Barkbelly

Barkbelly #1

by Cat Weatherill

A fantastic epic and magical adventure story set in a beautifully realised world that's almost but not quite like our own. Barkbelly is a wooden boy, brought up by loving human parents, whose life falls apart when he accidentally kills one of his playmates and has to go on the run. His journey turns into a quest for his real home and his real mother, and takes in along the way the circus, fierce pirates and mysterious giant hedgehogs. Full of poetry, magic, and dark twists of fate, Barkbelly discovers what can happen when your dreams come true, but in a way that breaks your heart.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Family

343 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Pascal Vine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is genuinely one of my favourite books of all time.
I met Cat Weatherill at school on my birthday years and years ago, it was a wonderful experience and she is a talented story teller.

This book is rich and full of adventure, it is definitely the kind of world you can slip into like a glove. A lot of fantasy relies on long epic histories and continental maps of the world, this book doesn't need to. It just lets you wriggle into it through language and the dropping of hints; boys called Fish and Shoe, giant hedgehogs with glistening spines, a hot steamy jam factory, a nightparrot and a star sailor...You understand from the get-go what this world is like, without having to know how its governed and such. Weatherill is a master of worldbuilding, she makes it look so easy.

The story tackles themes of being an outcast and finding your place in the world. Slavery is also touched on. Whilst it doesn't juggle as many themes and deep emotional dreging as its sequel, Snowbone, it has its dark moments and its not always a smooth ride.

Please read this to your children, please! Its a delight to share in and if you don't mind tolerating some childish language and tone here and there (not overbearing at all) its simply wonderful for adults, too.

[Leda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barkbelly is a beautiful book about a wooden boy looking for his family. It's full of adventure, fun and a bit of anger and disappointment. Great book, and it's author, Cat Weatherill, is great at writing books like this. If you've read it, I know that there's a second part called Snowbone. I suggest you read both! :D

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m pretty sure I read about this one over at Pixie Stix. She has it tagged “Quirky and Hard to Define.” That it is. I enjoyed it, though. It would make a great read aloud- the epic quest for self-identification is moderately episodic, keeps you wondering what will happen next, and has great character names like Candy Pie and Farmer Muckledown. I liked it so much that I immediately picked up the companion, Snowbone, but it was too much of a good thing. I think I only got through the first chapter before realizing that I was done with the adventure. At least for a while. So often I come back to Cathie Mercier’s comment about sequels: is there really more story to tell, or do you just want more? In this case, I think, yes, there is more story there, but I don’t need any more just yet.

This story seems very un-American to me (and indeed, the author is British), and I’m trying to decide why. Part of it is the landscape; American concepts of and attitudes towards wilderness are so different from European ones. This book in particular really channels England’s long history of fantastical creatures living alongside humans. We don’t have that a part of our cultural history. Hmmm… I’m going to have to think about this some more.

I’m fascinated by covers and how they change from country to country and over time to appeal to new readers. This one is so much more appealing. I’m not sure if it’s the UK cover, or the new paperback one.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the cleverness of the story, and the quality of the storytelling at times, this one never quite came together for me.

It felt like Barkbelly's story was patched together rather than a seamless whole. It has interesting characters and settings - and even a interesting twist that makes the ending more emotional - but the whole seemed less than the parts for some reason.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mașina zburătoare înainta în noapte, bâzâind precum o albină grăsună. Deasupra, cerul era plin de stele ca niște pistrui. Dedesubt, dealuri albăstrui alunecau nevăzute. La tribord, matelotul stelelor se legăna în hamacul lui, visând mult aur. Nimic nu-i deranja somnul. Nimic nu prevestea că una dintre cele mai prețioase încărcături este pe cale să-i fie furată.

Tâlhărită se prinse bine de velatură, ochind sacul cu ouăle din lemn. Își înclină capul, își încordă privirea și cugetă. Socoti distanța dintre stinghia pe care stătea și plasa în care se afla încărcătura și calculă balansul prăzii. Apoi, zbură printre penele rotitoare ca niște lame, prinse plasa cu ciocul și ghearele și se bălăngăni acrobatic dedesubt. Răsuflă ușurată. „Stele argintii! Ce mireasmă ispititoare!” Își deschise gura și își plimbă ciocul în jurul ouălor. Limba ei neagră începu să șerpuiască pe suprafața lor. Simți sare și nisip, pădure și ferigă.

