About the Holiday

Founded in 1989 by Sears Optical, National Eye Exam Month encourages people to think about their eye health. As kids get ready to go back to school, an eye exam is an important thing to add to the list of preparations. Seeing clearly is crucial to success in class and extracurricular activities. If you and your children have not had an eye exam this year, consider calling your ophthalmologist this month.

Douglas, You Need Glasses!

By Ged Adamson

Something may be amiss with Douglas. When Nancy and her playful pooch go out to chase squirrels, Douglas takes after a falling leaf while the squirrel escapes up a tree. It’s not the first time this has happened, either. You see, Douglas is a bit nearsighted. Sometimes he mistakes the stair post for Nancy, and his difficulty gets in the way of things (well, mostly Douglas gets in the way of things).

He also misses important signs—like the one that would have prevented him from tracking wet cement all over the skate park, where there are NO DOGS allowed—and he’s always causing something of a ruckus. Sometimes he even enters the wrong house! But when a game of fetch nearly creates a buuzzzz of disaster, Nancy decides something must be done.

She takes Douglas to the eye doctor where he reads a most dog-friendly eye chart and discovers that he needs glasses. He peruses the shelves of Dog Glasses and puts some on. Each one makes him feel different. In one pair he’s a rock star; in another a scholar; and in yet another a hippy. He tries them all until he finds the perfect pair!

On the way home he sees the world in a whole new way. “‘Wow! Everything looks amazing!’” Douglas says. And it is!

Ged Adamson’s funny look at a dog with an all-too-human malady will make kids laugh from the first page to the last. Earnest Douglas, going about his doggy days under a bit of a skewed perspective, is so endearing that readers will immediately take him to heart even as they giggle at his exploits.

Adamson’s vibrant multi-hued trees, colorfully clothed kids, and vivid backgrounds with stylish, sketched-in details give the book a fresh, jaunty appeal for a lively, fun story time. Kids facing the prospect of wearing glasses will also find much to give them reassurance and confidence in this book. Douglas, You Need Glasses! is a great addition to any child’s bookshelf!

Ages 3 – 8

Schwartz & Wade, Random House Kids, 2016 | ISBN 978-0553522433

Visit Ged Adamson’s Website to learn more about him and his books!

National Eye Exam Month Activity

Spool Puppy

No matter where you go and whether you have a real dog or not, you can take this little guy along with you. And just as you would pick out your favorite from an animal shelter, you can make this puppy look any way you’d like!

Supplies

• Printable Ears and Nose Template
• 2-inch round wooden spool, available at craft stores
• 1 skein of yarn in the color you choose. Yardage needed will depend on the thickness of the yarn.
• Felt
• Thin gauge wire
• Craft paint
• Paint brush
• Fabric or strong glue
• Dowel or pencil to wrap wire around to make glasses

Directions

1. Paint the dowel the color you want your dog to be, let dry
2. Trace the ears on the felt and cut out (or draw your own ears)
3. Trace the nose on the felt and cut out
4. When the spool is dry glue the ears to the body of the spool, allowing the ears to stick up from the top of the spool
5. Wind the yarn around the spool back and forth until the dog’s body is the size you’d like
6. Glue the yarn in place with fabric or strong glue

To make the face

1. Glue the nose over the hole on one end of the spool
2. Draw the mouth and tongue under the nose with a marker
3. You will draw the eyes on after the glasses are in place

To make the glasses

1. Wind the wire around a ½-inch dowel, thick pencil, or rounded handle to make two circles.
2. Leave about two inches on either side of the circles for the ear pieces of the glasses.
3. Adjust the size of the circles to fit the spool as glasses.
4. Put the glasses on the face of the spool, tucking the ear pieces into the yarn on each side
5. Draw eyes in the center of the glasses

To make the tail

1. Cut a small square of felt and stuff the edges into the hole on the other end of the spool
2. You can make the tail as long as you like

You can find Douglas, You Need Glasses! at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop |  IndieBound

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