A Different Toy Story

Barnaby Unboxed! – written and illustrated by Terry, Eric, and Devin Fan (the Fan Brothers)
Tundra Books, 2024

Barnaby Unboxed! Is not a sequel to The Barnabus Project (2020) but it takes place in the same universe of Perfect Pets. Readers (fans!) of the first book may recall that not all pets are perfect, and this difference makes them vulnerable to destruction. Here the potential danger is obsolescence. After all, once children gain access to a new-and-improved toy, why should they remain attached to, in this case, plain old Barnaby?

The Fan Brothers capture the essence of toy marketing, including the cheery names assigned to personified animals and other creatures. Some are obvious: “Jelly” resembles a jello mold, and “Cacti” is just the prickly plant with a plural, or perhaps, diminutive, ending attached. Barnaby is a furry pink elephant, the color of cotton candy. The little girl who picks him out of the lineup is absolutely sure he is the one. She joins other committed children in books, from Lisa in Don Freeman’s Corduroy to Betsy in Rebecca Caudill’s The Best Loved Doll and Kitty in Dorothy Kunhardt’s Kitty’s New Doll (re-illustrated by Hiroe Nakata in 2004). (Kitty is actually a toy herself.).

Barnaby is transformed from an insecure toy on a shelf to a beloved friend. He and the girl do everything together, including, of course, reading a story at bedtime. They take leisurely walks in the park, unfazed by the “paparazzi,” otherwise known as squirrels. Then, “everything changed,” as Rainbow Barney debuts on the latest children’s t.v. show. The little girl had seemed loyal, but suddenly she is asking for an elephant with stripes. She ignores Barney, even delegating the task of walking with him to her father, who is so inattentive that he barely notices threatening cats. It’s a toy’s nightmare.

Eventually, Barney finds a dumpster full of other displaced, now imperfect, pets. They eat leftovers, but at least they have one another’s company. One day, he even meets his nemesis, Rainbow Barney, out for a walk. This puffed-up mirror image of himself points out to the original Barney that his once candy-pink fur is now dirty and gray. Can Barney’s self-image survive this assault?

It turns out that the little girl is not fickle. She was just temporarily distracted by the commercial interests whose job it is to pry children from their favorite toys in favor of new ones. Soon they are back together, taking spa baths and eating favorite foods. Of course, they return to the park, full of welcoming nature and fantastic beings. There is even a kind older couple to keep the paparazzi content.