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Barney and the UFO
Barney Galloway, an orphan, refuses to tell Mr. and Mrs. Crandall about his encounter with a UFO and a space boy named Tibbo until Tibbo resolves to take him back to his own planet
159 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
About the author
Margaret Goff Clark
34 books12 followersMargaret Goff Clark was born March 7, 1913, in Oklahoma City, USA. At five, she and her family moved to Olean, New York. She attended Columbia University and State University in Buffalo, earning a bachelor’s degree in education. She began writing when her children were young and published her first book, The Mystery Of Seneca Hill in 1961. As a result, Ms. Clark was adopted into the Seneca Indian tribe in 1962.
Many of her books are based on her experiences traveling to parks and nature areas by camping trailer. The Clarks had a cottage in Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, and Death At Their Heels was written in 1975, after visiting it one summer. Most recently, Ms. Clark wrote books about endangered species in Florida, including the manatee and the Florida black bear. Her 1993 book on the endangered Florida panther was dedicated to her husband Charles R. Clark. In addition to books, Ms. Clark contributed over 200 short stories to magazines such as American Girl, The Instructor, Teen Talk and other Canadian and American magazines. Margaret Goff Clark passed away in 2003.
Many of her books are based on her experiences traveling to parks and nature areas by camping trailer. The Clarks had a cottage in Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, and Death At Their Heels was written in 1975, after visiting it one summer. Most recently, Ms. Clark wrote books about endangered species in Florida, including the manatee and the Florida black bear. Her 1993 book on the endangered Florida panther was dedicated to her husband Charles R. Clark. In addition to books, Ms. Clark contributed over 200 short stories to magazines such as American Girl, The Instructor, Teen Talk and other Canadian and American magazines. Margaret Goff Clark passed away in 2003.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 9, 2012
My 5th grade home room teacher let me read this series, and I fell in love with it. It just mezmerized me. It was funny, scary, eerie, creepy and exciting. I finally found a used copy, but never ended up reading it again! I need to dig it out and do it.
This series is worth a few dollars on the used section of your favorite bookseller site. Just DO it! :)
This series is worth a few dollars on the used section of your favorite bookseller site. Just DO it! :)
May 28, 2020
“The boy from the UFO” Is a interesting novel full of mysteries , Novel that deals with the friendship of a child from earth and a child from space.
I enjoy the novel because it was exciting and fun.
I like Barney protagonist he is shy and scary boy, he finally accepted his adoptive family. “The Crandall”
This novel can be enjoyed by people who like science fiction and mysteries.
My favorite quote was: so Tibbo was letting him say good-by to them, too. Barney clung to them with a feeling of desperation “ I’II never forget you “ he promised. “I’ll try to come back.”
I enjoy the novel because it was exciting and fun.
I like Barney protagonist he is shy and scary boy, he finally accepted his adoptive family. “The Crandall”
This novel can be enjoyed by people who like science fiction and mysteries.
My favorite quote was: so Tibbo was letting him say good-by to them, too. Barney clung to them with a feeling of desperation “ I’II never forget you “ he promised. “I’ll try to come back.”
October 24, 2015
This book for juveniles about an encounter between an earth boy and a boy from a UFO is handled very well. It is believable.
March 17, 2019
I've been clearing out my bookshelves - a long, difficult, sometimes very stressful process - and finally got to the "reread some old books to decide whether to keep them" stage. This, a book I remember from my childhood and picked up again from a used bookshop years later, was a quick, fun, nostalgic read.
And I still don't know whether to keep this copy.
There are parts, especially near the end, that veer into fairly absurd territory. I suppose that's an odd thing to say about a book where a boy is being kidnapped by an alien in a UFO, but the beauty of sci-fi/fantasy is establishing and maintaining a sense of internal logic. In Barney's world, there are beings from another planet hovering thousands of miles above the Earth's surface, investigating the potential for future interplanetary migration.
Really, the only bit that pulled me out was the unnecessary inclusion of the science teacher, who doesn't believe Barney's story but nevertheless claims to have called his astronomer and Air Force friends. First of all, why would a science teacher in a little town in upstate New York have Air Force buddies he can call up on a whim and ask to investigate an unsubstantiated UFO sighting by one of his students? And why would those Air Force buddies immediately look into it, report back to him, and allow him to pass the word along to the student's family? It doesn't lead to anything, since Tibbo had already told Barney that the spaceships were all hidden from view due to vastly superior technology. There were other, less contrived, ways to "reveal" the UFO sighting to Barney's adoptive parents.
A minor point, though, in an otherwise rather satisfying story.
Clark's writing is deft and descriptive. I'd remembered the feel of the story, if not necessarily the details, and her writing sent me right back into that magical world that the best children's literature can evoke. I remembered the eerie fog, the suspenseful build as he felt the prickling sensation of someone watching him, and the frightening bit at the end where Barney was being tugged towards the UFO against his will.
What struck me more this time around was the entirely human worry threading through all of the action. On the surface, it's a story about an Earth boy meeting a boy from another planet. That's what I liked when I was a kid. But at its core, it's all about family. Barney and his little brother, Scott, are orphans who've spent two years not being able to find another family that would keep both of them. While the Crandalls seem nice, Barney can't relax around them and spends most of his time thinking of reasons that they might try to send him back.
