The Adventures of Beekle: the Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

(I have an incredibly busy work week ahead of me, so I am going ahead and putting my Picture Book Selection and JPEG out here early)

For my Picture Book Project I will be examining “The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend” by Dan Santat. I chose this book for several reasons, the first being that the story is incredibly charming. The premise is this: an imaginary friend who is never imagined ventures into the real world to find his friend, is purpose, and his name. The premise alone is award-worthy enough, but what also caught my attention was the amount of detail that went into crafting the world surrounding it. Beekle comes from an island of imaginary friends that’s reminiscent of the Island of Misfit toys from my own childhood memories of “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” one where, just like the Toys, the inhabitants dream of one day finding a child to love and adventure with. Beekle is never dreamed up, but instead of being defeated or dealing with the disappointment of this, he takes his fate into his own hands and instead ventures out to find his friend himself. I absolutely love the message this sends to children, and I can’t wait to sit down and get more familiar with this gem.