Amy’s eyes are blue as the ocean and bright as buttons. In fact, they are buttons, for Amy is a doll. Once she was a flesh-and-blood orphan child at St. Anne’s Home for Girls. But her beloved sailor doll turned into a real little man and went off to seek his fortune, becoming Captain of the frigate Ariel. So Amy pined away and–behold! She turning into a doll herself.

Why, this means that almost anything could happen! says the Captain upon his return.

And almost anything does, as the two set out on the Ariel with a crew that includes rabbits, dogs, cats, monkeys, and other animals (who were all once dolls themselves) on a dangerous quest for gold treasure.

Reviews for Amy’s Eyes (1st Edition)

Richard Kennedy has all the wacky charm and rakish humor of a Roald Dahl; the pathos and irrepressible optimism of Frances Hodgson Burnett; the fantasy, recovery, escape, and consolation of C.S. Lewis or L. Frank Baum. - San Francisco Chronicle

Amy’s Eyes, in my opinion, is indeed an extraordinary work. I think it’s a brilliant novel in every way, and filled with inexhaustible riches: rich in conception, in language, in wise humor, in excitement. Richard Kennedy sets a new high standard for all of us concerned with quality in literature for young people. Writers, surely, must envy his achievement –and above all, admire it. I found the book altogether wonderful, and a permanent treasure. - Lloyd Alexander

This vital sense of life, both as possibility and meaning, is this big book’s wonderful achievement. - New York Times

Amy’s Eyes is one of the most startling, compelling novels to be published as children’s literature in recent years. The story embraces practically every element of a classic fantasy adventure: a poor, gentle, noble child in an orphanage; a mean and spiteful woman to plague the child; a kind and loving protector; sailing ships and pirates and a search for a golden treasure. - The Seattle Times

It is a masterpiece. - Oregon Media Association