Children’s Books for the Optometrist’s Office

These books support many parts of eye health and many kinds of kids. There are books that show what to expect, support worries about new glasses, and help explain the science behind many kind of eye problems. Since I am sharing so many options again today, I did my best to organize them. I started with the short reads that support young children, followed by great books for school agers about some of the worries that come with getting glasses, and ended with the lengthier books that explain a lot of aspects of eye care. These more complicated books can be great for kids dealing with an eye struggle who want to understand their own body or they can be great for your highly curious kiddo. I hope you find them help.

I hope these books help adults talk to their children about their bodies, their health, differences, and what they can expect. Many of these books would be great for a classroom read especially when a eye check is coming up or a student is getting glasses. Many of them can also just books for your shelves at home. People having glasses are an easy early difference that children notice and can start conversations about inclusion and differences. Don’t forget to use the blog search bar to find some other great books about inclusion, adaptations, and diversity.

Honestly, there are more eye books out there. Some I chose to leave off the list, as they didn’t fit my criteria, and some I haven’t had a chance to read yet. If you have a favorite that should be added in the future, let me know! As always, I have included links to help you find these book. I do earn a small commission on some of the links, but at no additional cost to you and at no loss for the author/publisher.

Now check out some of the amazing eye books out there!

Maisy Goes to the Eye Doctor by Lucy Cousins

This sweet story book tells the reader about two animal friends who go to the eye doctor together after one of them has trouble seeing the numbers in preschool. The book talks about several common eye doctor experiences such as the waiting room, covering one eye, following a wand with your sight, and sitting on a chair that goes up and down so you can look through the glasses machine. One of the friends ends up needing glasses and one of them doesn't. The friend that needs the glasses out a pair and the other friend gets a pair of sunglasses.  I love this ending as I personally remember faking bad vision to try to get glasses as a kid, and I wonder if I was promised a pair of sunglasses (even cheap ones) afterward, if it would feel like I was “winning” either way. This book is great for very young children through early elementary school and could be great for reading at home, at story time, at school, or specifically before an eye doctor visit to talk about what to expect.
https://amzn.to/4eRb0gj

Arlo Needs Glasses by Barney Saltzberg

This is a fun, pop-up book about a dog who needs glasses. There are multiple interactive pages including pairs of glasses that you can try on the dog. It introduces a couple concepts about the eye doctor including an eye chart (showing how it can look sharp or blurry) and the phoropter that the patient looks through. The best part of the book that  introduces the idea of medical play and playing through the things a child might experience. This medical play can be a big part of developing coping skills, both before the appointment and after.
https://amzn.to/4umd9Wg

Ophthalmology for Babies and Toddlers by Dr. Haitham Ahmed

This book does a nice job of explaining how eyes work in simple words. Building an understanding of how sight and eyes work can be important to understand glasses and a wide variety of eye changes/diagnoses. While there are several long wordy educational books, I am highlighting this one because it keeps it simple and can be read in one sitting.  The book says for “babies and toddler”, but I actually think it would be good for preschool through middle elementary. You may want to explain to them that it isn’t a baby book, but rather called it so that they can use the cute illustrations. 
https://amzn.to/498lHaB

Jupiter’s Adventures: My New Glasses by Anthony Cephas

This book is a story about a young boy going to the eye doctor to get glasses. He shares that he is not excited about it and is feeling nervous about what it will be like and what his friends will think. He tells his eye doctor how he is feeling, but when she gives him glasses to try, his feelings change. Seeing clearly feels good, and he likes how he looks in his glasses. He still worries about his friends but finds that they don’t care. This book can be helpful if you have a child who is feeling worried about needing glasses or just feeling nervous about being different. Would be appropriate for a classroom read too. Good for preschool through early elementary kids.
https://amzn.to/42FSm3N

