Beegu: A universal message of hope

From Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) | Illustration © 2003 by Alexis Deacon

This week, I recommend Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) as my Story Worth Sharing. It’s about a small alien who crashes on Earth. She is not meant to be here – certainly not alone. And now she is lost. 

Let’s get one thing straight: Beegu is adorable! She is a luminous, bright lemon yellow that bestows her (according to Publishers Weekly) with a ‘celestial simplicity’. With two long ear-like antennae, Beegu is highly expressive. One minute they trail along behind her. The next, they are raised quizzically – or held erect in alarm. Three eyes make Beegu suitably other-worldly, yet she retains the cuteness of a stuffed bunny. 

Unfortunately, most of the Earth creatures she meets are big and unfriendly. But that’s the BIG ones. The small ones are a different matter.

I’m a big fan of the movie, E.T. So a picture book about a little lost alien is going to appeal! (If you say the name, Beegu, nice and slow, it even brings to mind E.T. instructing Elliot to Be good.) I remember reading Beegu to Noah as a kid. It jumped out at me then and really appealed to his interest in outer space – and the exciting notion of aliens! That was many years ago now, and Beegu (like E.T.) has stood the test of time.

Unlike E.T., Beegu’s arrival (as already mentioned) is somewhat more dramatic. Interestingly, the title page places us at the scene post-event: In a dark, heavy landscape, a spacecraft is embedded in the ground, burning up from the inside. And there lies Beegu.

 

From Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) | Illustration © 2003 by Alexis Deacon

 

Deacon likens Beegu to “a little shiny jewel” – and she really does shine out from the darkness of his stark landscapes (which only adds to her other-worldliness.)

Turn the page, and time has passed.

The fire in the spaceship has burnt itself out, and the billowing smoke is reduced to a whisper. The sky is lighter – and now Beegu is awake.

 

Beegu was not supposed to be here.

She was lost.

 

Beegu is all the more profound for its simplicity. How (or why) she has crashed is not revealed – but the ambiguity is part of the story’s strength and threads throughout the story. So, rather than overloading us with information, Deacon chose instead to reduce the text to a minimal amount. When paired with his enchanting illustrations, he tells the story we need to know. 

Because of this minimal approach, Beegu prompts many questions – and that’s part of its appeal. Take that opening scene, for example, where Beegu lies on the ground, a short distance from the crashed spaceship:

Is Beegu asleep?

Unconscious?

Did she eject before impact, or has she crawled that short distance? 

Complex emotions and unanswered questions present opportunities to connect and chat with your child – and invite their interpretation of the story. (Find out the significance of this later.)

Awake now, Beegu searches for help. But ‘[n]o one seemed to understand her.’

 

From Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) | Illustration © 2003 by Alexis Deacon

 

Deacon’s illustrations speak volumes. There’s Begu surrounded by a group of similar-looking rabbits. A speech bubble indicates she’s talking, but it’s meaningless to us (and the rabbits). Look carefully, and you’ll notice that Beegu is mirroring the posture of the rabbit. It’s a tiny detail that could open a broader discussion of how we – particularly children – might copy someone in an attempt to fit in.

Children will find Beegu utterly charming – and they will also relate to her. They know what it’s like to be – and feel – small (and vulnerable) in a world of overpowering adults. They will have felt misunderstood. So they will root for the overlooked alien as she wanders the streets alone (shown from a child’s eye perspective), looking for a way home to her mother. 

 

From Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) | Illustration © 2003 by Alexis Deacon

 

Beegu didn’t like being alone.

She needed to find some friends.

 

At last, she does make some friends - a box full of puppies!

 

From Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) | Illustration © 2003 by Alexis Deacon

 

I love this spread. It’s absolutely masterful in its simplicity. First, we see Beegu leaning over a box, her ears held high and active. Then a close up of her curled up with the puppies, snuggled and entwined in a bed of straw. It’s very touching and needs no explanation.

But the next day, Beegu is separated from the comfort of her new friends and is rejected by the man at the Stray Dogs’ Home. Later, after a promising playtime with some school children, Beegu is once more separated from her friends and evicted from the playground by a hard-hearted grown up.

