A blind protagonist, mystery, and magic make this a captivating tale.

I t is a constant delight to me that, though they seem to be few and far between, creative and imaginative children’s novels are still being produced. One of my favorites is Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society series, the first installment of which was published in 2007. I’ve written about Stewart’s books before, and a recent reread has me firmly convinced that, given a bit more time, these novels deserve a place in the canon of Western children’s literature. Another standout is Gary D. Schmidt’s books, particularly The Wednesday Wars and The Labors of Hercules Beal. And while they are a little silly, I personally enjoy the first five Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan.

The latest addition to this personal list is Jonathan Auxier’s Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, a 2011 book that captured my attention with its thoughtful prose, air of mystery, and blind protagonist. Yes indeed, Peter Nimble is blind.

This blindness and its cause, as well as other slightly gruesome moments in the book, are handled with care by Auxier, who manages to balance humor, serious conversation, and peril with calculated understatement. It is a book in which the influences of Lemony Snicket, G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, and many others are clearly apparent and appreciated, but it is its own exciting tale.

You have, of course, your hero, your ruffians, your spunky royalty, and your evil relatives. There are magic islands, a mysterious mentor, and the strange but lovable sidekick. Peter Nimble is an orphan who was blinded by ravens as a baby and is now under the control of a nasty thief named Mr. Seamus. Actually, Mr. Seamus doesn’t perform the act of thieving anymore — he has trained orphans to do his dirty work, and he saw something special in Peter. Our protagonist, owing to his blindness and abandonment, has amazingly heightened senses, and Mr. Seamus trains him further and exploits his skills for unsavory ends. Peter’s skills are sometimes outside the bounds of nature — he can stop his heart from beating and pick most locks with his fingers — and while these skills can be a bit unbelievable at times, they heighten the cleverness of the tale.

Our hero’s slavery is abruptly ended one day after an encounter with the elusive Haberdasher and the discovery of three magical pairs of eyes. This discovery whisks him away to a strange land and sets him on a path he never could have imagined.

While the story’s premise is fairly straightforward, Auxier has woven together the elements of many tales and made them his own in imaginative ways. Certainly, there are other children’s books about young thieves, but are they also blind? And there are novels about blind children, but can they also swordfight? It’s an invigorating read with plenty of surprises and cliffhangers.

Though I do recommend the book, it isn’t without its weak points. (And I would note that I can’t extend my recommendation to the second book in the series, Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard, which has more pronounced weaknesses and seems fit for a more mature audience than the middle-school readers it is intended for.) Auxier keeps his dialogue light and free of snark, which I appreciate, but at times it feels a bit forced. There is a third-person narrator, and this voice adds amusing comments, like little gems hidden along the journey, but the smoothness of the narration at times highlights the weakness of the dialogue.

One other small quibble I have is with his side characters, some of whom could have used more fleshing out. It wasn’t always clear what purpose they served in the story. Still, in a short children’s novel, these kinds of minor flaws are forgivable if the plot holds up and the main character is strong — which, in this case, he is.

There is, as I alluded to above, plenty of peril in this tale. The cause of Peter’s blindness is one instance. Another thief gets pecked to death. Birds and other characters die in a massive battle. Children are being forced to work as slaves. But Auxier neither passes over nor dwells on the tragedies. The motives behind some deeds are revealed in the course of the tale, while the realities of other elements (such as the children being slaves) are understood to be very wrong. The author also manages to capture all of this without resorting to overcomplicated storytelling or absurdities.

Finally, as a bonus, Auxier did all the interior illustrations himself, in pen and ink. They are simple and charming, completely fitting with the tone of the story.

All in all, this book has a hearty thumbs-up from me, and whether you use it as a read-aloud or simply wish to submerge yourself in a good read and forget that summer is coming to a close, it’s an adventure worth your time.