Changes

This is exactly what happens to Beekle in ''The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend'', whilst all his imaginary friends are being plucked from obscurity, he is left behind. So rather than doing nothing , he sets off to search the human world in the hopes of finding his soulmate.

The most notable thing about ''Beekle'' is the lush illustrations and as a visual feast it is one of the most spellbinding I have seen. Santat is a very talented drawer and his use of colour in the book is magnificent. Each page has so much to see, from the outlandish world of make -believe, to the colourful city life of the real world. He also uses scale brilliantly; you get a sense of Beekle's fear and isolation as he is often portrayed as standing slightly back or dwarfed by much larger elements.

The illustrations have a foreboding about them that permeates the entire book. This is a melancholy tale, told in a melancholy manner. Beekle is a rather sad little creature and although the book does conclude in a nice way, it is a slightly bleak journey getting there. An older child will be able to appreciate the emotions that the book is trying to evoke, but for a smaller child , it just seems a little scary.

Children's books can vary greatly from the simple and joy -filled to the dark and moralistic, ''Beekle'' sits a little uncomfortably between the two. The book won a prestigious prize in 2015 for being a distinguished American picture book, but for me , it feels like a children's book that would appeal to an adult jury more than a child. A 5-7 -year -old will pick up on the vibrant illustrations, but will they also pick up on the depressed tone?

Another book with a crazy imaginary world is [[Super Happy Magic Forest by Matty Long]], whilst if the surreal interests you, look no further than [[Not Without My Whale by Billy Coughlan and Villie Karabatzia]]. Dan Santat also illustrated [[Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show by Michael Buckley and Dan Santat|Kel Gilligan's Daredevil Stunt Show by Michael Buckley]].