The Adventures Of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
If you thought only children and the more quixotic among us dream of imaginary friends, you would be wrong. It turns out they dream of us too in "The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend" by Dan Santat. Beekle is an imaginary friend who yearns for a child to be his best friend. The problem is that on the island where imaginary friends are born, all of his fellow compatriots are picked by children and beamed up into the stars, transported to the real world, except for him. He has no name, because there is no child to give him one.Beekle waits and waits, until, "he did the unimaginable" and ventures on his own, in a little sailboat, to the land inhabited by human children(and adults). It is a treacherous journey filled with the unknown, at times both wondrous and scary. His little boat shares the sea with an immense, awe-inspiring whale and calf and he rides the gray subway with its indifferent passengers after arriving among steamboats to a bustling metropolis. He is an immigrant in a strange new land.Like a newcomer, he is lost in the shuffle, unseen by humans with little imagination. He should stand out for his unusual, yet cuddly appearance. Beekle looks like a cross between a bicuspid and a marshmallow. He could be the Pillsbury Doughboy's cousin. He is wearing what appears to be the paper hat from a Christmas cracker. He has dark, kind eyes and an expressive little mouth, that becomes an "O" when he is pondering something and an energetic smile when he is happy. (He also has a little tushy. Even the imaginary apparently need something to sit on).How Beekle finds his happiness and ultimately his name is for the reader to discover. For children especially, I think this is a tale of courage and hope that there is a best friend out there just for you. It also celebrates imagination in that make-believe friends are something to delight in, whereas in most stories they are a coping mechanism children must be weaned from. The humor is in their offing. (Hopefully Beekle remains oblivious to this, long may he live).The imaginary friends in this book are wildly and creatively drawn, resembling, for example, an octopus, panda and Chinese Dragon. The island of imaginary friends has vivid rainbows, starry skies and sandcastles. The real world of inspired children is not devoid of beauty either, from a tree with many branches for them to play on to colored pencils perfect for drawing all that can be imagined. Beekle is adorable cute, for starters. And all he wants is to be the imaginary friend of a small child. But he gets tired of waiting in imaginary land, so he goes on an epic journey to the real world to find his child - which of course he does! I loved the portrayal of all the children playing with their imaginary friends - and especially the portrayal of how the children envisioned the playground! And at its most basic, it was a great book about making friends :)
What do You think about The Adventures Of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend (2014)?
Love this book for the illustrations so much. Just lovely.
—Nono
Lovely book about friendship with beautiful illustrations.
—marie
Liked the story, Didn't like the illustrations.
—nick
