How Do You See the World?
Noureddine Melikechi
Science, Naturally! (2025)
ISBN: 978-1958629758
Reviewed by Elizabeth Upshur for Reader Views (01/2025)
“How Do You See the World?” by Noureddine Melikechi is a thoroughly interesting, educational, and thought-provoking book to teach children about their eyes, eye health, and common eye issues that many people face. Michelle Simpson’s illustrations help make this learning journey evocative at every twist and turn, providing clear and easy visuals for how someone with eye issues such as astigmatism, nearsightedness, farsightedness, etc., might see the world versus someone with 20/20 vision or corrected vision.
Seeing through other people’s eyes is achieved through a blurry left-side page and a corrected right-side page viewed through a pair of bright glasses, which helps normalize glasses as a corrective aid. Melikechi also shares several fun facts about eyes, both human and animal!
This book offers readers a full and engaging primer on eye health. Readers can rest assured that the information that they are absorbing is both accurate and up to date, as Algerian native Noureddine Melikechi boasts a stunning collection of degrees in physics from institutes in Algeria and England. The field of optical physics might be new to most readers, but after reading this book, perhaps some children will be inspired to pursue this field and leave their own stamp on it with original and exciting research!
As an adult who is nearsighted and has astigmatism, I felt that this expressed what both of my conditions felt like, as well as the way that it takes time to acclimate to new glasses. I would have loved to have had this book to read as a child, and I can easily see this book being used in school curriculum or even a doctor’s office to help children better understand their own eye health.
While this book is clear and concise in explaining the different vision aids that are available, I do wish that it had taken just a few more sentences to explain basic etiquette since it is aimed at children. Explaining that people should not pet seeing eye dogs because they are busy working, or touch people’s glasses would have been a great way to help prepare children to better interact with people wearing glasses (fairly common) or people who are blind (perhaps less common but still vital). The book does do a good job of explaining that someone with a cane needs a little extra space and shows how some people with vision issues may hold onto another person’s hand to navigate the world.
Overall, “How Do You See the World?” by Noureddine Melikechi is an excellent book and strikes a great balance of attention-grabbing and educational.