Barnabas the Beachcomber and the Oil Slick

Beaches are magical places! It’s the excitement of never knowing what you might find washed up by the tide; a football, a crate of oranges, a drum, shoes, bags filled with soggy surprises, pieces of driftwood, coconuts, furniture... even a message in a bottle!


Every day, Barnabas the beachcomber scours a stretch of golden sand on the west coast of Scotland with his long-suffering pet Labrador retriever, Dorada, on the lookout for any treasures wedged into the sand or bobbing about on the waves. One day, they spy a crate in the water. They go to investigate, but then news is brought to them of a tanker pumping gallons of oil into the bay. 

“Out there is an oil tanker and it’s chucking out oil into the bay. If we don’t do something soon all the wildlife in the bay will be in jeopardy!”


Barnabas, Dorada and a host of animal friends jump into action to try and save the area from ecological disaster. “Vot can a little man and his little pet pig do to a tanker like zis?” jeers the captain of the tanker. Quite a lot, as a matter of fact – Barnabas has a whale of a plan up his sleeve to wipe the smile off the captain’s face..! 


This is an off-the-wall adventure with a quirky hero. The heart-warming story is brought to life by fantastic drawings, creating a book that adults will enjoy with their children over and over again, and that children aged six-nine will be able to read themselves.