and relatable characters. In this case, Johannes suffers a near-death experience and finds a way to save his hide while protecting his closest confidants at the same time. The ending, therefore, is satisfying and not very predictable. (less)