Beegu

Product Information

It can encourage children’s creativity in art as they design and make Beegu figures, as well as making alien friends for Beegu to play with. Feeling bewildered and alone as she awaits a rescue signal from her mother Beegu sets off to find friends with the strange creatures she comes across. Her mother finds her and, again, another wonderful illustrations shows little Beegu reunited with her parents. I looked through some books I had packed away to go up to the attic today, they’re all coming back to the book shelves, this one is lovely!

When a little alien named Beegu - who looks rather like a three-eyed yellow rabbit, with long floppy ears - crash lands on Earth, she has trouble making herself understood by the locals, who seem either indifferent or unfriendly.Beegu finally finds some comfort when she curls up with several puppies in a box until a human tosses her out. She retells her Earth experience to her parents describing the earth creatures as big and unfriendly “but there were some smaller ones who seemed hopeful”. These questions could be explored with the class a discussion and/or as an opportunity for the class to create their own narrative for the reasons behind these remaining puzzles. Beegu soon finds some children in a playground who are accepting and become her earth friends until an adult finds her and she is once again discarded. Beegu and Jitterbug Jam, both of which he illustrated, were named as New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year.

The loneliness felt by Beegu is heartfelt and I believe a lot of children will be able to empathise with her emotions at being a stranger in a new environment. Unfortunately a dog shelter owner and a primary school teacher put a stop to her adventure in the school and again is left to be alone. 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 centres around an Alien coming to Earth and finding it difficult to find a place to fit in; with everywhere he goes, he is turned away and rejected. She is scared, lonely and confused and begins to wander around the near by city in hope to find some friends to care for her.Beegu tells the tale of an adorable little three-eyed alien who unexpectedly finds herself alone on Earth after her spacecraft crash-lands, leaving her stranded. Then an adult from an animal shelter finds Beegu and it is obvious that, “Beegu wasn’t wanted there. 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 story is a great one to use with all ages, with the lesson behind it being to accept everyone for who they are.

This book is charming and an excellent read for KS1 children, particularly Foundation stage and for classrooms with UAL and SEN children. There is an illustration of Beegu cuddled up in a warm cardboard box with some puppies which is simply gorgeous. This story was requested again and again and again at bedtime and I never grew tired of this baby alien’s adventure.

In the end the Alien finds their mother and explains how earth people are cruel and rejecting but suggested there was still an opportunity for change. The book is geared for younger elementary students, but it is the illustrations that are extraordinary and make this book an excellent read.

She feels lost and scared and tries to make the best of the situation, so she attempts to make friends.Beegu experiences different environments/places on earth and expresses different feelings throughout his stay on earth. Ignored by both the rabbits and leaves she seeks friendships from the adults she finds in the city of London, only to be dismissed. It would be an excellent book for teachers to use when welcoming new students into the classroom, encouraging the children to be considerate and make sure no one in the class feels anxious and isolated like Beegu. There are not too many words on each page, so this is suitable for the youngest child, but older children (and this adult) are likely to love it too. Along with The Doll's House by Rumer Godden, this child's picture book demonstrates the aristotelian concept of "catharsis" as well as any other work of drama/fiction I've encountered, and shows exactly how powerful children's literature can be.