Review: Tall Tales by Jeff Smith

I loved the nine graphic novels that made up the Bone series by Jeff Smith, so when I saw there was another Bone book, I knew I had to read it.

Tall Tales by Jeff Smith with Tom Sniegoski consists of four stories told by Smiley Bone to four young Bone Scouts (well three Bones and Bartleby, the rat creature) whom he has taken on a camping trip.

One story is a previously untold episode that takes places within the time line of the original Bone series and involves Smiley's cousins Fone Bone and Phoney Bone. The other tales introduce us to "the roughest, toughest Bone that ever lived": Big Johnson Bone, the founder of Boneville.

The humor is what you'd expect from Smith: a mix that ranges from innuendo to sarcasm to slapstick to laugh-out-loud funny. I loved the tales about Big Johnson--a Bone version of a Davy Crockett type of folk hero--and hope we get to see more of him in the future.

The artwork is terrific. Smith conveys quite a lot with a simple facial expression and body posture. He provides enough detail to set the scene without stifling the reader's imagination. The following scan is from one of the Big Johnson tales (click to enlarge):

To learn all about Jeff Smith and the Bones, visit his website Boneville.

Tall Tales at an Indie

Tall Tales at Powell's

Tall Tales at Book Depository
These links lead to affiliate programs

Published by Scholastic / Graphix, 2010
ISBN-13: 9780545140966
YTD: 105
Source: Bought (see review policy)
Rating: B+
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)