The Adventures of Beekle

January 27, 2014
On an island of imaginary friends waiting “to be picked by a child and given a special name,” one friend—he’s adorably pudgy, and wears a paper crown—resolves to wait no longer. He sets sail in a small boat, but the sea serpents and whales he encounters are not nearly as daunting as the real world, which is gray and pedestrian: “No kids were eating cake. No one stopped to hear the music.” At last, his human appears: she’s a geeky, mop-headed girl who likes to draw. A sweet sequence shows the two shifting and blushing next to each other; she turns to him with his new name: “Beekle.” He’s overjoyed. Santat (Crankenstein), a versatile and talented illustrator, ranges wide, drawing underwater ocean scenes, grim cityscapes, and appealing alien creatures. The third-person retelling weighs the story down somewhat—there’s no conversation—and the pace drags as Beekle’s search has more obstacles than it needs to. Affirming thoughts abound (“thinking about his friend gave him the courage to journey on”), but fans may miss the cracked humor of Santat’s more irreverent work. Ages 3–6. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House.

March 15, 2014
If an imaginary friend is unimagined, does it become a real friend? Beekle (a crowned white gumdrop of lovable cuteness) lives on a fantastic island with other creatures "waiting to be imagined by a real child." After seeing his companions leave, one by one, Beekle loses faith that he will ever "be picked and given a special name," and so he does "the unimaginable" and ventures forth to find his friend. Upon arriving at a port city, he observes adults going about their daily lives in monochrome, dingy settings that lack any spark of color or vitality. Perspectives that often isolate the tiny Beekle in corners or surround him with large figures accentuate his loneliness. Everything changes when he arrives at a playground awash in color and sees children playing with their imaginary friends--many of whom had been on his island. But even here, he still cannot find his special friend. Feeling sad, he climbs a tree, and from his perch, he hears a voice calling to him. Lo and behold, he meets his special friend, Alice. She's imagined him after all, as evidenced by the picture he retrieves for her, which is of himself handing her a picture. In a delightful comic sequence, the pair become acquainted, and "[t]he world began to feel a little less strange." Welcome, Beekle. It's nice to know you. (Picture book. 3-7)

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Starred review from April 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-How long would you wait and how far a journey would you make to find your truest friend? Born on an island for imaginary friends, Beekle waits to be "imagined by a real child." He waits and he waits, but his turn never comes. Filled with impetuous courage, Beekle does the unimaginable and heads out across deep waters until he reaches the real world. He finds that life there is so harried that no one notices him. Eventually, as he waits at the top of a star-leafed tree, a small girl with a friendly face calls out to him with a picture in her hand. They learn to be friends, share adventures and snacks, joke, "and together they did the unimaginable." Santat's attention to detail in the mixed-media illustrations shares a child's eye for laughter and movement on full-bleed spreads with strategically placed text. Gazes of wonderment, broad smiles, and changes in perspective ensure an easy transition from page to page. Beekle's round white visage and taped orange paper crown are immediately identifiable in each scene, a sharp contrast to his surroundings against variations of dark neutrals on a city street or the brightly colored dragons of a child's imagination. Like Beekle's new friend, there's something here that feels just right as an "unimaginary" friendship creates a joyous, recognizable bond. A terrific addition to any library.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2014
Imaginary friend Beekle waits and waits for a child to think him into existence. When it doesn't happen, Beekle sails off to the real world--a city full of boring adults--to find her. Santat's bright digital illustrations capture the vivid land of imagination, the drab adult world, and the giggle-inducing expressions on marshmallow-like Beekle's pudgy white face.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)