THE ADVENTURES OF BEEKLE, THE UNIMAGINARY FRIEND by Dan Santat

What a beautiful picture book!

This was a great take on the concept of an imaginary friend who tires of waiting to be picked by a child and leaves the magical island where he was born to find him/her.

I loved the gorgeous, colorful illustrations, especially those depicting the magical island and all the other imaginary creatures, in somewhat familiar shapes (a cat, a panda, a robot, and one who look an awful lot like Sigmund from the late 70's Sid and Marty Krofft children's show, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters). The protagonist's journey across dangerous waters reminded me much of the character Max's similar crossing in Where the Wild Things Are.

When the protagonist finally finds the child, a little girl, their first meeting goes from awkward to touching when she gives him the name Beekle. With his new friend, Beekle has many adventures and the last illustration depicts several children and their imaginary friends who we saw on the magical island, with the last line reading: "And together they did the unimaginable"

This book left a smile on my face and a warm feeling in my heart. That's magic!