Module 2: The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

Module 2

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

Summary

In this beautiful fantasy story the title character Beekle begins life on an island where imaginary friends wait until they are imagined by a child. He doesn’t have a name because the friends are named by their child. He waits and waits and waits and sees other friends leave the island as they are chosen by children but he is never chosen. He decides to go to the world and find his child. He takes a tiny boat and sails a long way until he reaches the real world. He finds a park and climbs a tree then a little girl finds him. She calls him Beekle and he realizes she is his friend. They go on fabulous adventures together.

Citation

Santat, D. (2014). The adventures of Beekle: The unimaginary friend. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

My impressions

This book has a very sweet, creative story but what makes this book incredible is the illustrations. This has become a favorite of my five year old twins and each time we read it together I see something new in the illustrations. The island of unimagined friends is whimsical and full of wonder. When Beekle first arrives in the real world it is dull and monochromatic and oppressive until he finds the park where the children are. The park has life and color and you see a lot of the imaginary friends from the island now paired with their children. The amount of detail and mood that is conveyed by the images is incredible. I love how it has a positive message about inclusion and friendship. I anticipate this one being a favorite in our house for a long time.

Review from Kirkus Reviews

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)

(2014). [Review of the book The adventures of Beelke: The unimaginary friend, by by D. Santat]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/dan-santat/the-adventures-of-beekle/ 

Idea for use in a library

This book would be a great choice for a storytime about friendship with younger kids.

For older kids it would be a book to use to collaborate with an art teacher. Using the book as inspiration students could use image processing software, paint or collage to create their idea of a world of imaginary friends.