Dexter Bexley & the Big Blue Beastie

by Joel Stewart

After running into a bored and hungry Big Blue Beastie with his scooter, Dexter tries to come up with increasingly inventive ideas to keep the beastie from eating him out of shear boredom.

Genres: Picture Books, Monsters, Childrens, Fiction, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Joel Stewart is a writer and illustrator of children's books. He spent the earliest years of his life in a commune in the wilds of Yorkshire, and spent the rest of his childhood in the north of England. He now lives and works in London UK.

Alongside his own picture books and chapter books, he is known internationally as an illustrator for contemporary authors such as Julia Donaldson, Carol Ann Duffy, Jeanne Willis, and Michael Rosen, and for classic texts by authors such as Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Carroll and J.M Barrie.

He is also known as the creator/director of the hit children's animation series The Adventures of Abney & Teal, which he created, co-wrote, and directed under the guidance of Anne Wood and Ragdoll Productions LTD (creators of Tellytubbies and In the Night Garden).

Joel works in a variety of media, including digital, always with a love of drawing at the centre.

Reviews

[Erin Musser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read: November 12
Reading level: 2.2

Summary: Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie is the story of an unlikely duo. In order to keep from being eaten, Dexter comes up with many different adventures to distract the beastie from his hungry appetite for Dexter. Dexter was just trying to keep from being eaten- but he just may have gained a best friend in the process.

Characteristics that support the Genre: This book has elements of a graphic novel as it has thought bubbles throughout the story to describe characters conversations. This book's story is heavily told through the pictures on the page.

Mentor writing traits:
1. IDEA: This book has a compelling and interesting story about a boy and a beastie. Readers would be intrigued to see if Dexter can keep from being eaten by the Beastie.
2. ORGANIZATION: The story has a logical progression and goes through the many ideas that Dexter has to keep the beastie distracted. The book keeps coming back to a familiar, predictable phrase from the beastie and then, at the end, comes to a satisfying conclusion for the reader.
3. PRESENTATION: The presentation of this book is unique. The text varies between thought bubbles which are in caps and then a cursive font to display to separate between the dialogue of the story and the narration.

Classroom intergration:
This book, with its varied presentation of thought bubbles and narration, would be a great tool to teach the students about the concept of character conversation ( who said what) and narration. Becuase of the varied ideas that Dexter has throughout the story, I think that this book could be useful for teaching/probing inferencing skills ( what do you think Dexter and Beastie will do next)? How do you know...

Other Suggestions: Due to the organization of conversation and narration of the story- I think children who have problems with pauses and inflection while reading stories could benefit from this book. It could help them to learn there the appropriate pauses and voice articulations should be placed, regardless of they are reading aloud or reading to self.

[Alaina Covington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie is about a boy named Dexter who bumps into a big blue beast, and for a minute the beast contemplates eating Dexter. Instead of eating him, Dexter suggests that they go into business together. they go on adventures but the beast continually finds himself bored and hungry and contemplating eating Dexter.
I liked this book and think its a silly story that young elementary kids would love to laugh about. The illustrations are cute and draw you into the story. I would use this in my class as a fun read aloud.

[Alexis Fillmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about finding friendship.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too random and strange for my liking

[Haley Kilgour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall just a cute story with an adorable ending.

[Y.Poston]

a delightful tale about an
unlikely friendship pair

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someday, somewhere, someone will create a database of picture books that work best when you read them aloud. Maybe one already exists, but how extensive is it? What I really want is a listing that continually updates as each and every new readaloud comes out. A seasonal list that takes into account all publishers, large and small, and their potential readaloud catalogs. Because, you see, if such a list were to exist, it would allow me to check and see whether or not Joel Stewart's utterly charming, "Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie" was included. It appears to be tailor made for reading to large groups, but appearances can be deceiving. You never know how well a book will do until you're reading it yourself to a captive audience of five-year-olds. Whatever the case, a good readaloud or not, "Dexter Bexley" has the distinguishing characteristic of being an amusing story, well penned, and delightful to the eye. Would that all our British imports could claim so much.

So there's Dexter Bexley, just minding his own business, when he happens to run his scooter right smack-dab into a Big Blue Beastie. A derby wearing, scarf-wrapped Big Blue Beastie. A derby-wearing, scarf-wrapped Big Blue Beastie who is bored and can't think what to do about it except eat little Dexter Bexley up. Fortunately the boy is a quick thinker and is able to come up with a couple diversions. When the Big Blue Beastie grows bored of scooting on his own scooter, he's talked into delivering flowers. When that wears thin the two become private detectives, solving a variety of different cases. And after that they create a desert of hitherto unseen proportions. In the end, however, Dexter runs out of ideas for distraction, and it is the Beastie who comes up with a plan, buying the two of them some lollipops. After all, it is no longer SO bored, "now that I've found a friend."

Any good picture book worth its salt knows how to play around with simple language. In this particular case, Stewart has a penchant for the understated. This is a supremely wry little book. One that isn't afraid to downplay the ridiculousness of a situation. Jokes in this book will appeal to both children and their jaded parental units. For example, I appreciated that when the "stocks and shares went up and up" of the Beastie and Dexter, the creature is heard to say, "Now I'm REALLY bored." And the sheer variety of cases the boy and Beastie share together when they become detectives are great. "The Rubber Glove Affair" (in which a variety of colorful gloves have been blown into balloons and are floating above the earth carrying our two heroes). "The Bicycle from Beyond". Even their arch nemesis gets a great name like "Professor Hortern Zoar".

