Parents are always nagging their kids to clean up their rooms. One messy little boy's mom is no different. She tells him, "If you don't clean up after yourself, we're going to have pests!" But really, what's the harm if his abandoned food scraps attract a few ants or a "little bitty mouse?" "What was the worst that could happen?"
As it happens, there is something worse than tiny pests, hence the book's title Great, Now We've Got Barbarians! When the crumbs and sticky messes around the house reach critical mass, the big, hulking barbarians infiltrate. Our grubby hero thinks Vlad, the first barbarian, is cute, and gives him a cupcake. But after Törr shows up, "seeking glory" (and cheese curls), the boy shoos him out of the house with a fly swatter. Things devolve quickly, with shaggy barbarians watching TV, stealing blankets to make forts and using school supplies to scratch their hairy backs. Even traps and the pest exterminator don't get rid of the "snoring, snarling, belching, badgering, grumbling, growling, loitering, looting, and lazing savages." It's time to take drastic measures: get out the rubber gloves and brooms and start cleaning.
Jason Carter Eaton (The Facttracker) and Mark Fearing (Tommy Can't Stop!) team up in a hilarious picture book that parents will love every bit as much as kids. The cartoonish barbarians, with their scruffy beards, horned helmets, scars and tattoos are like overgrown puppies, and just as threatening. Even dyed-in-the-wool slobs won't mind being on the receiving end of this fun cautionary tale. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor