After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast uncharted deser...
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Aug 06, 2008
Ryan
rated it: 
I read Bone way back in the early 90s when it was serialized in comic book form, before these gorgeous collections by Scholastic. I recently revisited these and found them to have aged incredibly well. Like the best narratives for young audiences, the adventures of the three cousins Fone Bone, Smiley Bone, and Phoney Bone resonate with adults as well. The only other analogue that comes to mind is some of the work by Pixar. Jeff Smith has created a timeless series that I hope to read to my childr
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Jan 02, 2009
Ben
rated it: 
My 8 year old son received this entire series for Christmas and is flying through them. This one was very entertaining. Art work is great, too. I guess I have to read them all now to see if Phone, Smiley, and Phoney ever get back to Boneville.
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Dec 08, 2007
Joe
rated it: 
People I love think this is a friggin masterpiece, and I love them less for it now.
I picked up the first volume of Bone because I'd heard it had such amazing comic timing, a great storyline and relatively solid artwork. No one mentioned that the dialogue reads as though it were written by a fifth grader, the humor is predictable and the story is so threadbare and uninteresting I began making up my own story for the panels. And to say that the artwork is well done is like saying the d More...
I picked up the first volume of Bone because I'd heard it had such amazing comic timing, a great storyline and relatively solid artwork. No one mentioned that the dialogue reads as though it were written by a fifth grader, the humor is predictable and the story is so threadbare and uninteresting I began making up my own story for the panels. And to say that the artwork is well done is like saying the d More...
Dec 30, 2011
Amanda
rated it: 
Out from Boneville is the first installment in the Bone series featuring Phoney Bone, Fone Bone, and Smiley Bone. When the three cousins are run out of Boneville because of Phoney Bone's latest scheme, they get lost and separated in the desert. Fone Bone (our hero) finds a secret valley where he encounters weird weather, strange friends (a cow racing grandmother and a tiny green bug), frightening foes (homicidal rat creatures), and a strangely protective dragon that no one else can see.
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Apr 14, 2008
Nate
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Bone is a graphic novel about three ‘bones’. Bones are fictional beings that interact with, talk like, and live like humans. The three bones, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone, start off the book in a desert-like area where we find out that Phoney got kicked out from Boneville, their hometown.
All three Bones fall into a valley and get lost. Fone Bone, the main character, is lost all by himself. He is stuck in the wilderness alone. While Fone Bone is looking for his cousins, h More...
All three Bones fall into a valley and get lost. Fone Bone, the main character, is lost all by himself. He is stuck in the wilderness alone. While Fone Bone is looking for his cousins, h More...
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Mar 19, 2008
Doughboy
rated it:
Bone
Bone is a graphic novel about these living bones that got kicked out of their city. As they try to find their way back they all end up getting split up now since all of them are separated, none of them know how to get back home because they don’t function very well when they are separated. The book focuses on one of the characters through most of the story. He got trapped in a forest because when winter comes you can not leave the forest until it is gone. Bone was trapped in the More...
Bone is a graphic novel about these living bones that got kicked out of their city. As they try to find their way back they all end up getting split up now since all of them are separated, none of them know how to get back home because they don’t function very well when they are separated. The book focuses on one of the characters through most of the story. He got trapped in a forest because when winter comes you can not leave the forest until it is gone. Bone was trapped in the More...
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May 04, 2007
Rebecca
rated it:
Bone didn't make it onto my radar until a coworker recommended it for my TinTin-obsessed eight-year-old cousin. realizing that I, too, am TinTin-obsessed, I decided to give it a shot.
And, wow. Bone has the adventure of TinTin and the impeccable comic timing and sensibility of Walt Kelly's Pogo; in short, it's the funniest, most exciting, smartest comic book you've never heard of.
Let me put it another way. Regardless of whether or not you read comic books at all, if you have a pulse a More...
And, wow. Bone has the adventure of TinTin and the impeccable comic timing and sensibility of Walt Kelly's Pogo; in short, it's the funniest, most exciting, smartest comic book you've never heard of.
Let me put it another way. Regardless of whether or not you read comic books at all, if you have a pulse a More...
