Great, Now We’ve Got Barbarians!
Written by Jason Carter Eaton
Illustrated by Mark Fearing
Candlewick Press  2/14/2016
978-0-7636-6827-3
40 pages    Ages 4—8

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“PLAYING AND HAVING FUN
IS A KID’S JOB, RIGHT?

“CLEANING UP IS A
PARENT’S JOB, RIGHT?

“Why do grown-ups make such a fuss about tidiness and cleanliness, anyway? What’s the worst that could happen? A couple of ants pass through? A lone little mouse pays a midnight call? No big deal, right? Right?

“Author Jason Carter Eaton and illustrator Mark Fearing are here to caution you that being a slob might in fact be a big deal—a really big deal, maybe even a BARBARIAN-size deal!” [INSIDE JACKET]

Review
[WC 442]
Kids can be messy and this young boy is no exception. Today it’s cupcake crumbs on his bedroom floor. Mom warns him he’ll draw pests, but the boy doesn’t agree. Mom’s tend to exaggerate—a lot. He figures what could really happen, a line of ants or a lonely mouse in need of a meal? Big deal, right?

Then Mom finds Vlad . . . then Törr . . . and then it’s an infestation of barbarians. “Great, Now We’ve Got Barbarians!”
The humongous barbarians necessitate the extra-large book. The catchy title had me laughing the moment it left its mailing envelope. The boy’s bedroom floor is exactly what moms the world over see when (most) open their child’s bedroom door. A lone dirty sock crawled the floor for its mate. And yet, moms see a disaster zone, which will soon attract pests. In the boy’s room, the lone sock parties with crumples and creased clothes; toppled toys, books, and blocks; and random rations (popcorn, empty banana peels, three-day-old pizza), and . . . well, enough junk to completely cover the floor.

Great, Now We’ve Got Barbarians! What a wonderful title. Immediately I opened the cover and laughed at each spread. Details upon happy details fill the spreads. Vlad pops out of a cupboard. Törr sits on the floor, playing as he eats cheese puffs. The garage light pops on and there are nine, no ten, barbarians scattering towards the door, the only door where dad stands terrified. The large book, the huge barbarians, the details, the laughs, and the story line; it all adds up to a perfect story time book for schools and libraries. Great, Now We’ve Got Barbarians will cause chuckles and giggles from unsuspecting children.

Finally, the barbarians have been “exterminated.” You can breathe. You’ve reached the end . . . and then, you’re hit with a twist. Could there be a second book? Maybe the twist is simply for laughs. If so, it works. One more childhood mistake, often unwittingly committed, and moms have a new possible situation. The barbarians are gone—and now . . . “Now we’ve got pirates!”
Jason Carter Eaton (How to Train a Train [reviewed here], How to Track a Truck [reviewed here], both with John Rocco, and The Day My Runny Nose Ran Away, with Ethan Long), is a master storyteller. Beginning with his outrageous How to Train a Train, Jason Carter Eaton has entertained children, and adults, with his exaggerated slice-of-life stories. Mark Fearing’s humorous pencil and digitally finished illustrations overtake the pages, delivering Eaton’s story to grand heights. Fearing takes Eaton’s literal vision and turns it into a comedy all ages can appreciate, even the barbarians.

GREAT, NOW WE’VE GOT BARBARIANS! Text copyright © 2016 by Jason Carter Eaton. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Mark Fearing. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

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The Official Trailer!!?
(yes, it is)

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Reprinted with permission from GREAT, NOW WE’VE GOT BARBARIANS! © 2016 by Jason Carter Eaton, Candlewick Press. Illustrations © 2016 by Mark Fearing.

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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Great, Now We’ve Got Barbarians!
Written by Jason Carter Eaton
Illustrated by Mark Fearing
Candlewick Press 2/14/2016
9780763668273