The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

Its a nice little book not overwhelmingly long or deep of a kids story but my point when I bought this was to be a supplement to Imaginary Fred, Leo, etc Imagination wise.I like a variety of art styles and really just thought this was beautiful(but a little short). I started reading my 4 year old longer books to test his patience with me but in doing so he is more likely to try and read all of these shorter books and memorizes words quickly. Its a sweet little tale I recommend to someone who already has a few classics and a variety of books not so much for a very small collection as there are some truly great book I think all parents would rather have first. Enjoy this cute little one if you give your child anything its the gift of reading a gift full of so much more than the act itself.

This was a very sweet story about friendship and finding a place to belong, very much deserving of its award. However, I gave it 4 stars because, despite its gorgeous artwork, I was disappointed to see that this story has some imagery that perpetuates a stereotype toward Asian peoples. Three images of an Asian girl with slits for eyes decorate the endpapers and last-page spread. Asian people have eyes with whites and pupils just like other humans do. While this may seem like a small thing to some, it is a visual that is very damaging to those it depicts and to those to view it, as this is often the only way they see Asian peoples portrayed. If it helps validate my statement, yes, I am Asian, but please don't see this as a posting of my taking offense or being over sensitive, rather I am more concerned with the damage this does to the children and others who view it. I'm not saying this book should be ignored as it is a wonderful tale with a great lesson, but if you are to add this to your library, I encourage you to talk about these images with your children or students. It's important that they are made aware that this is an improper and racist way to depict the Asian population. It saddens me that the author himself is a Thai-American, but him being so does not make these images okay to create, rather it is that much worse coming from such a source. You may be thinking "that's just his art style," but please consider this statement; a racist drawing does not equate art style or artistic validation, it is simply what it is.