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Jan 24, 2009
Noemi claudine
rated it:
The bones creatures are little white short people. There are three different brothers that get run out of boneville, because Phonicble bone tries to become a mayor but drives everyone in a waste plant. They are stuck in a desert but they all get separated. They all go through many different adventure sin this magical world and finally get re united when they find themselves all living together with a girl named thorn and her grandmother grandma ben. They want to get back to Boneville but unfortu
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Dec 24, 2008
Rick
rated it: 
A comic book tale of creatures visually derived, inspired isn’t quite the accomplishment here, from Walt Kelly’s Pogo, Bone, or at least the first volume, is pretty shallow stuff. It is hailed as a contemporary classic but unless it evolves dramaticly in subsequent volumes, I don’t see it. Fone Bone is the strip’s Pogo. But he lacks the personality, no complex mixture of innocence and wisdom. The other characters (Smiley Bone; Phoney Bone, Thorn, Gran’ma Rose, and the forest monsters, rat-like c
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Feb 05, 2012
Rick
rated it:
Bone is a unique blend of comic strip humor and grand fantasy adventure. This first volume covers issue #1-6 of the comic book series.
Phoney Bone has been run out of Boneville for being a greedy horrible person. Cousins, Fone and Smiley Bone, help him escape the angry mob. Separated by a swarm of locusts, the Bones are lost in uncharted lands. Volume One focuses on their survival and the journey to their reunion.
Bone is full of classic fantasy elements: the wooded environme More...
Phoney Bone has been run out of Boneville for being a greedy horrible person. Cousins, Fone and Smiley Bone, help him escape the angry mob. Separated by a swarm of locusts, the Bones are lost in uncharted lands. Volume One focuses on their survival and the journey to their reunion.
Bone is full of classic fantasy elements: the wooded environme More...
Sep 26, 2011
Robin
rated it:
I can never decide what I think of this series. The first part of it that I ever read was the 3rd trade paperback (TPB) for a comics class in graduate school (the first and second ones were checked out at my library when I needed to do the assignment). While I didn't think it was bad, I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about -- several people had told me that they loved the series, but I didn't immediately see why they would feel that strongly about it. Also, I thought it was really nee
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Jul 02, 2011
Nicola
rated it:
Reason for Reading: One of my goals this year is to finally read this series! So, here I go!
Volume One of the Bone series was everything I had hoped it would be. This has been on my must read list ever since Scholastic came out with the colourized editions, so that would make it six years of getting around to it. Happy to say I was not disappointed. The characters are adorable. The writing is funny, even witty, and an interesting journey has begun with a bad guy after one of our h More...
Volume One of the Bone series was everything I had hoped it would be. This has been on my must read list ever since Scholastic came out with the colourized editions, so that would make it six years of getting around to it. Happy to say I was not disappointed. The characters are adorable. The writing is funny, even witty, and an interesting journey has begun with a bad guy after one of our h More...
Jun 18, 2011
Justyn
rated it:
I can finally say that I have read Bone and for the most part I enjoyed it!
Let's start with Jeff Smith's art. I LOVE Jeff's use of color and his crisp lines. There is a lovely clean and crisp quality to his art work. I enjoy the aesthetic of Bone very very much!
The characters include three Bone cousins: Fone, Phoney, and Smiley Bone. Fone is our hero, although I imagine Phoney and Smiley play quite a bit into the story as well. I really like Fone Bone which is no surprise More...
Let's start with Jeff Smith's art. I LOVE Jeff's use of color and his crisp lines. There is a lovely clean and crisp quality to his art work. I enjoy the aesthetic of Bone very very much!
The characters include three Bone cousins: Fone, Phoney, and Smiley Bone. Fone is our hero, although I imagine Phoney and Smiley play quite a bit into the story as well. I really like Fone Bone which is no surprise More...
Jun 03, 2011
Tiny
rated it:
I originally read this volume years ago, when I saw that it was on a million and a half Best Comics Ever lists.
I distinctly remember that at the time, I really didn't like it and in fact, was disappointed and surprised that it had made all of those lists! I didn't know what a bone creature was, their stupid names turned me off, and it weirded me out that a creature called Bone was in love with a human girl. (I have a real hang-up with what I consider stupid names. Due to this, it too More...
I distinctly remember that at the time, I really didn't like it and in fact, was disappointed and surprised that it had made all of those lists! I didn't know what a bone creature was, their stupid names turned me off, and it weirded me out that a creature called Bone was in love with a human girl. (I have a real hang-up with what I consider stupid names. Due to this, it too More...
Jun 03, 2011
Eden
rated it:
The three bone cousins were kicked out of Boneville after Phoney Bone picnic and other plans went horribly wrong.
