Scheherazade has nothing on Dexter Bexley when it comes to delaying the inevitable. After literally running into a Big Blue Beastie who announces, “I’m big and I’m bored, . . . and you look small and tasty. I should probably eat you up” (n.p.), Dexter offers one alternative after another to prevent his death. The rotund, jaw-jutting, bowler-wearing Big Blue Beastie struggles to maintain his gruff demeanor, but his ultimate friendship with Dexter Bexley overcomes boredom and hunger. Stewart’s humorous watercolor cartoons of Beastie and Dexter supply much of the story’s meaning while keeping the tone light-hearted and never threatening . lmp

Originally published by Doubleday Great Britain, in 2007.