Color Is In the Eye of the Beholder
a Guide to Color Vision Deficiency and Colorblindness

Arlene Evans
Bud Pisarek, illustrator

Review by Molly

Chapter 1: Color vision deficiency and colorblindness: what they mean "People with color vision deficiency CVD have a range of both type and severity of their disorders. Those who are mildly affected may not notice any difficulty with activities that require typical color vision. Those with severe color deficiency may be challenged daily.

Chapter 2: Learning about color : 'Children can't learn to see more colors than they actually see and neither can adults.'

Chapter 3: Adapting to a color coded world : 'everyday conversations are sprinkled with color words.'

Chapter 4: Inherited and acquired color vision deficiency and colorblindness: 'color vision is dependent upon light'

Chapter 5: the working World: some jobs are dependent upon color recognition, others are not.

Chapter 6: Identification and treatment: various testing methods are noted, 'no treatment is available today that will enable those with CVD to see color as others do.

School nurse turned writer Evans saw a need for a clearly enunciated narrative for parents, teachers and students concerning the subject of Color Blindness and Color Vision Deficiency. A registered nurse Evans could find nothing for children on the subject and the first book Seeing Color: It's My Rainbow Too was born. From that beginning came Color Is In the Eye of the Beholder.

Eight percent, or one in 12 males world wide have some degree of color vision deficiency or CVD, as do 0.5 or one in 200 females. Few if any of us have not come into contact with at least one person who has some color problem. Written in a nice readable style Color Is In the Eye of the Beholder is a reference book suitable for the school and home library. Parents of children who have the condition and teachers alike are sure to turn to the work often. Writer Evans explains that the person who has CVD does not live in a colorless world, they live in a world colored not as fully as is seen by most of the population.

Evans notes those suffering from CVD learn to adapt. She then goes on to suggest some coping methods for dealing with the problem by taking along someone to help when they shop for clothing, buy one color socks to eliminate the need for matching, let someone else do the decorating, and the like. Most CVD is genetic, only very rarely is it caused by trauma.

This book is sure to fit the needs of many in both the school and medical professions as they care for children and others having CVD.

Seeing Color: It’s My Rainbow, Too by Arlene Evans