Beegu

Product Information

Waiting for a rescue signal from her mother, she fails to make friends with the strange creatures she encounters. Wandering once again, Beegu encounters a group of schoolchildren on the playground, who warmly welcome her into their midst - until the grownup in charge puts a stop to it.

It has scope to be studied in drama too for children to consider her emotions and develop empathy towards her.Her mother finds her and, again, another wonderful illustrations shows little Beegu reunited with her parents. I am likely to remember Beegu and sad that I’m one of the oldsters Beegu will not make a point of fondly remembering. I enjoyed the style of the images, which seemed to echo through colour the mood Beegu was in throughout the story e.

This book teaches the importance of being kind to others and welcoming others into a new environment. The second picture-book I have read from Alexis Deacon (the first being Slow Loris) - an English author/artist whose work has been strongly recommended to me by a friend and fellow children's literature enthusiast - Beegu is a deceptively simple story, one that flawlessly blends word and image to create a poignant tale of being adrift in a strange new world. The beautifully simplistic illustrations convey a lot of emotion, and children and adults alike will be able to interpret when Beegu is happy and sad. Then she encounters young kids on the playground who accept her as a friend; that is until a teacher comes and kicks her off the playground. Beegu experiences different environments/places on earth and expresses different feelings throughout his stay on earth.But even this refuge is denied her, in the morning, when the shelter worker reacts poorly to finding this strange creature on his doorstep. Then an adult from an animal shelter finds Beegu and it is obvious that, “Beegu wasn’t wanted there. The illustrations are brilliant and therefore useful to look at with children because they link clearly with the story and can express emotions to children.

Alexis Deacon is one of Book Trust's ten Best New Illustrators, and Beegu was a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. With this message behind it, I feel it can be read to any children whether they are four or eleven, there can be clear discussions after and during the story in terms of their comprehension of it and what the important factors were. The story could be used to teach children about those who are different and don't fit in as easily as others, and the importance of making people feel welcome, as throughout the book the idea of loneliness is repeated and presented through the text and pictures, making the reader empathise with Beegu.Ignored by both the rabbits and leaves she seeks friendships from the adults she finds in the city of London, only to be dismissed. The book was intriguing because the character is not probably introduced and therefore it leaves the reader thinking what kind of creature beegu is . Beegu finally finds some comfort when she curls up with several puppies in a box until a human tosses her out.