Momo celebrating time to read: The Barnabus Project by The Fan Brothers

Sunday, March 19, 2023

The Barnabus Project by The Fan Brothers

Deep under the city there is a sinister workshop where Perfect Pets are made. Sometimes the experiments go wrong and so, in a remote part of the laboratory, there are a series of bell jars holding the failures. Barbabus is one of the failures.

"He was half mouse, half elephant, and he had lived in the lab as long as he could remember."

The failed pets are fed by huge scary creatures in green rubber suits. None of the "pets" have ever been outside the lab but a small cockroach tells them stories each evening of green spaces, mountains and stars. Barnabus longs to feel the grass under his feet. Barnabus lives by the credo:

"Nothing is impossible."

He is determined to escape and so he bashes into the side of his bell jar until in finally cracks under the pressure of his screams. Barnabus sets all the other Failed Projects free and they all set off to escape their underground prison. This process takes team work and hope but all twenty-two of them, plus one extra surprising friend, do find their freedom and that all important happy ending.

This is a story about identity, determination, teamwork, consumerism, and hopes and dreams.

This book was written for all the misfits, artists and dreamers out there. The Fan Brothers Facebook

Barnabus wonders:

"He wasn't fluffy enough, and his eyes were beady, but he liked himself just the way he was. And what if, after he was recycled, peanuts and cheese were no longer his favourite foods? What if his friends didn't recognise him after? What if he no longer cared about green trees and mountains lit with their own stars?"

When I first saw this in a local bookshop I knew I wanted to read it but the hardcover price was well above my book budget. Luckily this book is now available in paperback for well under AUS$20 which is wonderful for a larger format book with way more than 32 pages. This book should be added to every Primary school library - and shared widely with students and staff - it is fabulous!

The book design here is simply perfect. Take your time to linger over the front and back end papers, the title page and the final illustration on the author bio page. Think about the graph paper that is included and the paperclips. You can see inside this book here. In this video (Moon Lane TV) you can see Eric drawing some of the characters. You could share this 19 minute video with an art class or a group of older students. And here is a video reading by Eric, Terry and Devin Fan.

This epic tale of escape and liberation, set in a clandestine underground lab producing genetically engineered Perfect Pets, stars courageous Barnabus, half mouse, half elephant ...A heartfelt, timely allegory celebrating diversity, bravery, and solidarity. Kirkus Star review

In the Fan brothers’ hands, the result feels like a happy amalgam of Jules Verne, Maurice Sendak, the Moomins, and Monsters, Inc. Quill and Quire

This book is a visual feast. And the story? It is dream-like science fiction in picture book form. Jilanne Hoffmann

‘In a world built for Perfect Pets, half-mouse half-elephant Barnabus is a Failed Project who dreams of freedom. Shaun Tan meets “Toy Story”’ — The Bookseller

Awards:

2020 Governor General's Award for Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books.
The 2021 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.
Nominated for the 2022 Kate Greenaway Medal.
The 2021 Le Prix Ficelle, category age 6-7.
2021 Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Awards, Shining Willow Award.
2020-2021 Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award.
2021-2022 Vermont Red Clover Book Award.
The 2022 Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award.
The Surrey School’s Picture Book of the Year (for primary readers).
A Kirkus “Best Books of 2020.”
Chicago Public Library “Best Books of 2020.”
2021 Bologna Book Fair Finalist.

I just finished reading a novel for older readers - They Threw us Away by Daniel Kraus. It was a harrowing book to read but it has a similar theme of rejected toys, identity, value and consumerism. Thankfully The Barnabus Project has a joyous happy ending. I need to read the two sequels to They Thew us Away in the hope this more complex senior novel also has a "they all lived happily ever after" conclusion. I will talk about They Threw us Away over the coming days.