Animal Barn: A Cautionary Tale by David Spuler (Novella Review)

 I received an ecopy of this book from the author/publisher via Goodreads Giveaways. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Animal Barn
A Cautionary Tale
Written by David Spuler
Published by RevMax Media
on November 10, 2020
Genre: Anthropomorphic, Environmental
Length: 118 pages

Goodreads | Amazon 

Synopsis:
Trapped in their steaming barn, with food running out, Petunia the lamb and her friend Pickle struggle against the obstreperous Felicity and the dismissive older animals who are oblivious to the needs of the young ones. Only a mother's love can save them. 
An allegorical novella about climate change and global warming, in the spirit of Animal Farm. 


My Thoughts:

A barn full of farm animals worry about their owner as he becomes sick in the cold of winter and stops showing up to feed them.  They're sure someone will rescue them eventually, but it keeps getting colder and they keep getting hungrier.
As more time passes, some of the animals break out of their stalls and come up with ways to preserve their shrinking water and food sources but no matter how much they try, they can't seem to find a way to break out of the barn. 

Animal Barn is the 'Animal Farm' of our time, with unseen forces, aka weather and/or climate, as the main antagonist but still follows the spirit of the Orwellian tale. A barn full of trapped animals is bound to have an interesting, and perhaps rather harrowing, outcome; especially when their very survival is at stake.

I originally read 'Animal Farm' in middle or high school as required reading (which never bothered me) and it stuck with me for years. I've reread it twice since then and can definitely see myself reading it again in the future and was excited to read this novella 'retelling'. 

Animal Barn did not disappoint. It has many similarities to 'Animal Farm' but is a fantastic allegory all on its own, with lovable characters and its own 'hidden message.'

Content warning includes neglect and death of animals and some animalistic violence. I would recommend it to fans of Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies. There are no age recommendations that I can find but I think it is suitable for young readers. 

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