SLIS 5420 - Module 13 - Bone: Out From Boneville

Bibliography

Smith, J.,1960 Feb.27-. (1996). Out from boneville (1st ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Cartoon Books.

Summary

Bone: Out from Boneville is the first book of nine in the series that follows the Bone cousins and their flight from an angry home town to a hidden valley filled with mystery and war. The story begins with Fone, Phoney, and Smiley Bone being chased out of their home town, Boneville, because of Phoney’s poorly thought out schemes to become mayor. Lost in the mountains, the Bone cousins find themselves off the map (literally) and separated when attacked by a swarm of locust. Fone Bone is separated from Phoney and Smiley and spends the winter surviving on his own thanks to the help of the animals in the valley. The valley is not on any maps and no one in the valley has ever heard of Boneville. The cousins are reunited thanks to Gran’ma Ben and Thorn, two valley residents who were kind to Fone and housed him for part of the winter. The Bones may be reunited, but a hooded figure is hunting for the Bone with a star on his chest, which means that something bad is headed in the direction of the Bone cousins.

Impressions

I loved this book. I loved this book so much that I read the rest of the series just to see how it would end. The art style is fantastic, blending cartoony characters of the Bones with the more serious (yet still over exaggerated) style of the valley people. The story flows easily and is something that any age group could really enjoy.

Reviews

“A whimsical journey, cunningly told. It combines fable with American legend in a tale of greed, friendship, and struggle. The story follows three cousins who have been thrown out of their town for cheating the citizens. Shortly thereafter, they are separated. Each Bone stumbles into a mysterious valley full of odd creatures that reveal strange happenings. The story is well paced with smooth transitions. It is dark, witty, mysterious, and exciting. The full-color art reflects that of classic comic books; one glance at the comic cels and one is reminded of old Disney and "Peanuts" cartoons. However, the animation and fresh story line put Smith in a league of his own.”

La Counte, S., Jones, T., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., & Raben, D. (2005). Out from Boneville. School Library Journal, 51(5), 164.

“The nine-volume Bone graphic novel series was the toast of the comics world when it was published by Smith's own Cartoon Books beginning in the early 1990s; in this first volume of Scholastic's new edition, the original b&w art has been beautifully converted into color. Smith's epic concerns three blobby creatures who have stumbled into a valley full of monsters, magic, farmers, an exiled princess and a huge, cynical dragon. The story is something like a Chuck Jones version of The Lord of the Rings : hilarious and action-packed, but rarely losing track of its darker subtext about power and evil. This volume is the most lighthearted of the bunch, though, featuring some of the wittiest writing of any children's literature in recent memory--a few of Smith's gags are so delicious that he repeated them for the rest of the series. It also introduces the Bone cast's unforgettable supporting characters: the leathery, tough-as-nails, racing-cow-breeding Gran'ma Ben; the carnivorous but quiche-loving "rat creatures"; a spunky trio of baby opossums; and Ted the Bug, whose minimalist appearance (a tiny semicircle) exemplifies Smith's gift for less-is-more cartooning. The way his clear-lined, exaggerated characters contrast with their subtle, detailed backgrounds is a product of his background in animation, and so is his mastery of camera angles and choreography. This is first-class kid lit: exciting, funny, scary and resonant enough that it will stick with readers for a long time.”
(2005). BONE: Out from Boneville.

Publishers Weekly, 252(6), 44.

Library Use

This would be a great bridge book to bring fantasy readers into the graphic novel genre. Conversely, this could be a good book to bridge the audience of graphic novels to the fantasy genre. Or, it could be a good book to introduce anyone to the graphic novel genre, as it is well drawn and easy to read. Several uses, and good all around.