Beegu

Product Information

There is an illustration of Beegu cuddled up in a warm cardboard box with some puppies which is simply gorgeous. 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. The gorgeous illustrations makes it accessible to EAL (English as an additional language)and SEN (Special Educational Needs) children and as the story is so simple it is ideal for children to act this out in role play. 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! But the only friendly people she comes across are the children, while the big Earth creatures just don’t seem to understand.

They appear to be done in water color and they are simple pictures, yet they convey a lot of emotion. 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. 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. She tries to comunicate and form friendships although she is often pushed away, due to her being misunderstood and different. I love it when Beegu finds some friends, the puppies and snuggles up happily with them, and the scene with the children.

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.

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. This book points out the difference between rigid, judgmental adults and welcoming children from an outsider’s perspective.Here she seems sad from the way her, what looks like ears, are drooped back like a sad dog, as well as sadness in her eyes.