Barney the Barnacle

About the Author

Christian Foley is a writer, rapper and a teacher. His work has taken him from school classrooms to Oprah's Television Networks, PMQ's at Westminster, festival circuits, TED talks, and the Premier League. Over the last decade, Christian has worked with thousands of children, and hundreds of teachers every year, visiting primary and secondary schools and delivering workshops for staff and students. Outside of the classroom, in the field of music, Christian has released two rap albums Excommunication and Happy Hour which focus on mental health. As an author, he has written two ‘Hip-Hop picture books’ for Early Years students, The Oddsocktopus (2023) and Some Bears (2024) featuring his trademark tongue twisting rhymes, bringing Hip-Hop to the page. Christian is also the editor of a number of poetry anthologies written by the young people he teaches. André Carrilho has worked as a professional illustrator, editorial cartoonist, animator and caricature artist for over 30 years, collaborating with a wide list of publications that include The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, Los Angeles magazine, Wall Street Journal, The Independent on Sunday and The New Statesman. In 2002 he was awarded the Gold Award for Illustrator's Portfolio by the Society for News Design (USA), one of the more than 100 honours and awards he has received as an illustrator and cartoonist. His first book “The Girl with the Occupied Eyes” won the Gold Medal at the Society of Illustrators (NYC), the National Prize in Illustration (Portugal) and the Grand Prix at Hiii Illustration (China). André lives and works in Lisbon.