The Barnabus Project

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I’m in looove! With a mousofant called Barnabus. He and his fellow pets don’t quite meet the criteria for the pets in the Perfect Pets Shop, live in bell jars in the “failed projects” corner of the underground lab, awaiting their “recycling” by the Green Suits. This endearing picture book, with graphite and digital illustrations, will rouse justice-minded children to action with its reminders of the important things in life.” - School Library Journal, Starred Review. The Fan brother’s spectacularly detailed graphite work is as sumptuously detailed and painstakingly rendered as always, and they use both shadow and light and limited pops of stunning color to enhance their storytelling in a remarkable way… [t]he story is elegantly told with a clear anti-consumerist, anti-greed messaging.” - Booklist Starred Review.

He just wants to be himself. So he decides it's time for he and the others to escape. With his little trunk and a lot of cooperation and courage, Barnabus sets out to find freedom — and a place where he and his friends can finally be accepted for who they are.

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Part adventure, part parable, and totally evocative work of art, the Fan Brothers’ new book is unforgettable in its originality”. - Emily Schneider, Imaginary Elevators. Deep underground beneath Perfect Pets, where children can buy genetically engineered "perfect" creatures, there is a secret lab. Barnabus and his friends live in this lab, but none of them is perfect. They are all Failed Projects. Barnabus has never been outside his tiny bell jar, yet he dreams of one day seeing the world above. This suspenseful, poignant and magical story about following your dreams and finding where you truly belong will draw readers into a surreal, lushly detailed world in which perfection really means being true to yourself and your friends. As we all know, no one person, animal or thing is perfect, but that's not the way it is in a factory that only turns out perfect pets. But deep in the basement where no one goes or looks there are hidden the embarrassed models of toys that didn't turn out perfect. The one thing they all have in common is they want to know what is in the rest of the world, outside thier glass domed jars where they spend their days. It’s difficult to create stories that plug directly into the looping logic of the minds of very young children that are also smart and engaging enough for adults in charge of bedtime reading. Toronto’s Eric Fan and Calgary’s Dena Seiferling perform both feats in Night Lunch” - Quill & Quire Starred Review.

Actually they're working very complementary. If you want to know how they do that, just look at this Youtube-movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UeMab4U9p4 . It'll only take 2 minutes of your time. Evocative art captures the Earthly night and lunar landscape…gracefully layered and developed, this pensive account speaks to one boy’s experience and to his burgeoning curiosity and courage." - San Francisco Chronicle. Boudreau, Tanya (August 14, 2020). "The Barnabus Project". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021 . Retrieved August 26, 2021. A funny and tender picture book… visual surprises and pleasures abound in this cathartic delight for children.” - The Wall Street Journal. This was a lovely book that has a very strong message of acceptance and diversity. The main character is Barnabus half mouse and half elephant and he is just adorable who dreams about seeing the stars and the outside world. Barnabus won’t give up on his dream of being free and he helps his friends who are also failed projects of different species and colours to find freedom as well.So he decides it's time for he and the others to escape. With his little trunk and a lot of cooperation and courage, Barnabus sets out to find freedom - and a place where he and his friends can finally be accepted for who they are. Join us for another exciting and festive 5K Santa Dash in Heaton Park on Saturday 3rd December with our friends at Parkrun. We hope you will join in the fun and raise much needed funds to transform the lives of people experiencing homelessness.

Meticulous draftsmanship by the Fan Brothers ( The Night Gardener) gives the spreads genuine majesty… the artists imagine not a general, one-size-fits-all afterlife, but one that Finn and his grandfather share—and one that readers will feel privileged to share with them." - Publishers Weekly Starred Review .Una dintre minunile ființelor gânditoare este neasemuita lor curiozitate. Este și cazul oamenilor, dar și al multor animale, dar și a lui Barnabus, un animăluț simpatic, creat în laborator și „asamblat” greșit, devenit o corcitură între un șoricel și un elefant, la dimensiuni miniaturale. Chiar și dacă și-a petrecut toată viața într-un borcan, în subteran, a auzit lucruri frumoase despre lumea de deasupra, despre zgârie-nori și cerul plin de stele, așa că nu poate fi oprit în curiozitatea sa. The Failed Projects escape and finally get to see the mountains lit with their own stars. The projects find a new home in the park and work together to survive. A funny and tender picture book. . . . [V]isual surprises and pleasures abound in this cathartic delight for children.” — Wall Street Journal Gurdon, Meghan Cox (September 4, 2020). "Children's Books: Under the Surface". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021 . Retrieved August 26, 2021. Those who're attentive to the pictures, will see that there's also a reference to The Night Gardener. Not only is this a nice touch for the readers of the Fan brothers' first book, but it shows the brothers' eye for detail as well.