Octavio and His Glasses - Marc González Rossell - ★★.¾

AUTHOR: Marc González Rossell

GENRE: Children's Picture Book

PUBLICATION DATE: May 6, 2025.

RATING: 2.8 stars.

In a Nutshell: A picture book about the magic of seeing clearly. I liked the idea and even the atypical implementation. But a couple of content inclusions seemed odd for the target age group. I’d have liked the overall feel to be lighter and more positive. The artwork was also not in my favourite style.

This picture book was originally published in Spanish under the title ‘Octavio y sus gafas’ in 2024. This English version, translated by Susan Ouriou, is to be published in May 2025.

I like the concept of the book. Octavio’s world is quite blurry But once he gets new glasses, his eyesight improves to such an extent that he can see things from far, far away as well as very, very near. He sees monsters and cheaters and liars and lovers. Just as you wonder what’s happening, the twist is revealed (and honestly, as a book lover, I should have seen it coming beforehand): Octavio has discovered the magic of storybooks and reading, thanks to his better vision. An original idea for sure.

The story would help children make peace with the idea of wearing glasses as well as open the world of books to reluctant readers. The minimal text – not more than 2-3 lines per page in simple prose – helps keep the content accessible, though it might be simplistic for slightly older kids.

Why then is my rating on the lower side? Quite a few reasons.

First, though the twist reveal is great, the implementation isn't that smooth. I didn’t like the idea of cheating gamblers and “lovers” mentioned in a picture book meant for kids aged 3-7. There are better ways to depict darker storylines from the world of reading without resorting to such content.

Secondly, while the overall colour tone of the book is quite dark, the characters are drawn even creepier, with many images that might scare some young readers. If this is meant as a bedtime read, such sinister-looking visuals could even lead to nightmares.

Finally – and this is the most ironic for a book about clear eyesight – the graphics are too blurry. The art style is one reason for this, as the brush stroke method creates fuzzy edges, making the overall image appears hazy. Further, the colour scheme is the same as visible on the cover: black and yellow with minimal white. This makes the pages appear gloomy even when the content is joyous. (I have often seen that European picture books have simplistic and monochromatic colours, which this vibrant-colour-loving Indian doesn’t enjoy. So this point could be attributed to personal preference.)

Overall, I do like the intent behind this picture book. But some part of the writing inclusions and the art style stopped me from liking this further. 

As the GR rating of the book is quite high, I wasn’t sure if my opinion was accurate enough. So I called my two inhouse not-so-little readers and independently asked their opinions. Their ratings were 3.5 stars and 3 stars respectively, with both of them surprised by the inclusion of the card game and the “lovers” in a picture book. All three of us have weak eyes, so we did like the idea of linking clear eyesight to more reading.

If you like the concept and the cover art style, perhaps you could give this book a go, especially considering how many readers have loved it.

2.8 stars. (My rating is 2 stars. Averaging this with my kids’ ratings.) 

My thanks to Kids Can Press for providing the DRC of “Octavio and His Glasses” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.