1948
First Published
4.43
Average Rating
372
Number of Pages
Part of Series
Volume Four collects 1948–1949; the misadventures of five-year-old Barnaby Baxter and his Fairy Godfather J.J. O’Malley continue. Bumbling but endearing, Mr. O’Malley rarely gets his magic to work—even when he consults his Fairy Godfather’s Handy Pocket Guide. The true magic of Barnaby resides in its canny mix of fantasy and satire, amplified by the understated elegance of Crockett Johnson’s clean, spare art. It combines of Johnson’s sly wit and O’Malley’s amiable windbaggery, a child’s feeling of wonder and an adult’s wariness, highly literate jokes and a keen eye for the ridiculous. Designed by Daniel Clowes (Patience, Wilson), it includes scholarly material.
Avg Rating
4.43
Number of Ratings
14
5 STARS
43%
4 STARS
57%
3 STARS
0%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads
Authors
Crockett Johnson
Author · 23 books
Crockett Johnson was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip Barnaby (1942–1952) and the Harold series of books beginning with Harold and the Purple Crayon. [From Wikipedia.]
Crockett Johnson
Author · 23 books
Crockett Johnson was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip Barnaby (1942–1952) and the Harold series of books beginning with Harold and the Purple Crayon. [From Wikipedia.]
Philip Nel
Author · 7 books
Books include Keywords for Children's Literature Second Edition (co-edited with Lissa Paul and Nina Christensen, NYU Press, 2021), Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature and the Need for Diverse Books (Oxford UP, 2017), Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children's Literature (UP Mississippi, 2012), Keywords for Children's Literature (co-edited with Lissa Paul, NYU Press, 2011), Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature (co-edited with Julia Mickenberg, NYU Press, 2008), The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats (Random House, 2007), Dr. Seuss: American Icon (Continuum, 2004), The Avant-Garde and American Postmodernity: Small Incisive Shocks (UP Mississippi, 2002), J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels: A Reader's Guide (Continuum, 2001), and Crockett Johnson's Barnaby (five volumes, co-edited with Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics, 2013-2024).
