Barnabas Bigfoot: A Close Shave

26 June 2012

Barnabas Bigfoot: A Close Shave
By Marty Chan
Published by Thistledown Press
Review by Colette Wheler
$10.95 ISBN 978-1-897235-92-8

Young Barnabas Bigfoot is a big hairy deal.  His hands are the size of beaver tails and his seven-foot-tall body is covered with long, brown hair.  But Barnabas has an embarrassing “little” problem: in a world that believes in the power of the foot (the bigger the better!) those oh-so-important structures at the ends of his legs are unusually tiny.

This fantastical first book in the new sasquatch series by award-winning author Marty Chan introduces the young reader to Barnabas Bigfoot and the rest of his colourful sasquatch family, who live in peaceful seclusion in the forested mountains of BC, and who choose their leaders by the size of their feet.  The family’s hope that Barnabas will become the next tribe leader turns to disappointment when his feet fail to “blossom” along with the rest of his body.  Young, small-footed Barnabas just wants to fit in, so his sympathetic father makes him some fake furry feet to cover up his “special condition.” One day, Barnabas is sent by his match-making mother to forage for leaves with the horrible, but big-footed, Hairyson sisters.  These mischievous sisters pressure Barnabas into joining them in a dangerous game, called “Baldface Chase,” where they try to get humans – “baldfaces” in sasquatch-speak – to chase them.  Not wanting to be called a “scaredy-squatch”, Barnabas disobeys the strict rules of his tribe and shows himself to some campers on the mountain.  This moment of weakness leads to a series of unexpected events that find Barnabas accidentally thrown into the “baldface” world, and threaten to destroy his sasquatch tribe and their peaceful way of life forever.

This fast-paced story is sure to capture the interest of many young readers, who may be experiencing their own growing pains and pressures, and will leave them eagerly awaiting the next set of adventures of Barnabas Bigfoot and his sasquatch clan.

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM

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