The Lonely Beast

K-Gr 2—Beast is a quiet creature who tends his own garden and likes to drink tea, read a good book, walk in the snow, stand in the rain, or bake cakes. He is very lonely. A series of images, dominated by the shaggy, yellow-eyed Beast, follows his quest through forest, mountains, rivers, cliffs, waterfalls, caves, and ocean depths to find others of his kind. Page layouts highlight the action with a variety of cell groups in a small series of adventures: four squares to a page, four columns to a page, two rows to a page, two columns, two rows, eight snapshots, or even telescoped speech bubbles. Doubling of the number of images creates a sense of urgency as he finally returns home to find other Beast friends. Color contrasts with the black silhouette of the Beast—bold colors backlight rural scenes and bright pastels in city images. A nonthreatening character despite his penetrating eyes, Beast is humanlike in his needs and emotions as he quickly makes friends. This is a story of longing and perseverance with a touch of humor as Beast even interviews (wearing a tie) on TV. A general purchase for most libraries.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX