Beanie the Bansheenie

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Author(s)

Eoin Colfer

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Steve McCarthy

Publisher

Candlewick

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

November 12, 2024

ISBN

978-1536240665

Buy This Book

A best-selling author and an award-winning illustrator join forces in a long-form picture book that turns a familiar myth of Irish folklore into a universal story of love, perseverance, and friendship against all odds.

Banshees are well known to most of us as supernatural Irish harbingers of doom. But not many know that they grow on the prickly gorse bush inside little pods, and that the sole job of a baby banshee, or “bansheenie,” is to bond with a human and know all there is to know about that person, including when they're destined to breathe their last breath. One bansheenie named Beanie, however, is no ordinary herald of death. When she sees her person, a little girl named Rose, she decides to change both their fates—and instead of delivering bad news, protect Rose and her family. And when her banshee's howl won't work, she must draw power and strength from the ancient secrets and hidden networks of the natural world to create a new sound, a new way of being in the world, that will change everything. Melding Eoin Colfer’s welcoming voice and Steve McCarthy’s striking Celtic imagery, Beanie the Bansheenie is a gloriously immersive, detailed, and emotional storytelling experience.

Editor review

1 review

A Sweet Tale of Friendship and Finding Your Own Path

November 11, 2024

Overall rating

4.5

Plot

4.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Beanie the Bansheenie introduces you to the supernatural Irish harbingers of doom, Banshees, and tells you about their beginnings as Bansheenies. Their purpose is to bond with a human to know all about that person, unfortunately, this includes when they are to die. Beanie, is not a regular herald of death, when she sees her person she decides that instead of delivering bad news to Rose, she is going to protect Rose and her family. Beanie isn’t able to use the banshee’s howl though so she has to find another way to communicate with Rose, and she creates a new sound from the power and strength she draws from the ancient secrets and hidden networks of the natural world.

What I Liked: When I first saw this book I was expecting a scary story and when I first started reading I thought that was what we were getting. I was quite pleased with the direction that this book took though and love that we got a different image of banshees. I appreciate how the author showed us a different take on this story and how Beanie wanted to share the love that was given to her.

Something that stood out to me about this book was the art style. I love the different images that you see throughout this book and how the colors shift depending on what is occurring throughout the book. I like that Beanie’s world is made of shares of blue and green yet when she interacts with Rose there are additional colors added to the story.

I appreciate how the author incorporates Beanie's being different in the book and makes this a positive point rather than something she is ashamed of. I love that Beanie embraces this difference and that Rose also appreciates this difference about her and isn’t afraid when she hears her. I love that we get to see how Beanie’s differences help her and Rose to develop a bond and how that ultimately can help Beanie with her new found purpose.

Final Verdict: Beanie the Bansheenie is a fun, cute, and heartwarming story about how when someone/something is loved that love grows and is passed down. Children will love learning about Beanie and seeing how she chooses to be different from other Banshees. Adults will enjoy this different take on Banshees from what they are used to and like getting to share this with younger audiences.