Beanie the Bansheenie

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 Eoin Colfer is the New York Times best-selling author of the children's fantasy series Artemis Fowl. His other notable works include Three Tasks for a Dragon and The Dog Who Lost His Bark, both illustrated by P.J. Lynch, and Cloud Babies, illustrated by Chris Judge. The recipient of many awards, Eoin Colfer lives in Ireland with his wife and two children. Steve McCarthy is an Irish designer, illustrator, and author. His early career was devoted to traditional animation and background design, most notably for the 2015 Oscar-nominated animated feature film Song of the Sea. He is the author-illustrator of The Wilderness and the illustrator of A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea; The One with the Waggly Tail; and Sally Go Round the Stars, all **by Sarah Webb. Steve McCarthy lives in southeast London.