The Lonely Beast

by Chris Judge, Chris Judge (Illustrator)

Overview

Have you heard of the Beasts? No? Well, I'm not surprised. Not many people have. That's because the Beasts are very rare.

This is the tale of one Beast, the rarest of the rare, a Beast who decides he is lonely and sets out to find the other Beasts. Will his daring and dangerous journey lead him to some friends?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467744317
Publisher:	Andersen Press USA
Publication date:	01/01/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	49 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Chris Judge is an illustrator and painter based in Dublin, Ireland. His work has appeared in advertising, newspapers, magazines, and exhibitions around the world. His debut picture book, The Lonely Beast, won the Irish Children's Book Award in 2011.

Editorial Reviews

"Judge, based in Dublin, tells a familiar tale but illustrates it with uncommon style and verve. Readers will want to know where the Beast ends up next. Friends, after all, like to keep in touch." —The New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

Like one of Sendak's wild things embarking on a journey of its own, the hairy monster in this boiled-down quest tale abruptly sets out for parts unknown.

Being a featureless, tree-sized black silhouette with two yellow eyes, the solitary Beast looks menacing but leads a peaceable existence in a remote forest. Responding to a sudden yen for companionship, he departs one day on a long trek over land and under sea—arriving at last, after many adventures, in a city whose residents quickly get over their initial terror to make him welcome as a gardener in the local park. Being lonely still, he broadcasts public appeals in hopes of reaching others of his kind, then, when that gets no response, sets out again, retracing his original route. Using what looks like paint and cut-paper collage, Judge creates open settings in artfully contrasted colors and textures that give his central figure both a strong visual presence and an enigmatic air carrying hints of deeper meanings. Or maybe not: The Beast arrives back in his garden to find that other Beasts have gathered from all over the world to throw him a surprise party and to stick around forever after for nightly wild rumpuses.

The story could use a little more internal logic, but Judge's art stands out.(Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews