Santat, Dan. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. Little, Brown, 2014.

Dan Santat tells a hopeful tale of friendship and finding a place to belong in the world in The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. The illustrations in the book's end papers set up the story and confirm its satisfying conclusion. In a series of vignettes that resemble family portraits, Santat introduces the tale's creatures and the children who imagine them as their friends. There are no differences between the vignettes depicted on the front and back end papers, with one exception: the book's titular character stands alone, lost, in the front, and with a child, loved, in the back.

The end papers in the front of the book depict Beekle, the crowned, squishy dollop of white, in an expressionless, slouching state in the center of his portrait. His outline is thin and soft and blends into the background. In comparison to the other creatures in the front, he appears lonely, sad, and unsure of himself. Beekle is surrounded by space in his portrait, while the other creatures confidently fill or bleed out of their soft, circular frames with their friends.

Shulevitz writes, "at their best, end papers provide a visual bridge between the jacket and first pages of the book" (115). When the text of the story begins, the reader learns that Beekle is "waiting to be imagined by a real child." As the story continues, Beekle watches the other creatures leave their magical world when children imagine them as their friends in the real world. Each child has imagined a friend that exactly matches their physicality and interests, which the portraits in the end papers make clear. Perfect pairs include a slender magician and his sly imaginary rabbit assistant, a wide-eyed guitar-strumming musician and his imaginary living drum, and a smiling young swimmer and her imaginary grinning fish. There is a place and friend for every creature in the real world.

The end papers in the back of the book portray Beekle standing boldly with the child who is his exact match. The text informs prior to the story's conclusion, "Her face was friendly and familiar, and there was something about her that felt just right." Together, they fill the frame of the portrait. Beekle's outline is thick and shaded–he stands out from the background–his lips form a smile, and his eyes are bright. He belongs.

Works Cited

Santat, Dan. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. Little, Brown, 2014.

Shulevitz, Uri. Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books. Watson Guptill, 1985.