ABSTRACT
When faced with difficulties, securely attached children have the ability to cross the boundary between the real and the imaginary. Their play and brief sojourn into fantasy allows them to make sense of the world, promotes their social and emotional development and enhances their creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Bernard is a child brought up in an environment that is relentlessly cold and unresponsive. Bernard's story is a tragic contemporary tale in which nobody lives happily ever after. It does not follow the traditional circular narrative of most children book. At the end, Bernard still remains unseen and bound to his bestial form; his metamorphosis from a needy and love-seeking little boy into a savage beast goes unacknowledged and unresolved. McKee's dramatic narrative attests to how a child deprived of affirmation and empathic attunement experiences acute helplessness.