If you happen to be in a particularly Anglo centric mood, consider pairing sweet "Dexter" alongside such other recent remarkable titles as Nicholas Allan's, I'm Not Cute! or The Opposite by Tom Macrae. Both are sly little books, and both have a core of sweetness to them that never disintegrates into mush. I believe it may have been the School Library Journal review of this book that suggested that one might also pair this with a fellow boy-and-his-best-monster book, Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. The tone of these two books is rather different, but they might go well together, if only because their physical layout isn't all that dissimilar. In the end, however, Joel Stewart has created a mighty original creation all on his own and it's well worth a read. Recommended to anyone with a penchant for deep and abiding silliness.

[Youth Services · Rating 5 out of 5]

One day Dexter Bexley is scooting around when he runs into a BIG BLUE BEASTIE!! The Big Blue Beastie was bored and HUNGRY he thought eating Dexter would be a good idea. Dexter had a better idea, scooting, but then after awhile the Big Blue Beastie is bored again and Dexter is looking tasty again. Dexter comes up with a better option, a flower delivery business! After making tons of money in the flower delivery business Big Blue Beastie was sure it was time to eat Dexter up, but Dexter had other plans for them like becoming Private Detectives! After going through tons of ideas to keep the Big Blue Beastie occupied instead of trying to eat him, Dexter has run out of ideas! Will the Big Blue Beastie still gobble him up after all their adventures or will he have a change of heart, find out by reading this book!

RN

[Lanica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has passed my childrens test. They want to look at the pictures and hear the story more than they want to turn the pages. Turning pages is great fun for them.

My husband and I liked t too and it has a good, if common, message.

The story goes like this: A boy runs into a big blue beastie on his scooter. WHen the monster plans to eat him up he says, "Wait! I have a much better idea." He keeps the monster entertained for several pages, until suddenly, he's out of ideas. "I guess you'll have to eat me up then." Dexter says. But who, says the monster, is going to eat up their new best friend?

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun story, with some repetitive dialogue that our girls could anticipate and say with me as I read it. The illustrations are fairly simple, but the story has such imagination and creativity, that you never know where it's headed. I was worried that our girls would be unnecessarily afraid of the "Big Blue Beastie," but by the end of the story, I was pretty sure that it wouldn't be an issue. Overall, a fun story to read.

[Arwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

We bought this when Beeper was three or four and scared of things that go bump in the night. Super F recently hit that stage and is seeing monsters everywhere, so I pulled this out again, and it quickly became his favorite. I love the way Dexter uses his creativity to turn his problem - his beastie - into a friend. This is a quick read (As bedtime stories go) with fun illustrations and a little humor.

[Angie Quantrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enchanting illustrations help tell the tale of Dexter, who makes too much noise hooting on his horn. He is joined by a blue beastie and they go on a quest after Dexter and the Blue Beastie were thrown out of town for their noise. In the woods, Dexter and beastie meet a prince who needs exactly their type of noise to wake his princess. It works. But said princess also makes hooting noise. The quest involves a dragon and future opportunities for noise. Funny.

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read aloud that I suspect will go over ever been one subsequent readings. This is a clever little book that young kids will enjoy.

In this book, Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie go on their own little quest and find some companions along the way to assist in their muscial endeavors.

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie by Joel Stewart
I just couldn’t walk away from this book when I saw it sitting on the library shelf.
Quite the interesting premise, a boy meets up with a big blue beastie and keeps distracting it so that he won’t be eaten. I appreciated the celebration of creativity in addition to friendship developing even under ominous situations.

[Kathee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great read-aloud, but a cute story about a beastie who thinks he wants to eat the boy and the boy who comes up with clevewr ideas why he shouldn't be eaten. In the end, the beastie himself comes up with the best reason of all--because he wouldn't eat a friend.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a lot of fun to read aloud. Even just the names "Dexter Bexley" and "Big Blue Beastie" are fun to say. And the moral of the story? You won't be SO hungry or SO bored when you have a friend.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun whodunit story where the detective must discover who stole all the bananas in town. There's a red herring that leads him down the wrong path, but in the end he gets his man.

Really fun illustrations.

[Gwen the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of picture book I usually put down because it looks kinda weird. But this time I gave it a chance and I'm so glad I did! What a creative story.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

boy on scooter runs into beast. cool pictures. keep doing different jobs together. friendship theme.

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ended was kind of cheesy. The Big Blue Beastie should have just eaten Dexter Bexley.

The assonance in this book is killer if you like the sound of your own voice.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It must be one of my all time favorites. Monsters wanting to eat kids, huge ice creams and making good friends. I want my own blue beastie to play with.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one will be bored in the company of friends.

[Wes · Rating 4 out of 5]

i like this guy alot.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kids love the silliness of the story and I love the imagination of it all. A unique book. Another author to look into.

[Stacie Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Useful in the classroom with journal writing activity. (Picture book presentation)

[Heather Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the tongue-twister idea - though the narrative could be a little more interesting...

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous and clever.

[Jeanette Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique story about an unlikely friendship. Cute and inventive.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

We REALLY liked this book.