Bone, Vol. 1 discussion

The graphic novel, Bone (Vol. 1) by Jeff Smith with coloring done by Steve Hamaker is a charming, adventure-comedy with plenty of laughs and engaging characters that make a wonderful experience to read. The story centers on three anthropomorphic beings: Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone who have been kicked out of Boneville and are wandering the countryside when they get separated. The illustrations in this novel are full of energy and expression, they remind me of the illustrations of Bill Watterson (the author of the "Calvin and Hobbes" series that was coming out around the same time). The world that this takes place in is quite interesting, there are dragons, rat creatures, bones, humans, gigantic bugs and talking possums all living together brought to life by these pictures and clever dialogue. I laughed and smiled constantly while reading this book, plenty of visual gags as well as funny situations and verbal humor. If I knew about this book when I was growing up I could definitely see myself reading through this series. I would recommend this series to third graders and up, the reading is not sparse, nor is it dense, but just the right balance of onomatopoeia, yells and vernacular to make a quick read. I definitely enjoyed reading this and I would definitely recommend this to anyone curious about it.