Papagalița se întrebă ce fel de nuci or fi. Nu mai văzuse niciodată așa ceva. Coaja era uimitor de dură. Va putea oare să spargă vreuna? Nu, sigur nu, atâta timp cât erau în plasă. Va trebui să scoată una pe punte, apoi să o țină între picioare. Dacă va continua să mestece în interiorul plasei, una dintre ele va aluneca afară cu ușurință.

— Bella! Lasă încărcătura!

Matelotul stelelor Moontar venea din partea cealaltă a punții către cristalele de navigare. Bella știa că se va întoarce la hamacul său. Dacă nu se va mișca, poate că va uita că ea era acolo.

— Bella! Vino jos! căscă Moontar și-și frecă ochii lipiți de somn. Știi că te pot vedea! Coboară! Ouăle alea valorează bani buni. Dacă mesteci prin sac, se vor împrăștia. Haide, lasă-le!

Dar Bella nu le lăsă. Se bălăngăni ca un liliac și îl fixă pe Moontar. Cum îndrăznea să o deranjeze așa? Era o papagaliță de noapte cu pene purpurii. Noaptea îi aparținea ei și numai ei. Moontar încălca limitele. Cum îndrăznea? Era vremea ei să zboare, să exploreze, să se hrănească. Va face tot ce va vrea. N-are decât să aștepte până mâine-dimineață.

Bella se întoarse la mestecatul ei. Frânghiile plasei erau umede și slăbite. Reușise cu greu să desfacă fibrele cu limba.

— Bella...

Moontar se îndrepta către ea, iar ea continua să mestece.

— Te previn!

Îi făcea semn cu degetul. „Oh, obrăznicia omului!” Îl privea cu ochi de gheață. Putea simți deja cum un ou începea să fie împins prin gaura pe care o făcuse.

— BELLA!

Matelotul vru să o lovească însă ea deja dispăruse, zburând în negura pe care o iubea atât de mult.

[Ellie and Teo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teo: “I liked how long it is. It was the best book we read in weeks!”

Ellie: This was a book I regretting reading without doing more research first. I got a recommendation, or what I had assumed was a recommendation, but looking back, may have just been a statement that the person had enjoyed it. Personally, it never came together for me as a story, dragged on, and the fantastical and symbolic elements never landed (though admittedly I have a . I did, however, find myself delighting at some of the language even if I dreaded reading another word. More worrisome was it was just too heavy for Teo, obviously not intended for his age, and while I edited/softened the edges a bit on the fly as best I could, I kept hoping he would agree to not return to it. I was pretty shocked he said he enjoyed it so much!

[Sebastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderfully weird fairy tale about an odd wooden boy adopted by a pair of flesh-and-blood farmers, and the journey he goes on to discover himself and his, erm, well... roots. We went into this with zero expectation, starting it only because we wanted to read Snowbone, and it was such a pleasant surprise of a book. The world Barkbelly is born into is just the right shade of off, and even though part of the ending is a bit deus-ex, it does nothing to mar the overall story and atmosphere. And the wealth of colourful characters makes it a lot of fun to read out loud and do all their varied voices, something Weatherill, of whom I've learned is mainly a story*teller*, likely did intentionally.

[Teodora Gheorghe · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,5/5 stars Didn't appreciate the animal exploration/ abuse which is present all throughout this book. Not a book for kids I'd say, at least not under 12-13. A modern-day Pinocchio trying to find his way in a grey, industrialized and emotionless world. Barkbelly is a wooden boy who was born from an egg - I really liked this scene, as well as a few other quirky and imaginative ingredients that Cat Weatherill uses for this literary recipe. The synopsis sounded promising, but the book did not live up to my expectations.

[Todd Harmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I grabbed my Nine year old sons book on tail end of vacation after reading every other book we had brought with us. An interesting tale easy to read. Some good lessons on how we all fit in or don't, and how your true family is not always flesh and blood. I say 3.5 stars is max but the protagonist wooden boy is well developed and I get a strange kinship to him lol.

[Deviki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember I bought this book simply because it mentioned banana jam ......LOL

Books I've read and provided detailed reviews over the years but all data is lost after accidental deletion and GD refuse to restore it back.

