The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

Just brilliant. Cannot wait to share with my class. Sometimes a book has all the messages you want to say

My British grand niece needed an American book for her 1st birthday. This was recommended by a children's librarian and young mother in the US. It got rave reviews from my niece and her mum.

Amazing artwork, gorgeous colours and a lovely story of bravery & friendship. My 4 year old twins loved it - they giggled & adored Beekle.

Lovely book , live beekle character design :-)

Reminiscent of Big Hero 6 physically, the hero here is an adorably smaller version, but in a very different world. Here imaginary friends wait to be selected by human children and whisked off to the real world for adventures But Beekle never seems to get imagined, watching everyone around him take their turn to leave. So he goes on his own adventure to find his perfect child. This would make a lovely Disney/Pixar film, it's right up their alley, and also contains shades of several of their features and shorts. Short and sweet, my own son has no experience of imaginary friends but seemed to understand the concept and loved seeing the imaginary creatures and watching Beekle find his perfect friend. The illustrations have a look of computer animation about them, they would easily fit into a cartoon feature. A lovely idea, very nicely brought together and a great bedtime story for nursery ages and above (ages 4-8).

A child’s imagination can be a powerful tool, so their imaginary friend could be absolutely anything. How about a giant panda or an octopus that likes to build sandcastles? But what of those forgotten creatures; if an imaginary friend sits in the dark and no one thinks about them, do they exist? An audacious animal may just buck up the courage to stop waiting around for someone to imagine them and instead seek out their friend. This is exactly what happens to Beekle in Dan Santat’s ‘‘The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend’’, whilst all his imaginary friends are being plucked from obscurity, he is left behind. So rather than doing nothing he sets off to search the human world in the hopes of finding his soulmate. The most notable thing about ‘‘Beekle’’ is the lush illustrations and as a visual feast it is one of the most spellbinding I have seen. Santat is a very talented drawer and his use of colour in the book is magnificent. Each page has so much to see, from the outlandish world of make believe, to the colourful city life of the real world. He also uses scale brilliantly, you get a sense of Beekle’s fear and isolation as he is often portrayed as standing slightly back or dwarfed by much larger elements. The illustrations have a foreboding about them that permeates the entire book. This is a melancholy tale, told in a melancholy manner. Beekle is a rather sad little creature and although the book does conclude in a nice way, it is a slightly bleak journey getting there. An older child will be able to appreciate the emotions that the book is trying to evoke, but for a smaller child it just seems a little scary. Children’s books can vary greatly from the simple and joy filled to the dark and moralistic, ‘‘Beekle’’ sits a little uncomfortably between the two. The book won a prestigious prize in 2015 for being a distinguished American picture book, but for me it feels like a children’s book that would appeal to an adult jury more than a child. A 5-7 year old will pick up on the vibrant illustrations, but will they also pick up on the depressed tone? Original review on bookbag.co.uk

My son's favorite book. He has an imaginary friend too, so he was able to relate to this fairly well. He wants a sequel so badly.

Wonderful book- beautifully illustrated and fantastic unique story

Me encantó, sentí un poco inconcluso el final pero es para dar rienda suelta a la imaginación de los niños

Oh, sweet Beekle. The story begins with our little imaginary friend being born on a faraway island. The island is the birth place of all imaginary friends, and it is where they live until chosen as a special friend to a special child. He waits patiently for a child to choose him...but no one ever does. Growing tired of waiting, he sets off on an adventure to find the perfect friend for himself. After searching the city, he finally finds his perfect match who gives him the name, Beekle. This is a charming and inventive story with beautiful illustrations, and a delightful premise. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, is the sort of picture book that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

En una primera lectura no me di cuenta de la magia de este libro, simplemente vi una historia con muy buenos dibujos que podrían atraer a un niño de cualquier edad y una historia con bastante imaginación, pero nada interesante para un adulto. Tras releerlo me percaté de algo que no voy a contar aquí pero que tiene que ver con un dibujo que hace una niña. Ese detalle pone el libro en otro nivel. No creo que la mayoría de niños se den cuenta de lo que significa y muchos adultos tampoco, pero una vez comprendido me doy cuenta que la medalla Caldecott que ha ganado es bien merecida (mejor libro ilustrado de USA 2014).