They get split up after being swarmed by bugs and Fone Bone finds himself in a strange valley. Lucky for him, he runs into Thorn, who will help him find his cousins and get back to Boneville.
I honestly wasn't sure if I'd like this, but I borrowed from the library and decided to give it a try. At first, I wasn't too impressed and it was really because of Phoney Bone. More...
They get split up after being swarmed by bugs and Fone Bone finds himself in a strange valley. Lucky for him, he runs into Thorn, who will help him find his cousins and get back to Boneville.
I honestly wasn't sure if I'd like this, but I borrowed from the library and decided to give it a try. At first, I wasn't too impressed and it was really because of Phoney Bone. More...
Mar 08, 2011
John
rated it:
I rated Out from Boneville 5 stars because it was humorous and entertaining. I found it to be so interesting that I did not want to put the book down. This story is about 3 cousins named Fone Bone, Phony Bone, and Smiley Bone. These characters are crazy. Phony was a greedy hornet who was in it only for the money. One time Fone Bone approached a rat creature and started taunting him because he knew that the dragon was going to come protect him. If it weren't for the dragon, he would have bee
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Dec 29, 2010
Karissa
rated it:
I borrowed this from the library because I had heard a lot of great things about this graphic novel series and wanted something that me and my son could read together. This is the first graphic novel in a nine book series. Overall this was a great graphic novel and completely appropriate for younger children, yet complex and funny enough for adults.
Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone have been kicked out of Boneville because of Phoney's greediness. Fone Bone gets separated from More...
Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone have been kicked out of Boneville because of Phoney's greediness. Fone Bone gets separated from More...
Dec 03, 2010
Sarah-Greenbeanteenqueen
rated it:
I feel like such a terrible librarian for admitting this, but I hadn't read Bone until this year! The comics are always checked out from my library and I always have tweens and teens asking for them, but I had never sat down and read them. When I was at a Scholastic warehouse sale earlier this year, I saw the full color versions of Bone and decided to pick up a copy of volume one for myself and I'm so glad I did!
After reading Out from Boneville I know why tweens keep asking for this More...
After reading Out from Boneville I know why tweens keep asking for this More...
Aug 23, 2010
Patrice
rated it:
SUMMARY: Phoney Bone has gotten himself into trouble for the last time, in Boneville at least. He's been exiled from his home, though his cousin Fone Bone helped him escape the wrath of the angry townspeople. Also along for the ride is another cousin, Smiley Bone. It isn't long before the Bone cousins become separated, and we follow Fone Bone's progress through the desert. He comes to a forest, is stalked and chased by evil rat creatures, is saved by a dragon, and meets a beautiful woman who off
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Aug 10, 2010
Kathy
rated it:
OK, this graphic novel was really cute! Maybe others wouldn't define the Bone characters as cute but I found them endearing. I don't usually read graphic novels like this, however I have read all of the Calvin and Hobbes, For Better or For Worse, Zits, and Bucky the Cat. Bone, Out from Boneville, is the first volumes in the series. The main character, Fone Bone, hangs out with his two misfit cousins, Phoncible P. Bone and Smiley Bone. Phoncible is the Mayor of Boneville, but he is a bit sha
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Jul 23, 2010
Nicki
rated it:
Bone is an adventure story about three cousins who are thrown out of their town, Boneville, into a land strange and unusual to them. There’s Fone Bone - the most intelligent cousin of the bunch, Phoney Bone – the greedy opportunist, and Smiley – the good-hearted fool.
In their quest to return home, the Bone cousins become separated and embark on their own little adventures, each meeting different characters along the way. Eventually, they pair up with some residents of the valley More...
In their quest to return home, the Bone cousins become separated and embark on their own little adventures, each meeting different characters along the way. Eventually, they pair up with some residents of the valley More...
Jun 25, 2010
Hester
rated it:
Apparently, I am not supposed to read this book.
I checked out the documentary "The Cartoonist" about Jeff Smith, which convinced me that I needed to read his epic "Bone." The documentary made it sound like the best book ever, and it had been highly recommended by a friend I respect enormously(that's you, Ben Weiss).
According to the documentary, Jeff Smith sold the book to (thirty-something) comic store geeks, and then Scholastic published in volum More...
I checked out the documentary "The Cartoonist" about Jeff Smith, which convinced me that I needed to read his epic "Bone." The documentary made it sound like the best book ever, and it had been highly recommended by a friend I respect enormously(that's you, Ben Weiss).
