I've got a BONE to pick...

How do you begin to describe Bone?

It's a graphic novel, true. But it's not your typical superhero or "comic" novel. There is comedy, and there are heroes, but there is so much more. "Epic" doesn't even begin to describe it. Think Lord of the Rings meets Star Wars and The Marx Brothers and you might be close. But still...

Bone was originally published over 13 years. The library's copy is the "One Volume Edition", collecting all 55 issues into one volume. It's big, it's heavy, and I wouldn't read it any other way.

Jeff Smith's story centers around three cousins: Phoney Bone (the greedy, conceited one), Smiley Bone (the fun-loving, goofy one), and Fone Bone (our hero), who become lost in The Valley after they are run out of Boneville following one of Phoney's disastrous schemes. While trying to find each other (and the way home), they meet up with a wide cast of characters including the mysterious Thorn, her enigmatic grandmother, and a smoke ring-blowing red dragon who may or may not be a figment of Fone Bone's imagination.

As they make their way through The Valley, they encounter other humans and bizarre creatures who are threatened by the Lord of the Locusts, a dark and menacing figure from the past. Fone Bone is soon drawn into the events around him and finds himself on a hero's journey to help save the world.

Do the cousins find each other again? Can they avoid the Rat-creatures and help save The Valley from an ancient evil? What will happen to Thorn and her grandmother? And what about that red dragon?

Although its size (1300 pages! -- but believe me, they go fast) and some content might frighten the younger kids, Bone is certainly suitable for anyone that could handle, say Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, the Harry Potter movies or The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Even if you don't care for "comic books", I encourage you to give it a try. If you like fantasy (Tolkien, Harry Potter, the Narnia series, etc.), then you are definitely in for a treat.

(If you like this book, there is also a prequel called Rose, but I recommend you read Bone first, lest a very important plot point be spoiled for you.)