Who is the Beast?

by Keith Baker

All the animals in the jungle are afraid of a mysterious, unknown beast. Who can it be? Keith Baker's vibrant bestseller conveys an important lesson about acceptance and understanding that young children--and their families--will be eager to share.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Storytime, Fantasy, Kids

28 pages, Board Book

First published September 12, 1990

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Keith Baker


Keith Baker lives in Seattle. He has written and illustrated many acclaimed picture books for young children, including the New York Times bestselling LMNO Peas; 1-2-3 Peas; Little Green Peas; Hap-pea All Year; LMNO Pea-quel; My Octopus Arms; and No Two Alike.

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I read this because it was listed as a good book for vegan kids. Well, okay, I guess, if we’re talking empathy in the sense of seeing the similarities of all animals, and then extrapolating to humans, and then following that line of thought to humans being just one other kind of animal. There is definitely no overt vegan/vegetarian message.

But, this is a wonderful book, a really fun book.

The illustrations are beautiful, big, bold, vibrant, colorful, whimsical, and also can be used as a mystery guessing game for young children.

The story is told in very few words and the cadence and content just beg to be read aloud. It’s a wonderful read aloud book, for one or a couple of children or a large group of children.

It’s very cute. More and more of the tiger is revealed, as all the other creatures call the tiger the beast. The tiger sees only himself, no beast, so he checks. He’s then able to figure out the identity of the beast(s).

It wasn’t what I expected but I really enjoyed the book, and I think that most young children will too.

[Juan Carlos malik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un bonito libro álbum acerca de cómo no debemos juzgar las diferencias.

[T.L. Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute story! It was one of my daughter's favorite stories when she was young. She had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Baker when he toured her school when she was in kindergarten and have him autograph her copy of his beautifuly illustrated book. She still has it today and reads it to my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter who also loves this story. This story teaches a great lession that just because we all look different, there are likenesses about each and everyone of us that make us all unique but the same. :)

[J9 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great preschool age or K book about animals, with maybe the underlying theme that there's a beast in all of us. Colorful illustrations keep children's attention while they focus on finding the body parts talked about on the pages. Short enough to keep the younger ones interested and probably not enough words to make it a level 1 reader. Still, all my kids enjoyed it, even though it's not one of their favorites.

[Ara Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very lovely rhythmic book

[Ashley B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a tiger who is told he is a beast because he has whiskers, big eyes, large paws, strong legs, and stripes down his back. The tiger doesn't think he is a beast, so he goes to ask the other animals who the beast is. As he is talking with other animals they realize their similarities and how they are all beasts. This book shows how even though things are different, there can still be some similarities. This concept can be used to show kids that even though someone may look different or talk different, or dress different than they do, that doesn't mean that person is bad. There are more similarities than differences.

[Marissa Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love this book. The reader does a very good job building up anticipation so that the reader is really intrigued. I like that they just show parts of the lion throughout because it really adds to the anticipation the reader is feeling.I really love the illustrations in this book and think they were done very well, they are very elaborate and colorful. I think this book has a very good and positive message that we all have things in common, and that we should not outcast anyone or judge them based on their features. “We are all Beasts” it says towards the end, showing that we are all the same, even though some of our features or talents might be different.

[Laurie B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in preparation for a tiger-themed preschool storytime; however, I did not end up reading this one to the kids, so I can't say how well it would work as a group read-aloud. However, I'm confident it would work as a one-on-one read, where you could really spend time looking at the beautiful illustrations and finding the animals. The gentle cadence and rhyme make it a pleasant read-aloud, and I like the message of how we can find similarities even with others who seem quite different from us.

[Tayler K · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the first half of the book, we see bits of the tiger as he moves through the jungle, passing other animals. "The beast, the beast!" they each exclaim, remarking on some feature of his which they recognize. The tiger looks at his reflection in the water and wonders who the beast could be, for he sees only himself. Could it be him? The tiger goes back to the animals he passed before, and each intimidating feature that an animal mentioned to start with, we see the tiger shares in common with someone else! Maybe we aren't all so different--we all have things in common, and that's not so scary.

[Adriana Palencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The large colorful pictures were a pleasant surprise. The book has plenty of repetition and rhyme.
In the beginning, the animals refer to the tiger as the beast, but in the end, the tiger points out that they are all the beast. This book could be used to teach a valuable lesson about how we are all people. It would be a great social and emotional book for children who are feeling singled out.

[Paige Fulkerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rhyming / rhythmic text structure
Could be used to help students with imagery and writing rhyming stories / poetry (or how to tell a story through rhyming)
This book also uses a repetitive text structure: they describe the beast, and then the beast describes themselves in the same way as the first time around.

[Ty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow both ominous and tender, I loved the art and repetitive rhymes in this childrens book about a tiger encountering his own reflection.

