Review of Caldecott Medal Winner: The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

 


Summary

Beekle is born where all imaginary friends are born. He waits and waits for a friend to imagine him. When he isn't imagined, he sets off for the real world on his own in search of his real friend.

Justification

Beekle fit all the criteria I was looking for in a Caldecott Medal winner: it was written in 2014 and I had not read it prior to this semester. Two other things that brought me to Beekle: I love silly, made up words and Beekle is absolutely the perfect name for this particular imaginary friend. Also, the illustrations are beautiful with the character of Beekle perfectly matching his name.

Response

Mood
As mentioned in my New Kid review, having to move my children during their school years was hard on our family. Beekle shows, in the best way possible, what it's like to feel afraid of being left out, that sometimes you have to do hard and brave things in order to make a friend, and sometimes good things just take time. I think it's critical to teach children that they have a say in who is their friend, and to talk about what it means to be a friend, and how to make friends. There are so many valuable lessons wrapped up within Beekle, and it also makes an excellent launch pad for so many other discussions around relationships.

Illustrations
The artwork in Beekle enhances the story being told. The illustration of Beekle automatically makes him a sympathetic character to root for. As Beekle travels, the whimsical appeal of his new world makes it intriguing, but possibly a bit frightening for Beekle. I was drawn in and hopeful with him in the real world, and sad with him when he didn't find a friend. The artwork of the illustrations help the text convey perfectly.

Theme
There are several elements woven into the overall theme of "but what if no one picks me?" There is an element of how scary the unknown can be (and how rewarding!)  The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend would make a wonderful gift for a friend of any age who is facing big changes and nervous of how it will look or doesn't want to take that next step. It also ends with the reader just feeling hopeful: that the hard will all be worth it eventually, that some day that thing we are waiting and waiting on will come... and it will be unimaginable.


Santat, D. (2014). The adventures of beekle: The unimaginary friend. Little, Brown and Company.

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