Critic reviews
Mr and Mrs Brocket live an obsessively normal life in Sydney - until their third child, Barnaby, is born. Because Barnaby floats, like a helium-filled balloon, unless he is weighted down. Embarrassed and frustrated by their son’s inability to be normal, they cut him loose at the age of eight, and Barnaby floats away on a series of adventures . . . Boyne’s previous children’s novels (The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, Noah Barleywater Runs Away) have dealt with serious, life-changing themes and his deftness of touch is equally evident in this uplifting celebration of otherness (Sally Morris)
Delightfully quirky . . . with a delightful cast of characters, this books celebrates and acknowledges difference (Vanessa Lewis)
It's unashamedly and often delightfully whimsical. It's lovely to look at . . . It has much of the pell-mell what-the-hell-happens-nextness of Dahl and Ibbotson (Mal Peet)
A whimsical, warm-hearted adventure . . . beautifully illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (Fiona Noble)
This funny, warm, but poignant story has a thought-provoking message about the importance of accepting difference and being true to yourself. Barnaby makes for a hugely likeable hero, and this story is full of fantastic characters, from eccentric contemporary artists to a villainous ringmaster to Barnaby's beloved dog, Captain W E Johns. Booklovers will enjoy spotting the numerous references to books from Heidi to Around the World in 80 Days in a book which is in part a tribute to the power of the imagination. Surreal and quirky in the tradition of children's writers like Roald Dahl, there are some moments of darkness here too, but although the final resolution is bittersweet, this is ultimately a deeply uplifting story. Oliver Jeffers' beautiful illustrations add the perfect finishing touch
This light and amusing story still manages to tackle serious issues around difference and conformity . . . the message is that you cannot change your family, but you can love them all the same. A book to be enjoyed by children either as an adventure or a thought provoker, with lovely illustrations by Oliver Jeffers
Very entertaining reading . . . This is a book very much on the side of the child, operating rather in the same way that, for example, the children’s novels of Roald Dahl operate. But Boyne’s humour is much gentler and subtler than Dahl’s, even occasionally taking young readers into areas (such as New York’s art world) where they might miss some of the slyly satirical subtext. Oliver Jeffers’s black-and-white illustrations, nicely complemented by their pithy, “handwritten” captions, capture both the wit and pathos of Boyne’s text
A fast paced and warm-hearted story for any age - with an important message
