( 19 reviews )
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Posted: Jul 17 2009
This is a beautifully colorized version of the original black and white underground comic of the early nineties. In this first volume, the reader is introduced to three Bone cousins who are on the run and lost in an uncharted desert. The three are separated and the story mainly follows Fone Bone, who stumbles into an unknown gully filled with interesting characters, an escalating storyline, and captivating visuals as he continues his search for his cousins. I had heard great things about Bone, and so I was prepared to be slightly disappointed in case it did not live up to the hype. This preparation was unnecessary because this little book turned out to be everything that people have been telling me it was. It's a Scholastic imprint and marketed toward the 9-12 age group, but I think its appeal is much broader. Any adult who likes Harry Potter could easily come to love this series for its humor, interesting story, clever dialogue, and lovable (if slightly stereotyped) characters. It was a fairly quick and enjoyable read for me, and I only regret that I must wait to read the next volume. This would be an excellent book to encourage reluctant young readers. (The most sensitive of parents should be aware that there are mild references/depictions of smoking, a tavern serving fine ales, gambling, and an off-page/implied co-ed bathing scene in a hot spring. It's all quite tame.) There is a very affordable compilation of all nine Bone volumes available in black and white, but if you (or the recipient) of this comic collection appreciates art to some extent, I would recommend spending a little extra for the separate colorized volumes. I lingered over these pages longer, enjoying the landscapes and character details in top-notch digital color. The story is the same, but the experience is richer.
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Posted: May 22 2009
My kids, 10 and 12 years old, are not avid book or comic book readers, but the devaoured the 9 volumes in a couple of weekends. The quality of the book was flawless. Even I enjoyed it.
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( 0 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Apr 21 2009
I was completely shocked and horrified that this book is marketed to young children by Scholastic. My eight year old son received the first Bone book as a gift. I could not believe that the content contains characters smoking and drinking beer. This is NOT a book that should be given to a child for that reason alone! After doing some research I read that Scholastic at first did not want to include the inappropriate content, however they decided to leave it in the book anyway. As a parent I do not think any child should be reading a book that "glamorizes" smoking. I am also disgusted that Scholastic, which is a name parents trust, would allow this series to be marketed to young children.