Misty Mole Gets New Glasses by Dr. Yasmin El-Rouby

This book is about a young mole who is having trouble with lots of things - tripping a lot, reading the board at school, and the kids say her paintings look nothing like the real thing. Eventually, the school notices and the school nurse checks her eye. Then she recommends a visit to the eye doctor to her mom. At the ophthalmologist, they use the different lenses in front of her eyes to discover what glasses she needs. She gets glasses and all of her problems go away.  She is happy and her friends are excited for her. In regard to the eye appointment, the book only shows the “comfy chair”, lenses, and eye chart. It does not cover other aspects. This book would be good for young children who will be going to the eye doctor or getting glasses or maybe who have a friend getting glasses. Could be a great classroom book as well.Adults may need to elaborate on more details as the visit gets close or during the visit, as they don’t talk about every step of the visit, but it is a great confidence booster.
https://amzn.to/3RyoeVr

Carla’s Glasses by Debbie Herman

This book tells the story of two friends. Their class is going to have school eye checks. One friend is super excited and hopes to get glasses and one doesn’t. Of course, the child who wants glasses doesn’t need them and the one who doesn’t want to stick out does. They go together to the child’s eye appointment, and she helps him pick out glasses. In the end, she comes up with a plan to make him feel less isolated when he returns to school with glasses. This book is a cute story and could be great for classrooms prior to the class eye check, as it depicts the eye test as being no big deal and also gives an idea of different outcomes. A cute story for preschoolers through middle elementary. Could also easily be paired with a “design your own glasses” activity using pipe cleaners, cardstock, egg cartons, etc.
https://amzn.to/42NEfJE

I am going to the eye doctor -social story created by Rady Children’s Hospital

This free printable social story was created for children who are on the autism spectrum and benefit from this form of preparation. This printable book could also be beneficial for any child who copes better when they know what to expect.  In this social story, the child gets eye drops to dilate the eyes. This isn’t the case for all eye appointments, so please verify with your office.  Sometimes, clinics use a different machine that shines a bright light in the eye instead of the eye drops.  Unless, your child is visiting this specific clinic the photos will not match exactly, but it could be helpful if your clinic doesn’t have it’s own social story available.
https://www.rchsd.org/documents/2025/02/ophthalmology-social-story.pdf/

How Do You See the World? By Noureddine Melikechi

This book focuses on the diverse ways that people see and the many treatments that help them. The book explains the science of the eyes and how they interact with the brain. It then uses this framework to explain several diagnoses and their treatments including nearsightedness/hyperopia, farsightedness/myopia, astigmatism, lazy eye/amblyopia, blindness/low vision (and some adaptations- canes, assistive tech, guide dogs, braille), cataract, glaucoma, and colorblindness. The book ends with a focus on taking care of your eyes.  I appreciated the illustrations in this book and how they made the concepts easier to understand. This book would be helpful for classroom learning about sight, but also for children who require glasses/patches/surgery to help build an understanding. The book does take on complex topics, and therefore, the book might be better to read in parts, but in general, the book is written in a simple way that is easy to follow.  Good for middle elementary through middle school kids.
https://amzn.to/4tUi7IQ

Extraordinary Eyeglasses: The Amazing Invention That Helps Us See by Caroline Stevan

This book combines a fun, interactive format with a lot of information. The book includes comic spreads, interactive pages, and lots of factual information about the history, the science, the parts of the eye, and common diagnoses. The book would be more appropriate for older kids, upper elementary through middle school kids. The book focuses on the glasses themselves and does not talk about the ophthalmologists or what an eye doctor experience can be like.
https://amzn.to/498nuwl

My New Glasses:How My Favorite Frames Help Me See by Helena Haraštová

This book uses good factual information, but it doesn’t simplify a lot. There are a lot of big words. Some of the topics include getting glasses, but also about common eye problems, how eyes work, an ophthalmologist appointment, history of glasses, the potential future of eye adaptations, famous people with glasses (probably not famous people that your kids will know), how to take care of your eyes, animals’ vision, and more. So if you are reading it with young readers, you will want to shorten parts and you will need to explain certain parts.  For that reason, I would say the text in the book is more appropriate for upper elementary and middle school (although the illustrations don’t make you always feel that way). If you have a curious kid who likes lots of details, this book could be a good fit for them.
https://amzn.to/4wFofXJ