The anxiety was realistically written and entirely believable, down to the encounter with an angry driver that would've been a minor blip on any other boy's radar. To Barney, it's a momentary - and completely terrifying - slip that could easily cost him another family. (Interesting, too, that it was a traffic incident, considering that's how he and Scott lost their biological parents.)
There are deeper thoughts, too, on what makes a "real" family. Tibbo is able to forge ahead with taking Barney because he doesn't have parents anymore. That leaves him up for grabs and fits within the rules Tibbo's planet has set up for interacting with Earthlings. Barney initially agrees to go with him because he doesn't feel like he has a family, either; he sees himself as unwanted and believes he won't be missed.
The interactions between Barney and the Crandalls are lovely, and watching that relationship unfold forms the heart of the book.
I actually find it a little odd that there are apparently multiple sequels (which I haven't read), because that seems to push the focus more towards the "space! aliens!" part of the story, rather than the beautifully constructed musings on family and friendship, but perhaps those carry through to the other books as well. If my local library had them, I'd be tempted to pick them up to see, instead of carrying through the rest of my book-cleanup task...
I did look through Clark's bibliography and found some other intriguing titles in there. She seems like a really thoughtful, forward-thinking author, especially for someone writing children's lit in the 70s. It makes me wish I'd encountered more of her books when I was younger.
And I still don't know whether to keep this copy.
There are parts, especially near the end, that veer into fairly absurd territory. I suppose that's an odd thing to say about a book where a boy is being kidnapped by an alien in a UFO, but the beauty of sci-fi/fantasy is establishing and maintaining a sense of internal logic. In Barney's world, there are beings from another planet hovering thousands of miles above the Earth's surface, investigating the potential for future interplanetary migration.
Really, the only bit that pulled me out was the unnecessary inclusion of the science teacher, who doesn't believe Barney's story but nevertheless claims to have called his astronomer and Air Force friends. First of all, why would a science teacher in a little town in upstate New York have Air Force buddies he can call up on a whim and ask to investigate an unsubstantiated UFO sighting by one of his students? And why would those Air Force buddies immediately look into it, report back to him, and allow him to pass the word along to the student's family? It doesn't lead to anything, since Tibbo had already told Barney that the spaceships were all hidden from view due to vastly superior technology. There were other, less contrived, ways to "reveal" the UFO sighting to Barney's adoptive parents.
A minor point, though, in an otherwise rather satisfying story.
Clark's writing is deft and descriptive. I'd remembered the feel of the story, if not necessarily the details, and her writing sent me right back into that magical world that the best children's literature can evoke. I remembered the eerie fog, the suspenseful build as he felt the prickling sensation of someone watching him, and the frightening bit at the end where Barney was being tugged towards the UFO against his will.
What struck me more this time around was the entirely human worry threading through all of the action. On the surface, it's a story about an Earth boy meeting a boy from another planet. That's what I liked when I was a kid. But at its core, it's all about family. Barney and his little brother, Scott, are orphans who've spent two years not being able to find another family that would keep both of them. While the Crandalls seem nice, Barney can't relax around them and spends most of his time thinking of reasons that they might try to send him back.
The anxiety was realistically written and entirely believable, down to the encounter with an angry driver that would've been a minor blip on any other boy's radar. To Barney, it's a momentary - and completely terrifying - slip that could easily cost him another family. (Interesting, too, that it was a traffic incident, considering that's how he and Scott lost their biological parents.)
There are deeper thoughts, too, on what makes a "real" family. Tibbo is able to forge ahead with taking Barney because he doesn't have parents anymore. That leaves him up for grabs and fits within the rules Tibbo's planet has set up for interacting with Earthlings. Barney initially agrees to go with him because he doesn't feel like he has a family, either; he sees himself as unwanted and believes he won't be missed.
The interactions between Barney and the Crandalls are lovely, and watching that relationship unfold forms the heart of the book.
I actually find it a little odd that there are apparently multiple sequels (which I haven't read), because that seems to push the focus more towards the "space! aliens!" part of the story, rather than the beautifully constructed musings on family and friendship, but perhaps those carry through to the other books as well. If my local library had them, I'd be tempted to pick them up to see, instead of carrying through the rest of my book-cleanup task...
I did look through Clark's bibliography and found some other intriguing titles in there. She seems like a really thoughtful, forward-thinking author, especially for someone writing children's lit in the 70s. It makes me wish I'd encountered more of her books when I was younger.
December 5, 2020
It's been literally decades since I (first) read the sequel, and only now get around to the first in the series. There seemed to be a few discrepancies between the two, but nevertheless a fun kids book about encountering a kid in a UFO.
Negative was the blurb, which in 2 paragraphs covered events up to page 152 of 159. Why would you do this? It's not supposed to be a synopsis or literal spoiler list. Shame on me for reading that.
Negative was the blurb, which in 2 paragraphs covered events up to page 152 of 159. Why would you do this? It's not supposed to be a synopsis or literal spoiler list. Shame on me for reading that.
February 7, 2026
This is a great read about an alien boy and an orphaned boy and their friendship.
June 25, 2016
I first read this in the 80s when I was a child, after meeting the author at a big summer party hosted by friends of the family. I remember as a child that the challenges presented to Barney seemed problematic at the time. It was a pleasure to have found these books again and to re-read them.
April 22, 2008
Robbie and I are Loving this Book!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews