Beegu

Product Information

The absolute cutest story- discussed in a lecture about how the illustrations represent the feelings of Beegu. This is a sweet, touching story about a young rabbit-like alien who is stranded on Earth and looking for her mother. The story unravels to reveal that although the adult humans weren’t very helpful or even nice to Beegu, the children on Earth were.

I have seen this story read to a class of year 2 pupils and it was totally captivating for both boys and girls. Inspiring children’s creative writing, they can describe and create the planet where Beegu originates and describe new planets Beegu can discover with her friends. 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! Deacon’s simple text and soft illustrations cleverly convey a child’s feelings of uncertainty and confusion when faced with new surroundings.This is shown as Beegu is seen to play with human toys and even given a hula hoop to keep by the children which she befriends at a school. At last, the lonely Alien found a small group of children, who accepted the Alien regardless his differences. I am likely to remember Beegu and sad that I’m one of the oldsters Beegu will not make a point of fondly remembering.

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. 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. The images of Beegu are a great aid to the readers in seeing just how different Beegu is and why he is having such difficulty in our world making friends. The book was intriguing because the character is not probably introduced and therefore it leaves the reader thinking what kind of creature beegu is .On the other hand, she does understand the important things, and when her parents eventually do rescue her, she informs them that "Earth creatures were mostly big and unfriendly, but there were some small ones who seemed hopeful. There is an illustration of Beegu cuddled up in a warm cardboard box with some puppies which is simply gorgeous. Furthermore, it suggests perceptions can be changed and if others can accept someone, we can do the same.

I love the scene where she is reunited with her parents and she retells her experiences in her special language, the pictographs are great in her speech bubble. The illustrations beautifully demonstrate the different emotions Beegu feels throughout the story, with his ears moving up and down just like a puppy dog when they’re happy or sad. This book is charming and an excellent read for KS1 children, particularly Foundation stage and for classrooms with UAL and SEN children. Beegu's spirits are sinking lower than ever just as the mother ship arrives, in this simple, bittersweet picture book that shows us our world through the three eyes of an innocent outsider with the help of stylish art and a wry, understated text. Having only a sentence or two on each page really draws the reader into the pictures which are a good talking point for how Beegu is feeling at different points in the book.Alexis Deacon graduated from the University of Brighton, where he studied Illustration, gaining a first class honours degree. There are some questions which are left unanswered as a reader such as “Why didn’t any of the people on the street seem to notice Beegu, particularly when she didn’t seem to be of their world? The cutest story book teaching children about acceptance as Beegu (the little alien character) becomes stranded on earth.