Barney the Barnacle
Christian Foley and André Carrilho
Flying Eye Books

Living on a rock in the middle of the ocean is Barney, a barnacle; he’s totally unbothered and seemingly unmovable. To look at he’s merely a pair of googly eyes with red feathery protuberances coming through the hole in his shell. He ignores the invitations from birds and fish to leave his rock and explore; indeed he refuses to budge.

One day a fierce storm blows up and despite Barney’s rock getting bumped it stays firm, as does Barney. Suddenly however, a ship carrying a group of musicians is shattered and the musicians plus their instruments are shipwrecked on Barney’s rock.

Clutching their instruments they call out for help but are ignored by the Sea and the Sky. Barney hears their conversations and following this their music. Both Sky and Sea are soothed by the smooth music and it causes them to follow the beat of the tune together. Barney meanwhile feels something wake up in his heart as the music washes over him. Now at last, Barney the Barnacle is moved by the sounds of his ‘first rock concert’. – love that! – and up he gets to dance.

Finally rescue arrives both from the air and the ocean but as for the fate of Barney, that is left to the reader to decide.

This story celebrating the power of music, is rhythmically told by Christian Foley and with André Carrilho’s vibrant scenes awash with shades of blue, immerses readers and listeners within its swirls. You can almost hear the beat of the bongos and the booming of the double bass emanating from the pages of the book.