Click the arrow below to listen to the first episode of this free audio book:

If you liked Clear Heart, I think you'll like this one too. It’s got great characters, it’s down-to-earth, it’s fun. And better yet, this one's friendly to children. Boone Barnaby is about three boys testing the limits of life in their scrappy little town. It’s about collecting garbage, climbing trees, catching a criminal, and talking to dragonflies.

Boone Barnaby lives in a small town full of large characters: San Puerco, California. There’s Boone’s father, who loves Studebakers and doo-wop, and who has a habit of walking around the dark streets of town late at night carrying a can of gasoline. There’s Boone’s friend Danny, who has nothing—sometimes not even a home—but who wants everything, even if he has to steal for it. There’s Boone’s other friend Babcock, who finds trilobites and organizes a picket line and looks like a wet coconut. There’s Walt, the soccer coach, who drives a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. And there’s Boone himself, who has a few problems: His soccer team is thrown out of the league. The dogcatcher is after Boone's dog. The town hoodlum is throwing rocks. Boone's father is arrested for burning down houses. The adult world doesn't seem fair, but with the help of his friends—Danny and Babcock—Boone tries to make things right and maybe learn just who he is and what he stands for.

Boone Barnaby is Part One of the San Puerco Trilogy, three award-winning novels that have been loved by adults and children alike, about the adventures of three boys in a town of cranks and dreamers—and adventurous children. “This warmly engaging story is resplendent with humor, irony, thoughtful introspection, and well-paced plotting." —School Library Journal.

Joe Cottonwood lives in the scrappy little town of La Honda, California, which has its own share of cranks and dreamers—and adventurous children. He has written four award-winning novels for children including the best-selling Quake!, four novels for adults including Famous Potatoes and Clear Heart, a book of poetry, and numerous songs. He has worked as a plumber, electrician, and carpenter and currently makes his living as a building contractor. He recently discovered that he has been writing podcasts all his life, though he didn’t know it until podcasts were finally invented.

(One note before you listen: The novel was written in 1988 before every house had a computer, every person could get a cell phone, and every mom drove an SUV. It was written when every President was a white man. It wasn’t all that long ago.)

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 3.0 United States License.

Smashwords is a publishing platform, online bookstore and ebook distributor for independent ebook authors, publishers and readers. They offer multi-format, DRM-free ebooks, ready for immediate sampling and purchase, and readable on any e-reading device.

Audio Quality: Out of 19 ratings

Narration Quality: Out of 19 ratings

Writing Quality: Out of 19 ratings

Overall Rating: Out of 19 ratings

By: Joe Cottonwood
The musician - Will Fourt - lives in San Francisco and performs with several bands around the Bay Area. I've put together a CD that includes his podcast songs plus several others (some will appear on future podcasts). It's not studio quality, but it's fresh and lively. I could get you one if you send me an email (joecot@coastside.net). His only website is out of date: it's a MySpace page for his former band, which was called Five Dollar Suit He got tired of holding a band together with all the usual drama. He's a great collaborative musician, very creative and original with absolutely no ego. I love working with him. We're creating a bunch of new songs right now.

By: isis62
Love your writing, narration and everything else. Joe please write more about those wonderful people in San Puerco. I enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed Babcock. I started listening to Clear Heart today. You are an excellent writer and I have become a big fan. Also I really loved the music. Do you have any links to this musician. Oh and since you mentioned Facebook, I think I will look for you there as well. Keep up the great work.

By: Joe Cottonwood
Thanks, Howard. Please keep me updated on what your child thinks of the podcasts. I value the feedback, good or bad.

Discuss this book! | Report a problem with an Episode