Review: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith
Out from Boneville is the first volume in Smith's Bone series.
My Summary: Phoney Bone, the richest guy in Boneville, gets run out of town because of his dubious business dealings. His cousins Fone and Smiley join him in exile, and soon the Bones are lost in the desert. After the three are overtaken by a swarm of locusts, Fone finds himself alone with only a scrap of a map, which may be real or one of Smiley's practical jokes. Fone decides to follow the map, and along the way he sees Smiley's cigar butts, scattered in the sand like a trail of bread crumbs.
Fone eventually ends up in a beautiful, lush valley, and it seems that his luck has changed. Now all he has to do is find his cousins so they can all go back home. The good news is that he is able to make some friends; the bad news is that giant rat creatures seem to think Fone would make a tasty treat. Will Fone be able to escape the rats? Are Phoney and Smiley lost forever? How will Fone ever find his way back to Boneville?
My Thoughts: I loved Out of Boneville, and I even chuckled out loud in a few places. Fone is just so darn cute! The interactions and contrasts among the three cousins offer good dynamics, and Thorn and her grandmother are great characters. This first volume sets the scene for the longer tale, and although the plot isn't all that sophisticated so far, it's a great read.
The full-color drawings are absolutely brilliant. I am particularly taken with the characters' faces—from the monsters to the baby possums—and the eyes and the general expressions are fantastic. Two of the simplest panels show the first snowfall of winter; they are hilarious in the context of the story. Can't wait to read the rest of the saga.
I read this novel to meet several challenges (listed below); to find out more about a challenge and to see what other participants are reading, click on the title above the progress bar in the left margin.
Published by Scholastic, 2005
ISBN-13: 9780439706407
Challenges: A-Z Title, New Author, 100+, 999, Graphic Novel, Buy 1 and Read
YTD: 7
Rating B+
10 comments:
Fone is adorable!
Is this for kids? I saw quite a few of these go out the door at the last book fair that I run for the kids' school. At the spring one, I will have to pick them up and read them in the slow times!
Kathy/Bermuda: he is adorable!!
Sandy: it's a young adult series, but it also appeals to fantasy lovers. I've read the first two (out of nine) and I'm hooked!
Good to hear you enjoyed it so much! I have The Complete Bone here and I'm hoping to get to it in the next few months. It sounds like I have some excellent reading ahead of me.
Okay, this sounds too cute. I'll check it out, Beth!
Oooooh.. Library Loan here I come! This sounds amazing!
It sounds really cute!!!
My 10 year old son has started reading this series and he loves it. The drawings look amazing. I'll have to check them out after he reads them!
I came to stumble, stayed to read.
Bone sounds good!
Sounds like a fun series!
:) Wendi
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