"The beast, the beast!
I'm filled with fear.
I see his tracks -
the beast is near!"

[Daniel Woolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deals with perspective, and different viewpoints

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

ry slept

[Aviara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that started my love affair with children's picture books.

[Cara Frazee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grade: Preschool-Kindergarten
Poem

This fun repetitive text will get kids excited to start reading. The illustrations are fun and I think kids will really enjoy the animals throughout the book.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

When starting to read this book, I really did not enjoy it, but I grew to like it before the end.
Nice use of repetition with the beginning of each sentence, to bring the message full circle.

[Paige]

Teaches children about different animals in the jungle, harder book to read, so would be one to read to the class and let them look and learn the animals

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids ask for this over and over

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple plot & sparse text makes this great for toddlers, yet not painfully boring for their parents. This book strikes the perfect balance!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My seven month old made a loud exclamation at “I see hi stripes, yellow and black” :)

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging to young readers. We love how each pages has just a few words on it. With beginning readers a few words per page are much less overwhelming than many words per page.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're all beasts, simply put ....okay, my 2 year old wasn't really into this one, but I liked it.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who is the beast? It’s me!!! An autographed copy found at Titusville High School.. AP English was also reading the short story “the Dangerous Game.”

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

my 4.5yo, 7.5yo, and I all loved this book. it's so simple yet profound

[Emily Suarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a prime example of never judging a book by its cover, as the tiger is scared of the beast until he finds out everyone thinks he is the beast.

[Barbara Radisavljevic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tiger hears all the animals warning each other about the beast who is near -- the beast who has a swinging tail, yellow and black stripes, strong legs, green eyes, and long, white whiskers. He wonders who this beast everyone is so afraid of might be. He looks into the pool and sees his reflection, and is puzzled. "Who is the beast? Who can it be? I see no beast. I just see me." He then compares himself to the other animals and is able to find some other animal who shares one of each of the characteristics that inspired the fear of him. He comes to the conclusion that they are all beasts.
I am not quite sure what the author is saying in this book. He might be saying that we don't see ourselves as others see us. And he might be saying that at the core we all share the same characteristics and shouldn't be prejudiced or afraid of each other. Or he may not have been trying to make any profound point at all. You'll need to decide for yourself.
The art work, in my opinion, is what makes the book. The pictures of the animals and the jungle are bold and bright and will be sure to capture the attention of young children. With only one line of large print per page, beginning readers will be encouraged to read this for themselves -- especially if they've heard it read to them a few times

[Swear Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is very cute. It is likely intended for children ages 3-5. The story starts with animals hiding from the "beast" which is the tiger. The tiger simply looks at himself and at the other animals and points out the similarities they have. They all come to the conclusion that they are all beasts. I think the story line is adorable. I like the message it sends. Although our whole image may look different we still have small similarities that make us all the same. Being a Muslim woman who covers my image has always been different and people don't understand that we could have things in common. It is as though the image closes the mind to anything else.
I loved the rhythmic way the book read, very simple and still powerful. The colors and patterns used in the image are very beautiful. The only thing more beautifully detailed than the patterns on the leaves is the amazing pattern on the fish. The scales look amazing.
I found the plot worked very well for the theme. I also love that the setting was the jungle and the characters were animals. By the end of the story the reader wants to be the tiger who was called a "beast" at the beginning. Who is the Beast is a great book for younger children because it speak to the diversity within a classroom, community and even in their homes.

[Israel Graves · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Wordless or Almost Wordless Books)This almost wordless book I really enjoyed reading. The illustrations had incredible patterns and colors in them. There werent many animals in the pictures but there were tons of greenery with lots of details! I think children would really enjoy the rhyming scheme in the text of this book. Im not sure though whether the books illustrations could stand alone and still tell a story. Overall the age group I think this book is appropriate for young children as early as the age of 5 since the words are very simple and a parent or teacher could easily read this book to their child in a short amount of time. I like how the book has a tiger question whether he is the beast or not and then it turns out that he has some of the very same characters and features as the other animals so if he's a beast then they are all beasts! My favorite part of this book were the patterns on the leaves and not one of the leaves from page to page looks the same.

[Jessica Gilligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baker, Keith. (1990). Who is the Beast? Harcourt Brace and Company: New York.
Choice

This books is about finding similarities and acceptance. There is a beast in the jungle and the animals are afraid. They each name an attribute of the beast, but it is not clear who the beast may be, although it can be assumed that the beast in question is the jungle tiger (based on the each attribute and the illustrations). However, we later we realize that the tiger has also been trying to find out who the beast is so that he too could run away! When he realizes that the other animals believe he is the beast, he reassures them that they shouldn't be afraid of him, and shows them that he is actually similar in ways to each of them.

This book received the Parent's Choice Honors Award and I think it's definitely worth reading.