According to the documentary, Jeff Smith sold the book to (thirty-something) comic store geeks, and then Scholastic published in volum More...
May 11, 2010
Joanna
rated it:
I enjoyed this first book in the Bone series. The artwork is top notch, rendering playful and funny scenes of a dragon hiding in a well just as deftly as ominous ones involving plagues of locusts or sinister rat creatures. The three Bone cousins are really cute, but they remind me a little of albino smurfs. And I do not like Phoney Bone at all. He is one of the most unsympathetic cartoon characters I've ever encountered. Maybe he grows a bit as the rest of the series progresses, but I reall
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Mar 12, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
What the hell, guys? Why didn't any of you tell me how great this series is?
Bone is one of those series that I've been seeing for years and just staying away from. I think its ubiquity, combined with the cartoonish figures, put me off. After reading a prequel (illustrated not by Jeff Smith, but by Charles Vess), I finally unbent and read the first volume and was super impressed. The story's great, the characters are mostly pretty interesting, and the art is not at all what I expe More...
Bone is one of those series that I've been seeing for years and just staying away from. I think its ubiquity, combined with the cartoonish figures, put me off. After reading a prequel (illustrated not by Jeff Smith, but by Charles Vess), I finally unbent and read the first volume and was super impressed. The story's great, the characters are mostly pretty interesting, and the art is not at all what I expe More...
Jan 23, 2010
John
rated it:
An unexpectedly delightful comic. Smith's is a simple art style that adapts the emotive traits of a dozen other cartoonists, bringing them all into the simplicity of black and white. Three main characters are "bones," oddly shaped cartoon figures that he can stretch in easy ways to easily express adoration, joy and terror, all harkening back to Charles Schultz's Snoopy. But his humans have the builds and facial traits of other worlds: Thorn could be a Walt Disney princess, while her gr
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Jan 10, 2010
Donna
rated it:
Bone presents a riveting fantasy adventure guaranteed to captivate a tween audience. While much of the story in this first book of the series is dedicated to establishing the plot for the rest of the books, the action is constant and Smith offers some background from which it appears he intends to continue the development of the main characters. The book retains some of the sensibilities of the comic genre, including a more idealized portrayal of women in the character of Thorn and a tendency to
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Dec 05, 2009
earthy
rated it:
After being run out of Boneville, Bone cousins Fone, Phoney, and Smiley are separated as they enter a strange new land where dragons aren’t so mythical, stupid rat creatures abound, and a young girl named Thorn and her grandmother try to help the Bones find their way home.
Smooth, rounded lines and subtle shading lend a bit of realism to the comic-style character design and setting. Smith gives his characters fabulous facial expressions whether they’re humans or rat creatures. Each More...
Smooth, rounded lines and subtle shading lend a bit of realism to the comic-style character design and setting. Smith gives his characters fabulous facial expressions whether they’re humans or rat creatures. Each More...
Nov 30, 2009
Riley
rated it:
You need to know something about me. I do not usually read graphic novels. This was pushed on me by my graphic-novel-obsessed aunt during thanksgiving, immediately followed by a conversation in which she threatened she would not teach me how to knit unless I read it.
It was a very light read, I finished it over a very quiet breakfast where I had sausage while the rest of my family watched TV (my grandmother has cable, whereas we do not. I am guilty of being a couch potato for 18 hours straig More...
It was a very light read, I finished it over a very quiet breakfast where I had sausage while the rest of my family watched TV (my grandmother has cable, whereas we do not. I am guilty of being a couch potato for 18 hours straig More...
Sep 30, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
My kids read these books a lot, so I thought I would finally read them too. My kids love graphic novels, which I'm not so crazy about. It was just okay for me. I really don't understand why these are so popular. One of the characters is a horrible person and takes the Lord's name in vain, which really bothers me, especially in a childrens book. In AR it is a 2.4 book level, so little second graders are reading these. There's also a comic book girl, which means very cute and shapely, who the main
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Sep 07, 2009
Raphael
rated it:
Bone, Out from boneville is the first book in the siries. it starts with the three bone brothers(actually their cousins but its easier to say that there brothers) fone bone phony bone and smilly bone. Thanks to Phoony bone they were all kiked out of boneville. They are then seperated by a swarm of locasts and now fone bone is on his one. Climing through the mountens and folowing a map he just found lieng around he runs into a dragon. Qwilkly fleeing the erea Fone bone soon finds himself in
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