 

From Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) | Illustration © 2003 by Alexis Deacon

 

Deacon deliberately leaves certain aspects of the story ambiguous and open to interpretation, which is a smart move on his part. It will spark creativity in your kid as they fill in the blanks and come up with their own answers. (For example, what caused Beegu to crash in the first place.) The joy of this is that there are no wrong (or right) answers! It’s as if the author has given them the reins and said, There you go, now you tell the story. In other words, they are put in the position of the storyteller.

“I like to say that the best books leave a good portion of the experience to the reader’s own imaginative investment,” explains Deacon. “Fifty percent author, fifty percent you….” 

The rest is open to interpretation. This is very empowering to children and can be a liberating story experience. 

Sure, kids do this all the time through imaginative play. But it’s something else to be given the power over a character on the page. What’s more, stories such as Beegu are great for your relationship, too, since they create opportunities for you to chat together and bond.

The story has a happy ending: Beegu is beamed back up to a passing spaceship and reunited with her parents.

 

From Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) | Illustration © 2003 by Alexis Deacon

 Beegu is a captivating picture book that covers the precious themes of friendship and inclusion. 

The feelings it invokes are universal – making Beegu a character that all kids will relate to. As Deacon explains:

 

Childhood is full of moments of feeling in or out of the crowd. Think of starting a new school or welcoming a new child to your own school, meeting a newborn sibling for the first time or perhaps a new family if your own has broken up. These are very common events, but they affect us deeply.

 

Writing this article made me consider the wider ramifications of feeling like an outsider – and I was reminded of the song, Trailway Bus by Paul Simon:

 

The border patrol outside of Tucson boarded the bus

“Any aliens here, you better check with us

 How ’bout you son?

 You like you’ve got Spanish blood

 Do you “Habla ingles”? Am I understood?”

“Yes, I am an alien from Mars

 I come to Earth from outer space

 And if I traveled my whole life

 You guys would still be on my case

 You guys would still be on my case.”

– Trailway Bus © 1997 Lyrics by Paul Simon and Derek Walcott

 

Beegu highlights the need to welcome the stranger in our midst.

The displaced and the frightened.

It’s about the value of accepting those who don’t look like us, who speak a different language and perhaps behave in strange ways. 

The alien. 

Making it an important message for the world to hear right now.

And ultimately – right at its core – Beegu is a message of hope.

Yes, the adults are selfish and judgemental. But ‘the small ones’ - the children – save the day. They’re the ones who befriend Beegu – thanks to their open and welcoming hearts. 

 

“Earth creatures were mostly big and unfriendly,” Beegu tells [her parents], “but there were some small ones who seemed hopeful.” She gazes wistfully out the spaceship window at the receding Earth: “Beegu would always remember those small ones.”

– Publishers Weekly  

 

This is why picture books like Beegu are so valuable.

By teaching empathy and modelling kindness, they create hope.

And we all need that.

Because one day, the small ones will be in charge.

STORIES WORTH SHARING: Beegu by Alexis Deacon

Good to Read for:

Teaching empathy.

Sparking creativity.

Modelling friendship.

 GOOD TO READ

Picture books about being lost

The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers

A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton

The Storm Whale by Benji Davies

Red Ted and the Lost Things by Michael Rosen & Joel Stewart

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From Beegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) | Illustration © 2003 by Alexis Deacon

 

‘uplifting’

- Publishers Weekly

‘a heart-warming and satisfying tale that is certain to provide comfort to young children.’

- BookTrust Buy UK* I EARN COMMISSION FROM THis LINK #AD/AFRELATED ARTICLESSOURCESBeegu by Alexis Deacon (Hutchinson, 2003) Beegu (Publishers Weekly) A place to call home, the blog of author and illustrator Alexis Deacon (alexisdeacon.blogspot.com) Beegu by Alexis Deacon…a tale of a lost visitor from another planet (Booked for Life, 13 July 2020) Trailways Bus (Paulsimon.com)© 2021 BY TIM WARNES(UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED)****USE OF THIRD PARTY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FALLS UNDER FAIR USE/FAIR DEALING PRACTICE.