Bone: Out from Boneville

Smith, J. (2005). Bone: Out from Boneville. New York: Scholastic Graphix, 138 pp.

Graphic Novel, back cover states series has won 38 international awards but does not name them

Categories and Literary Elements from “Books that Don’t Bore ‘Em” this book would fit in: When Things Don’t Go According To Plan, Foreshadowing, Suspense, Reluctant Readers, Fantasy, Humor, and obviously Graphic Novel

After Phoney Bone is expelled from Boneville and loses contact with his cousins, Fone Bone and Smiley Bone, they each chart their way individually through an unimaginable valley. They come in contact with the cow-racing Gran’ma Ben, her granddaughter Thron, a leaf-like bug named Ted, and rat-like creatures who want to take Phoney’s soul. However (no need to worry), they have a giant red dragon to protect them.

Each of the Bones is a unique character. My personal favorite was Fone Bone who bored people he met on forest paths talking about the beauty of Moby Dick. While I found humor in this because he reminded me of a certain professor, young students would most likely be intrigued by Phoney Bone because of his dishonesty. He was chased out of Boneville because of an incident at a town picnic described later in the text. Phoney is the richest man in Boneville and not afraid to admit to it.

On a social level, this book addresses the differences in attitude between each of the Bones and how they fit together in society or as part of an extended family. Fone is the planner and mentor. Phoney is the menacing and cocky deviant. Smiley….well he is smiley. Each reader will find a different character to identify with throughout the series. Readers learn a moral from the bad luck of Phoney and the good luck of Fone. That moral would be that good friends come to those who treat their friends well.

I would welcome this book as part a selection for individual choice in my classroom but would not feel comfortable teaching it to everyone until I become more familiar with the genre. I understand that teaching a graphic novel to an entire group could be difficult but maybe someday (after I have stronger talents as a teacher) I could use more modern technologies and introduce some concepts related to symbolism to visual learners. My mother suggested this series to me because it, along with the rest of the 9 part series it is a part of, is a very successful individual choice in her 5th grade language arts classroom. I might suggest this book to 5th, 6th, or 7th graders- specifically those with a very sarcastic sense of humor. As it is part of a series, I could see small group discussions taking place.

This book was entertaining because they text and pictures were doubly stimulating. This is the first graphic novel that I have ever read and I do not really think that I am good at it. I caught myself only reading the text and then I would not understand what was happening because I missed something obvious like hearts swimming around Fone Bone’s head when he first sees Thorn. I enjoyed the sarcasm and thought it could be useful to young readers that words with sarcastic undertones were often highlighted in bold. At the end of the book, there is a page that states this series of books were originally a comic series. With little experience in the graphic novel genre, I am no expert but I thought this one was entertaining.

Food for thought: This book introduces the concept of a bookmaker. Does that mean…
a.) a person who makes books much like a cobbler makes shoes
b.) a person who takes bets- usually on sporting events or horses
c.) a person who writes books

2 cool points awarded for the correct answer.