Adding books back to my library for my own reference and tracking purposes

[Charlie Spring · Rating 4 out of 5]

A childhood favourite of mine, Barkbelly is a book that takes you to another world and on multiple adventures, featuring the circus, pirates and a young wooden boy exploring it all. A good one to re-read when you need an escape, which can be needed in the current circumstances.

[Niko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially thought I wouldn't really like this book but as the story went on I found myself digging into it. Don't be fooled by just reading the synopsis in the back and seeing "wooden boy" "banana jams" "egg fell from the sky" and readily dismiss it. Give it a shot and you might just like it.

[Laith Nasir · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's one of the most original books I've ever read (in a good way)

[BeBe · Rating 4 out of 5]

so amazing

[Kaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely i loved it!!!

[Livia Jessen · Rating 5 out of 5]

simply divine

good book

[Anne Lydolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent children's story, would satisfy most young readers thirsts for adventure.

[Kendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

[Zac Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Barkbelly has always been an outsider in the village, and now a terrible accident means he has to run away to save his life. Off on a dark and dangerous journey. He sleeps under the stars, rides on a circus wagon and sails on the deck of a pirate ship. New friends and unexpected enemies are waiting for him. But where is he going, and will his dreams come true when he gets there?' - The blurb on the back of my copy of Barkbelly.

I first read Barkbelly fifteen years ago as an eight-year-old, and I can still vividly remember how I felt reading it for the first time. I've read and re-read this book so many times that my copy is in very poor condition. Half of the front cover is ripped off; the pages are yellow, peeling, and holding onto the spine for dear life, and this is a book I have taken great care of, I've just read it that many times.

It's whimsical and absurd yet grounded in reality and the world building is exceptional. As a reader you get to explore the world as you follow Barkbelly on his adventure, nothing is told to you, it's all shown through active choices and the discovery of new information is thrilling. A lot of fantasy novels have to explain how everything works, most of the time the author pauses the story to do this, and I hate it every single time.

Soooo much happens in Barkbelly. The book opens with a prologue where a parrot steals cargo from a flying ship; Barkbelly works on a farm looking after urchins; he gets a job stirring jam at a Jam Factory; he joins a circus; becomes a pirate; and explores a faraway island with black sand beaches and magical trees. These adventures are told in six parts, but the great thing is you can easily read this book in a day; it's 341 pages. I have no idea how Weatherill managed to fit so much in such a short book with such perfect pacing. Nothing feels unexplored, none of sections feel unnecessary and it's incredibly satisfying. There's also some extremely subtle foreshadowing early on which made the twists in the last third of the book so shocking yet gratifying.

Barkbelly is a ten-year-old boy and he is perfectly depicted as such. He mucks around with his friends and relies heavily on the adults around him. He's curious and kind hearted, to the point where he makes impulsive choices that feel morally right to him but without considering the consequences. He doesn't understand his place in the world and feels like an outsider. He's a beautifully flawed character and his growth throughout the story is excellently paced.

Cat Weatherill's prose is just exceptional. It's descriptive, humorous, and full of magic. Her style reminds me of authors like Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll and Hans Christian Andersen. Barkbelly reads like a Fairy Tale, and really, it is one.

Barkbelly was one of the first chapter books I read as a kid, and as soon as I finished it, I knew I wanted to be a writer, I spent every weekend writing stories until I was a teenager and discovered the magic of filmaking. Cat Weatherill has always been a huge inspiration to me not only as a writer but as a storyteller in general, and looking back at the sketch comedy I've written and performed in the last few years, I can see just how much she's influenced me. She's my hero.

Read Barkbelly. (and then read Snowbone.)

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right from the first paragraph, I fell in love with Barkbelly. I thoroughly enjoyed how Cat Weatherill tolls a story and the pace she creates as the story unfolds. As for Barkbelly himself, he is a highly likeable main character that is constantly searching for who he is. Never feeling quite at home where he grew up, he knows that he must search out the island from which his people come from to truly understand himself. What he finds on his journey shocks not only the reader, but poor Barkbelly too.

I prized the supporting characters that Cat Weatherill creates in this story and want to find out more about the wooden people. The artwork by Peter Brown is simple, yet very appropriate for this story. I looked forward, when I was reading the book, to his next illustration in great anticipation.

Overall, Barkbelly is an excellent book for young readers and one that they will highly enjoy. I know that I had a very hard time putting this book down at night, and so will you. I cannot wait to read the next book about wooden people, entitled, Snowbone, who Barkbelly hatched from an egg while on the ship. And I will tell you what . . . she sure is a little firecracker.

I rated this book a 9 out of 10.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of a wooden boy and his life's adventures in discovering his "real family" and his true self. It is geared for younger children (listed as grades 2-5), but there are some dark themes here. Especially troubling is a theme of slave traffiking, and how Barkbelly searches for his birth parents, only to find a hollow love there. On the plus side, it is a wonderful tale of the bonds of adoption (something I can wholeheartedly support), and the power of love and friendship. I also enjoy how the book explores the advantages and disadvantages Barkbelly has of being made of wood while living in a land of flesh and bone.

I'm torn between giving three or four stars, but I went with four. I loved the fantasy world, the creative character names, and the subtle twists and turns of the characters. I was at first dismayed by the annoying plot device of the hero running away from an accident rather than facing up to it--talking it through--but in the end, it turned out to be one case where running away was probably a good thing, and it did allow Barkbelly to travel and explore and learn more about the world and himself.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barkbelly is a wooden boy living in the human world. When he accidentally kills a playmate, he runs away and eventually begins a quest to find others who are like him. Along the way he gets a job in a factory, spends time as a human cannonball, and faces pirates. Though wooden, Barkbelly expresses thoughts and feelings quite human as he struggles to find a sense of belonging, faces consequences for his actions and challenges to his values, and begins to understand the importance of forging relationships despite differences. Brown’s occasional two-tone illustrations blend realism and cartoon, the perfect match for this fantasy. This is a vibrant story rich in characterization. With its elements of magic, danger, profound sadness, and ultimate contentment, Barkbelly has the feel of an old fairy tale being told for the first time.

[Mohammad711 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book so far is one of my favorite . But the ending could have had been better. I really liked how each time he ran away from one place to another there was a new story. And in the end all of the stories connect into together into another story. I wish it ended happily with him with his parents instead of ending it with him go back to his fake parents.
Barkbelly had to go through so many problems throughout the entire book. First he had to go through accidentally killing his friend. Then he went through guilt, fear, and many more problems. Most of all he had to find out his parent actually sold him off into slavery. But of course he got lucky and was not a slave.They should have made his actual mom and dad love him instead of hating him. I recommend this book to everyone who likes a good adventure.

[southernmyst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barkbelly goes on adventure after adventure - this isn't a modern fairy tale, where everything works out swimmingly in the end for everyone we've met. From before he's born, his life is an adventure, full of ups and downs and lots of learning along the way.

It's enthralling, and engaging - certainly had *me* engaged! It's full of unexpected twists and turns, and quite a bit of adventure. Can't find a single fault to complain about!

I don't know much about children, but I'd imagine this would be better for mature older children, or preteens.

[Nathan Burt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a really good book, the reason I only am giving it three stars is because and some points in the book the story got kind of boring but the parts were there is a lot happening is was really enjoyable. This book is about wooden boy living in our world, When he accidentally kills his friend, he runs away and begins is journey to find where he belongs. Along the way he has some good and bad experiences.

[Turi Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heard about this book in a review of the sequel, Snowbone and thought it sounded pretty good. It's the story of a wooden boy, living in a wonderfully imagined world, and his struggles to fit in and find where he belongs. Similar in feel to another kids book I recently enjoyed, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. Can't wait to read the sequel, now...

[Luann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this! I especially enjoyed Weatherill's lyrical writing style. The storyline felt a little choppy with Barkbelly never staying in one place long. He is a very likeable character, though. I was rooting for him the entire time. I'm going to add the companion novel, "Snowbone" to my to-read shelf.

[Kate Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully written, rambunctious adventure fantasy for children, Barkbelly also carries important messages about the importance of tolerance and compassion. I loved Cat Weatherill's earlier book Wild Magic which retells the Pied Piper of Hamelin fairy tale, and so I was really glad to read her newest venture.

[Lo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weatherill has crafted a story of imagination and mystery with some of the most creative writing I've ever read. I loved learning about the history, lands, and peoples in the world of Barkbelly. It's up there with The Princess Bride and The Tale of Despereaux. Parents should know that it contains quite a bit of violence and there is smoking, drinking, and some language.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

After finishing this book I noted, with no surprise, that the author is a performance storyteller. The book has a definite "fable told 'round the campfire" feel that I found engaging. A few of the characters could have used more depth, but all in all a nice little piece.